December 5, 2017: Photographers worldwide have just one month left to enter the 11th edition of the Sony World Photography Awards. To mark this deadline, the World Photography Organisation, the creators of the Awards, today releases a new selection of entries from the Open competition. Submitted by photographers from around the world, the images cover a wide variety of topics, from stunning aerial landscapes to intimate portraits and animals in the wild.
The internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards are one of the most important fixtures on the worldwide photographic calendar, with many of its shortlisted and winning photographers gaining global exposure and recognition. Last year’s Photographer of the Year, Frederik Buyckx (Belgium) said, “Being named Photographer of the Year has given me more exposure than I could ever have imagined. It has opened lots of new doors but, just as importantly, the award has also encouraged me to keep on working on my personal projects.” Past shortlisted photographer Simon Butterworth (UK) said “It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this achievement to my career, the global coverage was amazing, in fact, interest in my work as a direct result of the awards continues to this day.”
All entries to the Awards are free at www.worldphoto.org/swpa.
Deadlines and Jury
The 2018 judges have been tasked to reward the very best contemporary photography from the past year across the following competitions:
Open – best single image
Youth – photographers aged 12-19, best single image
National Award – best single image taken by a local photographer from 60+ countries
Deadline: January 4, 2018
Professional – best series of works
Deadline: January 11, 2018
The juries are chaired by Mike Trow, Picture Editor, British Vogue (Professional competition) and Zelda Cheatle, Curator (Open, Youth competitions and National Awards). Full details about the 2018 jury can be found at www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/2018-judges
Key dates
The shortlist for all competitions of the Awards will be announced on February 28, 2018. The Open and National Awards winners will be announced March 20, 2018. The Photographer of the Year and the Professional category winners will be announced April 19, 2018.
Prizes and exhibition
Prizes include $25,000 (USD) for the Photographer of the Year and $5,000 (USD) for the overall Open competition winner. All category winners will receive the latest Sony Digital Imaging equipment and Professional category winners are flown to London to attend the Sony World Photography Awards dinner on Thursday April 19, 2018.
The Awards’ winning and shortlisted images will once again be exhibited at Somerset House, London. Running April 20 – May 6 2018, the exhibition will also include exclusive new works by the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, to be announced in January 2018. Previous recipients include Martin Parr (2017), RongRong&inri (2016), Elliot Erwitt (2015) and Mary Ellen Mark (2014).
Images from the Open submissions can be downloaded at https://press.worldphoto.org
For further information please contact:
Jill Cotton / Emma Double, World Photography Organisation [email protected] / +44 (0)207 886 3043
NOTES TO EDITORS
2018 SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS COMPETITIONS & CATEGORIES
●Professional Categories:
Architecture / Contemporary Issues / Creative / Current Affairs & News / Discovery / Landscape / Natural World & Wildlife / Portraiture / Sport / Still Life
●Open Categories:
Architecture / Culture / Enhanced / Motion / Landscape & Nature / Portraiture / Still Life / Street Photography / Travel / Wildlife
●Youth – Brief of “My Environment”
●National Awards – All submissions will be taken from the Open competition
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About World Photography Organisation
The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across more than 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both individual photographers as well as our industry-leading partners around the world. The World Photography Organisation hosts a year-round portfolio of events including the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s leading photography competitions, and PHOTOFAIRS, international art fairs dedicated to photography with destinations in Shanghai and San Francisco. For more details see www.worldphoto.org.