Here are the incredible winning photos of the Sony World Photography Awards 2023. Congratulations to Edgar Martins (Portugal) for being awarded this year’s Photographer of the Year title for his series Our War. Martins wins a $25,000 cash prize, a collection of Sony digital imaging equipment, and a solo presentation of his work as part of next year’s Sony World Photography Awards exhibition.
Speaking about his win, Martin says: “It is a huge honour to be recognised and although I am philosophical about awards and the subjective nature of someone’s choice, knowing that there were over 180,000 entries to this year’s Professional competition, is very humbling. In this case, it is also quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage and bring attention to the family’s plight to find his remains. There’s no award that has the reach of the Sony World Photography Awards.”
Scroll down and inspire yourself. Sony World Photography Awards 2024 is now open and you can submit your entries on their website. You can check their website for more information.
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Professional Competition Winners
#1. Photographer of the Year: Our War by Edgar Martins
In 2011, my dear friend and the photojournalist, Anton Hammerl, travelled to Libya to cover the conflict between pro-regime and anti-Gaddafi forces. On 5 April he was forcefully abducted and killed by government militia. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation to find his mortal remains, in 2022 I took matters into my own hands and travelled to Libya.
This previously unseen body of work is structured as a self-portrait of Anton Hammerl through the people he photographed and met, and others involved in the conflict (freedom fighters or their descendants, ex-militia, local residents, Gaddafi loyalists or lookalikes, and so on). They were selected because they resembled him, espoused similar ideas and beliefs, or reminded me of him at different stages of our friendship. This project portrays a complex story, warped by absence, that talks of the difficulty of documenting, testifying, witnessing, remembering, honouring and imagining.
#2. Architecture & Design: 1st Place – Cement Factory by Fan Li
#3. Architecture & Design: 2nd Place – Stal, Vernacular Animal Sheds by Servaas Van Belle
#4. Creative: 1st Place – The Right To Play by Lee-Ann Olwage
What do girls dream of? And what happens when a supportive environment is created where girls are empowered and given the opportunity to learn and dream? The Right to Play creates a playful world where girls are shown in an empowered and affirming way.
Worldwide, it is estimated that around 129 million girls are out of school and only 49 percent of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education, with the gap widening at secondary school level. Every day, girls face barriers to education caused by poverty, cultural norms and practices such as FGM, poor infrastructure and violence.
#5. Creative: 2nd Place – Lupus Hominarius by Noemi Comi
#6. Documentary Projects: 1st Place – The Women’s Peace Movement in Congo by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
#7. Documentary Projects: 2nd Place – Gaza struggles to accommodate the living and the dead as the population grows by Mohammed Salem
#8. Environment: 1st Place – Miruku by Marisol Mendez & Federico Kaplan
#9. Environment: 2nd Place – The Dying River by Jonas Kakó
#10. Landscape: 1st Place – Event Horizon by Kacper Kowalski
#11. Landscape: 2nd Place – Postcards from Afghanistan after forty years of war by Bruno Zanzottera
#12. Portfolio: 1st Place – Portfolio by James Deavin
This portfolio was shot in the first half of 2022 in Saudi Arabia, where I was based at the time. Given more time, I think these pictures would have fallen into more defined projects or narratives, perhaps relating to the large migrant worker and expat population (of which I was part), or Saudi car culture. As it is, I believe this collection shows my style and technique as a photographer – there is no deliberate connection between the images other than I was searching for special photographs that could eventually develop into projects.
#13. Portfolio: 2nd Place – Portfolio by Marylise Vigneau
#14. Portraiture: 1st Place – Our War by Edgar Martins
#15. Portraiture: 2nd Place – Afghanistan’s Girl Athletes by Ebrahim Noroozi
#16. Sport: 1st Place – Female Pro Baseball Player Succeeds in All Male Pro League by Al Bello
#17. Sport: 2nd Place – Mundialito by Andrea Fantini
#18. Still Life: 1st Place – The Sky Garden by Kechun Zhang
#19. Still Life: 2nd Place – La Visita by Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas
#20. Wildlife & Nature: 1st Place – Cities Gone Wild by Corey Arnold
Cities Gone Wild is an exploration of three savvy animals — black bears, coyotes and raccoons — that have uniquely equipped to survive and even thrive in the human built landscape while other animals are disappearing. I tracked these animals in cities across America to reveal a more intimate view of how wildlife is adapting to increased urbanization.
#21. Wildlife & Nature: 2nd Place – Small Backlit Animals by Adalbert Mojrzisch
Open Competition Winners
#22. Open Photographer of the Year: Dinorah Graue Obscura
Dinorah Graue Obscura (Mexico) is Open Photographer of the Year 2023. She wins $5,000 (cash prize), Sony digital imaging kit, inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition and book, plus global online coverage. The Open competition rewards striking standalone images highlighting the beauty of our world. Photographers could submit up to three images for free across ten categories.
#23. Architecture: Winner – Mark Benham
#24. Landscape: Winner – Giorgos Rousopoulos
#25. Lifestyle: Winner – Azim Khan Ronnie
#26. Motion: Winner – Zhenhuan Zhou
#27. Natural World & Wildlife: Shortlist – Jose Manuel Grandio
#28. Object: Winner – Mieke Douglas
#29. Portraiture: Winner – Sukhy Hullait
#30. Street Photography: Winner – Andreas Mikonauschke
#31. Travel: Winner – Max Vere-Hodge
#32. Youth Competition: Winner – Hai Wang
Well done to Hai Wang (China Mainland, 17 years-old) for winning the Youth Photographer of the Year. Selected from a shortlist of seven photographers under the age of 19 years-old, Wang receives Sony digital imaging kit and global exposure.
#33. Youth Competition: Shortlist – Natalie Navratilova
#34. National & Regional Award: Winner – Mawaruddin
#35. National & Regional Award: Winner – Rajeev Abeysekara
#36. Latin America Professional Award: Guardians of the Glaciers by Angela Ponce
Ice constitutes the second largest source of freshwater on the planet and 70 percent of the world’s tropical glaciers are found in Peru. Located in Cusco, the Quelccaya Ice Cap is the largest tropical glacier in the world, covering an area equivalent to more than 9,000 soccer fields. However, due to accelerated melting it is receding by 60 metres (195 feet) a year and some studies have determined that it will disappear in the next 30 years if global greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.
#37. Latin America Professional Award: Muchachos by Federico Borobio
On 18 December 2022, the Argentinian national football team won its third World Cup, after 36 years of waiting. Across the country, eager crowds came out into the streets to celebrate: men, women, children, elderly people and families displayed uncontrolled happiness, passion, pride and emotion. Two days later the champions arrived in the country and their procession drew more than four million people to Buenos Aires. I was part of both days as a fan and a photographer, submerged in a human sea of joy, hugs, singing, beer, water and ‘crazy snow’.
#38. Sustainability Prize: Atrapanieblas (Fog Nets) by Alessandro Cinque
After Cairo, Lima is the second city in the world to be built in a desert. In recent years, migration from rural Peru to Lima has increased significantly, but the people who manage to settle in Lima are typically very poor and their biggest problem is lack of water.
#39. Alpha Female Award: Winner – Zhu Yang
#40. Alpha Female Award: Shortlist – Barbara Iwinska
