The organisers of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world's biggest photography competition, have revealed the shortlists for its Professional, Open and Youth competitions. A total of 227,596 images were entered this year, by photographers from 183 countries. The judges have narrowed these down to 10 images in each category. In this gallery, we present a selection of images from the Open shortlist. See the professional shortlist here.
Culture: Georgian baptism by Beniamino Pisati (Italy). An infant is baptised according to the Orthodox rite in a church in Tbilisi, GeorgiaBeniamino Pisati/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Culture: Fire Dancer by Foley Hits (Malaysia)Foley Hits/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Culture: Tai Chi by Jianguo Gong (China). People practise tai chi by the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hebei ProvinceJianguo Gong/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Culture: Mourning Ceremony by Emrah Karakoç (Turkey). Ashura (also known as Muharram) mourning ceremony in Ardabil, IranEmrah Karakoç/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Culture: The Prayer by Radu Dumitrescu-Elian (Romania). "Paraschiva is an 76-year-old woman from Bukovina, Romania. Every day she reads prayers without wearing glasses. Also there is no electricity in the house."Radu Dumitrescu-Elian/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Wildlife: Buffaloes and stars by Andreas Hemb (Sweden). "A herd of cape buffalo comes to the water hole to get a drink at Zimanga Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Image created through in-camera multiple exposure creating one raw file. Taken on tripod with first exposure focused and lit for buffalo and a second exposure focused on the stars."Andreas Hemb/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Wildlife: Flamingo Soul by Alessandra Meniconzi (Switzerland). Flamingos on the shallow waters of Walvis Bay, NamibiaAlessandra Meniconzi/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Wildlife: Red heart of Africa by Bar Kaufman (Israel). "It was on a hike in the Simien mountains of Ethiopia that I taught myself to take pictures with a 24mm lens, and these baboons were the best models. I got in as close as they let me and took this picture. It looks like they're just sitting there thinking about life."Bar Kaufman/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Wildlife: Breakfast by Nigel Hodson (UK). A puffin with a mouthful of sand eels on Skomer Island in WalesNigel Hodson/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Wildlife: Hunting dolphins by Eugene Kitsios, Netherlands. A pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins exhibit their cooperative hunting behaviour as they attempt to catch a juvenile fish that was hiding under the sand. By using echolocation, dolphins are able to find their prey, even when their prey is camouflaged and/or out of sight. This picture was taken in Bimini, the BahamasEugene Kitsios/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Wildlife: Mom's babies by Fan Chen (China). "Baby swallows are waiting for mother to come back to feed them"Fan Chen/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: Exist by Jelena Janković (Serbia). "This is a time in which selfie culture proves our existence if we were somewhere or doing something. This photo was taken at a Massive Attack concert in Pula, Croatia."Jelena Janković/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: Halloween Protagonists by Konstantinos Sofikitis (Greece). Halloween in NYCKonstantinos Sofikitis/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: Untitled by Caio Vita (Brazil). "This car parked under my window and the guy was alone and waiting for a long time. I knew he was there waiting for someone, and when the person finally arrived I could witness the kind of passionate love that never gets old."Caio Vita/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: Lady in Red by Hendra Permana (Indonesia)Hendra Permana/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: The lady crossing the road at the crosswalk by Ash -Ash -/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: Metropolis by Tavepong Pratoomwong (Thailand)Tavepong Pratoomwong/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Street Photography: Taking a photo by Ge Wang (China)Ge Wang/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Motion: Reflection by Gül Yıldız (Turkey)Gül Yıldız/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Motion: Yum by Stacy Anguiano Cain. "I set up a last-minute photo shoot in my small apartment, while dog-sitting my sister's Italian greyhound, Maximus. He wouldn't sit still so I bribed him with treats and captured this shot of him chewing."Stacy Anguiano Cain/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Motion: Submerged field by Camilo Diaz (Colombia)Camilo Diaz/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Travel: Sunned Tea by Fanjing Lu (China)Fanjing Lu/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Travel: Winter Fairytale by Achim Thomae (Germany). "A very cold and clear winter morning in the Bavarian Alps. The mountains and famous Neuschwanstein Castle are covered with fresh snow making the landscape look like a fairytale."Achim Thomae/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Travel: Taft Point, Yosemite National Park by Rob Wilson (Canada)Rob Wilson/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Travel: Lady in Red by Placido Faranda (Italy). "I shot this picture with my drone, during a summer holiday with my wife in Montenegro, on the Adriatic Coast."Placido Faranda/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Still Life: Moonlight by Wilson Lee (Hong Kong)Wilson Lee/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Portraits: Present and past 1 by Anisleidy Martínez Fonseca (Cuba). "Carmen Sajeras is an 85-year-old who was born in Cuba, from an Spanish emigrant family. Although she feels 100% Cuban, she stills live in nostalgia of the years before the Revolution and imagining how her family used to live in Spain."Anisleidy Martínez Fonseca/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Portraits: Algo casual 2 by Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas (Peru). "This image is a criticism of modern relationships and the distance between human beings in their daily interactions"Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Portraits: Helmsman by Alexey Munich (Russian Federation). Helmsman on a fishing vessel in the Bering SeaAlexey Munich/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Portraits: The crown of a beautiful black queen by Carl Jeffers (UK)Carl Jeffers/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Architecture: Rustic Public Housing Singapore at dawn by Lester Koh Meng Hua (Singapore)Lester Koh Meng Hua/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Architecture: Phoenix by Barry Tweed-Rycroft (UK). "While wandering around in downtown Phoenix Arizona I captured this image in a puddle. It was early morning and the stillness and strong reflection of the classic building along with the warm sunlight caught my eye."Barry Tweed-Rycroft/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Architecture: Röntgenarchitektur by Oscar Lopez (Germany)Oscar Lopez/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Nature: Green monster by Maximilian Conrad (Germany). A supercell storm rolls over the town of Stratford, Texas, USA.Maximilian Conrad/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Nature: Diamond Dust by Masayasu Sakuma (Japan). "This picture was taken in February in Nagano-ken at an altitude of about 1,700 m. Diamond dust can be seen rarely, only during the cold season. Diamond dust usually looks white, but it turns into orange just for the morning sunrise."Masayasu Sakuma/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Nature: Altai Wanderer by Sorin Rechitan (Romania)Sorin Rechitan/Sony World Photography Awards 2017Nature: Beyond dreams by Francesco Russo (Italy). Poppies and rape flowers cover the plain of Castelluccio in the Sibillini Mountains National Park, ItalyFrancesco Russo/Sony World Photography Awards 2017
The shortlisted photographers now compete for the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and inclusion in the 2017 awards' book plus cash prizes of $25,000 (about £20,000) for the Photographer of the Year, $5,000 (USD) for the overall Open winner and €30,000 of equipment for the university of the Student Focus winner. All winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 20 April 2017.
The winning, shortlisted and commended images will all be exhibited as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London. The large-scale exhibition will open 21 April and will feature rarely seen work by Martin Parr, recipient of the awards' Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize. The exhibition will run in London until 7 May and will then go on a worldwide tour. Exhibition tickets are available at www.worldphoto.org/2017exhibition.
