Sony World Photography Awards 2013

2013 Sony World Photography Awards 
Open, Youth and 3D winners announced

• Images available for publication at press.worldphoto.org or via Image.net

The World Photography Organisation today reveals the winners for the Open, Youth and 3D categories of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards.   With photographers from as far apart as Chile to Vietnam, the winning images capture in a single shot a huge variety 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, plus much more.

Open category winners
Judged on a single image taken by an amateur photographer, the winning Open category photographers were selected from nearly 55,000 entries.  The winners are:

• Architecture – Martina Biccheri, Italy
• Arts and Culture – Gilbert Yu, Hong Kong
• Enhanced – Hoang Hiep Nguyen, Vietnam
• Low Light – Elmar Akhmetov, Kazakhstan
• Nature & Wildlife – Krasimir Matarov, Bulgaria
• Panoramic – Yeow Kwang Yeo, Singapore
• People – Hisatomi Tadahiko, Japan
• Smile – Ming Hui Guan (Mac Kwan), China
• Split Second –  Matías Gálvez, Chile
• Travel – Manny Fajutag, Philippines

The ten Open category winners will now compete for the Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer of the Year title.  The overall winner will be revealed at a gala ceremony on 25 April and this photographer will receive $5,000 (USD). 

All category winners receive a Sony A77 and will have their images exhibited at Somerset House, London, from 26 April – 12 May as part of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition.  The photographs will also be published in the 2013 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.

Damien Demolder, Presiding Chair of Jury for the Open competition and Editor of Amateur Photographer magazine (UK), comments: “Amateurs constantly amaze me, not only with their determination, their passion and their internal drive, but also with the astonishing quality they are capable of achieving. They can be extraordinarily creative, and more than capable of working to their own brief to turn a wonderful idea or moment into a beautiful photograph. In so many ways there are heftier chunks of real life and soul in amateur images than there are in the professional categories – because amateurs do it for the love of taking pictures. And the shortlist and winners for this year’s Open competition demonstrates that perfectly.”

Youth Competition
Open to photographers aged 19 and under, the Youth competition looks to uncover the next generation of photography talent.  The category winners are:
• Culture – Alecsandra Dragoi, Romania
• Environment – Xu Wei Shou, Taiwan 
• Portraits- Berta Vicente, Spain

One Overall Youth Photographer of the Year will be selected from the three photographers above and will be announced at the Sony World Photography Awards gala ceremony on 25 April.

3D Competition
This category is won by Slovenian photographer Matjaz Tancic.

A leading 3D fashion photographer who divides his time between Beijing and Ljubljana, Matjaz is a graduate of the London College of Fashion whose work has been exhibited and featured in publications around the world.  His image, TIME KEEPER is inspired by the set-up of Hui-style living rooms in the old village houses of Yixian, China. 

Professional category winners and the coveted L’Iris D’Or/ Sony World Photography Awards Professional Photographer of the Year title will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on 25 April.  The L’Iris D’Or winner will receive $25,000 (USD).
 

For further information and for access to the WPO press centre, please contact:
Jill Cotton at World Photography Organisation
+44 (0) 20 7886 3049/ + 44 (0)7557 261 537 / jill@worldphoto.org
 

Notes to editors

• Winning images are available to download via press.worldphoto.org with additional images available on Image.net. To register for a press account please contact jill@worldphoto.org

• Interviews with winning photographers are available via the World Photography Organisation

• 122,665 images were entered in total to the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards –  62,654 Professional entries, 54,851 Open entries and 5,160 Youth entries images

About the World Photography Organisation
Created by the World Photography Organisation (WPO), the World Photography Awards, sponsored by Sony, launched in 2007. WPO supports professional, amateur and student photography, lending a global platform for the photographic industry to communicate, converge and showcase current trends in Photojournalism, Fine Art and Commercial photography. Delivering various initiatives and programmes across this global community, these programmes involve the photographer in commercial, cultural and educational activities within the many industry sectors, whilst also creating cultural activities for the public to participate in. Currently included within the WPO portfolio are the World Photography Student Focus Competition; the World Photo international festivals and events, and the World Photography Focus Programme

About Sony:
Sony is a leading global innovator of audio, video, communications and information technology products for both the consumer and professional markets. Sony is renowned for its audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA™ LCD high-definition (HD) television, Cyber-shot™ digital camera, Handycam® camcorder, “α” (pronounced Alpha) digital SLR camera, Sony Tablet and Walkman® MP3 player as well as its VAIO™ personal computers and 3D HD professional broadcast equipment.

For more information on Sony Europe, please visit http://www.sony-europe.com. For more information on Sony Corporation please visit http://www.sony.net.

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About Somerset House:
Somerset House is a spectacular neo-classical building in the heart of London, sitting between the Strand and the River Thames. Since opening to the public in 2000, Somerset House has produced a distinctive public programme that annually draws over 2.5 million visitors to the site, providing a stimulating environment for exploration and relaxation. The varied, year-round programme includes an open air film and concert season and ice rink, as well as temporary exhibitions focusing on contemporary fashion, design, art and architecture, family workshops and free guided tours. In September 2009, Somerset House became the new home of London Fashion Week.