From a heavily trafficked pangolin roaming in its natural habitat to traditional Japanese Torii gates that seemingly ‘float’ on water, the winners of this year’s Sony World Photography Awards have been revealed.
More than 345,000 images were submitted from 203 countries around the world, with Pablo Albarenga named as Photographer of the Year for his incredible photographs of indigenous communities in Latin America.
Launched in 2008, the awards aim to recognise the best contemporary photography in the world – with the contest free to enter and open to photographers of all levels.
Here are the pictures that earned top marks from the judges in the open, student, youth and professional competitions, across different categories from ‘natural world and wildlife’ to ‘architecture’.
Creative: Seeds of Resistance, Pablo Albarenga
Open: Portrait of Pixies frontman Charles Thompson, Tom Oldham
Discovery: The Cave, Maria Kokunova
Documentary: Wounds of Hong Kong, Chung Ming Ko
Environment: Wahala, Robin Hinsch
Landscape: Torii, Ronny Behnert
Natural World and Wildlife: Pangolins in Crisis, Brent Stirton
Portraiture: Passengers, Cesar Dezfuli
Sport: Senegalese Wrestlers, Ángel López Soto
Still Life: Immortality, Inc, Alessandro Gandolfi
Architecture: Ice Fishing Huts, Sandra Herber
Student: Hurry, Hsien-Pang Hsieh
