Covering topics ranging from an unflinching look at domestic abuse by American photographer Sara Lewkowicz, to a drag queen competition in Colombia by Italian photographer Viviana Peretti, to humorous portraits of wet dogs and quiet landscapes in zones of conflict, the winners of the Sony World Photography Awards, announced Thursday, represent the strongest work in photography today. Categories range from Contemporary Issues to Architecture to Current Affairs. Professionals as well as amateur photographers are featured in the competition.
The winners were selected from over 139,000 entries from 166 countries, the highest number of submissions received in the awards' seven-year history.
Sara Lewkowicz, USA Finalist, Contemporary Issues, Professional Competition 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
Through her project Lewkowicz seeks to take a deeper, unflinching look at domestic abuse as a process, as opposed to a single incident, examining how a pattern of abuse develops and eventually crests.
Amanda Harman, UK, Winner, Still Life, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
A beautiful series of unintended or ‘accidental’ still lives. The work seeks to make visible the unseen and often unsung work of the gardeners, by revealing small signs of the day-to-day such as the tending of plants; their protection from insects, disease and weather.
Guy Martin/Panos, UK, Winner, Current Affairs, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
Martin’s colourful and bold images give us a glimpse of the drama that evolved in the streets of Istanbul during the protest weeks in the summer of 2013.
Viviana Peretti, Italy, Winner, Arts & Culture, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
Peretti’s series 'Dancing Like a Woman' portrays young drag queens attending the National Bambuco Gay Pageant in Bogata, Colombia. During the contest, young drag queens challenge each other wearing traditional Colombian clothes and dancing the bambuco, a regional, folkloric characterised by the elegance of its movements and precious dresses.
Mario Wezel, Germany, Winner, People, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
A heartfelt story of a family raising a child with special needs. Through Wezel’s images we get to know five-year-old Emma with Down’s syndrome, who lives with the rest of her family in a small town in Denmark.
Michael Nichols / National Geographic Society, US, Winner, Nature & Wildlife, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
While the lion for most of us is synonymous with wild Africa, few people realize that illegal killing and relentless habitat loss has this species in the grips of a crisis that must be addressed by the world, not just Africa.
Roei Greenberg, Israel, Winner, Landscape, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
Greenberg’s stunning landscape images depicts a journey through the Israeli landscape, examining the relationship between the natural world and the man-made in a land that has been dramatically changed over the course of history. Together the series forms a unique point of view, a quiet, pictorial look over a land that is in constant conflict.
Sophie Gamand, France, Winner, Portraiture, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
'Wet Dog' is a humorous series of portraits of dogs caught during their least favourite activity: bath time. Exposed at a vulnerable moment, the dogs try to communicate with the photographer with pleading eyes or angry looks.
Salvatore Di Gregorio, Italy, Winner, Sport, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
The vibrant images show young men practising Kushti, an ancient art of fighting that goes back to the 5th century BC and is still being practised in India, Pakistan and Iran. The images were in an “Akhara” (school of Kushti), and portray the harshness and mesmerizing physicality of this ancient sport.
Ludovic Maillard/Babel Photo, France, Winner, Architecture, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
'Typology of concrete' plays homage to the “Boulevard Périphérique de Paris”, Paris monumental ring road, which last year celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Myriam Meloni, Italy, Winner, Lifestyle, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
'Behind the Absence' gives us hard hitting insight to the life of over 100,000 children in the Republic of Moldova. In the poorest country in Eastern Europe a generation of children is growing up without their parents, as their fathers and mothers have emigrated in search of a job that will enable them to survive, driven by the hope to ensure a better future for their families.
Ricardo Teles, Brazil, Winner, Travel, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
'Road of Grains' give us an insight to the everyday life of people working with food production and distribution in Brazil. While food production continue to be a global challenge, estimations from 2013 show that approximately 12% of the total production of soybeans, the equivalent of ten million tons, was lost on the roads in Brazil as result of bad infrastructure.
Thomas Brummett, US, Winner, Conceptual, Professional Competition, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards
All the 'Light Projection' images are unique and one of a kind silver analogue prints.
You can see the rest of each series here.