Sony World Photography Awards 2017: Professional shortlist revealed in world's biggest photography competition
The Sony World Photography Awards represents the world's finest contemporary photography captured over the last year, and displays a huge diversity of extraordinary images in terms of genres, styles and subject matter.
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 Professional shortlist. See the Open shortlist here.
Natural World: Jacks at Cabo Pulmo by Christian Vizl (Mexico). A big school of Jacks forming a ceiling at the protected marine area of Cabo, Sea of Cortez, Baja CaliforniaChristian Vizl/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsNatural World: Pandas Gone Wild 1 by Ami Vitale (USA). A cub gets weighed at Bifengxia. In the wild, once they’ve grown to adulthood, female pandas may weigh up to 220 pounds and males up to 250 pounds, and they’ll range from four to six feet longAmi Vitale/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsNatural World: Pandas Gone Wild 2 by Ami Vitale (USA). 'Is a panda cub fooled by a panda suit? That’s the hope at Wolong’s Hetaoping centre, where captive-bred bears training for life in the wild are kept relatively sheltered from human contact, even during a rare hands-on check-up'Ami Vitale/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsNatural World: Spirit of the Night by Will Burrard-Lucas (UK). 'To show hyenas in their element, I wanted to photograph them at night. The stars in Africa are so beautiful that I also wanted to include them in my image. I used a remote-control “BeetleCam” to position my camera on the ground so that I could photograph the hyena with the beautiful starry sky behind. This is a single exposure. I lit the hyena with two wireless off-camera flashes and used a long shutter speed to expose the stars. Since there was no moon to cause ghosting, it didn’t matter if the hyena moved after the initial flash'Will Burrard-Lucas/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsPortraiture: Lost Family Portraits by Dario Mitidieri (Italy). 'March 2017 will mark the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Syria. More than 470,000 people have died since. In all, 11.5% of the country’s population have either been killed or injured. 45% of the population have been displaced, 6.36 million internally and 4.8 million abroad. This is the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era. Lost Family Portraits aims to tell the story of those who have lost family members in the Syrian war, and who have made their way to the refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The empty chairs or spaces in the photographs symbolise the missing family members'Dario Mitidieri/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsPortraiture: Los Trumpistas by Giulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille (Italy). 'I am a conservative that thinks for herself and does not vote based on the party-line stance. I decide to support Trump because, I appreciate his brutal candour and honesty – good, bad and the ugly. I hope the return of the American PRIDE.' Laura Diaz, San Antonio, TexasGiulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsPortraiture: Hamza & Shukra/Nigeria/Jaipur/2016 by Mahesh Shantaram (India). 'Hamza came all the way from Nigeria to study human rights in India. This I found surprising. I didn't know one could study that subject here except perhaps to study its spectacular absence. Hamza is by far the most sensitive guy I've ever met on this tour of Africans in India. When I asked to photograph him in his wallpapered dwelling, he requested that he be joined by his love, Shukura, a student of nursing. He says of this relationship: "Thank you for being patient with me. Together we can prove those bitches wrong"'Mahesh Shantaram/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsSport: Pumping iron in Russia 1 by Eduard Korniyenko. Participants wait backstage during a regional bodybuilding championship in Stavropol, southern RussiaEduard Korniyenko/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsSport: Shaolin Kungfu by Luo Pin Xi (China)Luo Pin Xi/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsSport: 'Superman' - Gael Monfils dives at Australian Open 2016 by Jason O'Brien (Australia)Jason O'Brien/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsSport: 5 by Mark Gong (USA). Taken during a practice session between a dedicated group of No-Gi wrestlers in Bondi BeachMark Gong/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsLandscape: Shepherd by Frederik Buyckx (Belgium), In northern Montenegro a shepherd walks to his herd of sheep with a self-made broom in his hand. The broom was used to wipe off the snow on the back of the sheepFrederik Buyckx/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsLandscape: Himalayan Odyssey 3 by Jayanta Roy (India)Jayanta Roy/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: Full speed by Asger Ladefoged (Denmark). The combinations of an old Volvo mounted with tyres from a tractor and soaked mattresses on the roof makes Widad, Salma, Katinka and Svea beg for extra tours on the muddy cross-track. Carl-Mar Møller owns a piece of land in the northern part of Zealand in Denmark where he created a playground with different challenges and obstaclesAsger Ladefoged/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: Quarry men by Nader Saadallah (Egypt). From a series about white limestone quarries in Minya, EgyptNader Saadallah/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: A country doctor and her calling 08 by Ioana Moldovan (Romania). Dr Ciupitu does a house call to consult on an infant with an ear infection due to improper bathing. According to Eurostat data, with an infant mortality rate of 8.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014, Romania ranks first among European countries (the EU rate is 3.7)Ioana Moldovan/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: Norfolk Boys by Michael Tummings (UK). From the series Hidden, which captures man’s engagement with nature through a close examination of the practice of huntingMichael Tummings/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: Edinburgh, young boys smoking cigarettes by Toby Binder (Germany). From the series Youth of the UKToby Binder/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: 10 by Sandra Hoyn (Germany). Meghla, 23, with a customer in the Kandapara brothel in Tangail, Bangladesh. She started working for a garment factory when she was 12 years old. There she met a man who promised her a better job with more money and he sold her into a brothelSandra Hoyn/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsDaily Life: Lusine and her five children sleep in the only room they have by Yulia Grigoryants (Armenia). Lusine and her children sleep in their only room, which serves also as kitchen and playroom for the family, in their tiny apartment in Gyumri, ArmeniaYulia Grigoryants/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsCurrent Affairs & News: Caught in the Crossfire by Ivor Prickett (Ireland). Men from the Hawija region of Iraq wait to be questioned by Kurdish security personnel at a base near Kirkuk. Having fled areas still under the control of Isis militants, men and boys of fighting age are vetted for any links to the group before being allowed to join their families in camps for displaced people in the Kurdish-controlled region of the countryIvor Prickett/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsCurrent Affairs & News: Taha by Asger Ladefoged (Denmark). Taha Sirhan, 11, carries the Iraqi flag through burned out oil fields in the city of Qayyarah, south-east of Mosul in Iraq. His father was killed by Isis during the occupation because he was working for the Iraqi policeAsger Ladefoged/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsCurrent Affairs & News: Ni Una Menos by Karl Mancini (Italy). Women join a demonstration in Buenos Aires organised by the Colectivo Ni Una Menos on the world day against gender violenceKarl Mancini/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsCurrent Affairs & News: "We are taking no prisoners" by Alessio Romenzi (Italy). A fighter of the Libyan forces affiliated with the Tripoli government gets some rest while outside, clashes with Isis continue in the Al Jiza neighbourhood of SirteAlessio Romenzi/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsContemporary Issues: Oceti Sakowin by Amber Bracken (Canada). Jesse Jaso, 12, enters the Unity Teepee at the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp. The teepee is signed by supporters from all over North America and around the worldAmber Bracken/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsContemporary Issues: Fire treatment as a method to lose weight by Li Song (China). In November 2016 Li Hang, an 11-year-old boy from Harbin, arrived at Changchun weight loss centre where he was treated with traditional Chinese medicine every day, including massage, acupuncture, fire treatment and cupping therapy.Li Song/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsCurrent Affairs & News: Latidoamerica by Javier Arcenillas (Spain)Javier Arcenillas/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsCurrent Affairs & News: Ecuador by Sebastian Castañeda (Peru). People receive aid after a huge earthquake in Manta, EcuadorSebastian Castañeda/ Anadolu Agency/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsContemporary Issues: Live Chat Studio Industry by Lorenzo Maccotta (Italy). The adult webcam industry is worth $1bn (more than £800,000) annually, and is growing fast as the technology becomes better and cheaper. Collectively, the sites are estimated to be visited daily by some 5% of the web's global users and the number of models performing live online shows from private apartments or from specialised studios is increasing worldwide. Romania, a country with one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the EU, is now the undisputed world capital of studio-based cam operations, thanks to widespread wireless broadband access.Lorenzo Maccotta/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsContemporary Issues: Rivera Hernandez by Javier Arcenillas, Spain. Rivera Hernandez in in San Pedro Sula, the second city of Honduras, lives in constant war. With five warring gangs and a rate of three bodies of average daily routine is an exercise in survivalJavier Arcenillas/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsArchitecture: Duomo Siena Italy, 2016 by Alessandro Piredda (Italy)Alessandro Piredda/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsArchitecture: Urban Symmetry No2 by Zsolt Hlinka, HungaryZsolt Hlinka/2017 Sony World Photography AwardsArchitecture: Overlap - Freeway by Dongni (China)Dongni/2017 Sony World Photography Awards
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.
