The 2013 Sony World Photography Award Winners Announced

The World Photography Organisation (WPO) has announced 2013 Sony World Photography Award winners in four categories, including Open, Youth, 3D and National. The award, launched back in 2008, aims to spread the photographic culture across the globe, supporting both emerging photographers and professionals.

Photo: Gilbert Yu, Hong Kong/China, Winner, Arts and Culture, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

The jury has named 10 winners in the Open category—the selection highlights the diversity of the entries that come literally from every corner of the world. The winning 10 images in 10 sub-categories “capture a range of subjects from the moment before a couple get married to the Mangystau night sky in Kazakhstan, and the ‘Fung Shun’ fire dragon dance in Southern China,” says WPO’s website. These images have been shortlisted from nearly 55,000 entries by amateur photographers from across the globe. At the gala ceremony on April 25, the grand winner (the Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer of the Year) will be announced—he or she will be awarded $5,000 (USD) in money prize. All the winners will also receive a Sony A77 camera as recognition of their achievements in the field.

Photo: Elmar Akhmetov, Kazakhstan, Winner, Low Light, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

The Youth category has three winners, from Romania, Spain and Taiwan. To enter this category, contestants had to be aged under 19 years old. One overall Youth photographer of the year will be selected from the three winners and announced at the gala ceremony.

Photo: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi, Romania, Winner, Culture, Youth Award, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

Images for the National set have been selected during the National Awards programme run at the local Sony markets across 23 countries, from New Zealand to Brazil. The category features the best images—one per country—by amateur photographers. “A huge variety of winning images were chosen by the local judges including the adrenaline pumping bull race in Batu Sangkar, Indonesia, the peaceful calm of hot air balloons across a Turkish sky and the vibrant colours of the Fung Shun fire dragon dance in southern China,” says the page. Some of the images from the National category can be seen in the Open one, too.

Photo: Chen Wei Seng, 1st Place, Malaysia National Award, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

In the 3D category of the award there is just one winner, Slovenian photographer Matjaž Tančič with the Time Keeper image taken in Yixian, China.

The wining works will be on display from April 26 through May 12. The tickets can be purchased here.