Sony World Photography Awards 2015: Open shortlist

The 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, the world's biggest photography competition, has announced the shortlists for its Professional, Open and Youth competitions. The 2015 competition received the highest number of entries in its eight-year history – 173,444 images from 171 countries.

The Open competition is for amateur photographers and photography enthusiasts. The Open Photographer of the Year, who receives a $5,000 (£3,200) prize, will be announced at the Sony World Photography Awards gala ceremony on 23 April. All winners will receive the latest Sony digital imaging equipment.

The winning and shortlisted images will go on show at Somerset House, London from 24 April to 10 May and will be published in the 2015 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.

In this gallery, IBTimesUK publishes some of the 100 shortlisted Open photos. And take a look at the Professional shortlist. For more, see www.worldphoto.org.