One of the most acclaimed and diverse photography competitions, the Sony World Photography Awards is celebrating its 12th year. The goal of the competition is to showcase the best contemporary photography from around the world.

Free to enter, they’re open to all levels of photographers, from emerging 12-year-olds, enthusiastic hobbyists and students, to established professionals. Out of a record-breaking number of entries from 195 countries, ten exceptional photographs have been named the best single photos in categories that include:

• Architecture
• Documentary
• Landscape
• Portraiture
• Sports
• Street Photography
• Wildlife
• Travel
• Culture
• And more

All entries are judged by leading industry experts, who come together each year in London to decide the best images. Winners share a total prize fund of US$30,000 plus the latest Sony digital imaging equipment. A further 62 National Award winners have also been named, winning a prize designed to celebrate local photographic talent.

However, the winning photographers will have to wait until April to see who among them will be named Open Photographer of the Year and take home the cash prize of US$5,000. The winning images will be part of the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London, which runs from April 18 to May 6, 2019.

This year’s top winners include Christy Lee Rogers, who took home first place in the Motion category. The underwater photograph — Harmony — looks like a dramatic Baroque paintings filled with dynamic movement.

Nicolas Boyer won the Eurostar-supported Travel category for his arresting photo of a Japanese bride dressed in traditional costume.

View more photographs from this year’s Sony World Photography Awards below. Or discover other photography award winners from competitions such as: National Geographic, Drone Awards, or the Underwater Photography Awards.

Source: https://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards