Finalists and short-lists for the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 professional competition announced

The World Photography Organization is pleased to announce the names of the finalists and photographers shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards 2021. Now in its fourteenth year, the professional competition honors outstanding work of technical excellence, providing a fresh perspective on modernity.

&copy Frank Machalowski, Germany, finalist, Professional Competition, Architecture and Design, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

Winner of the title

“Photographer of the Year 2021.”

will be selected from a group of Professional Competition finalists and announced on April 15, 2021. To mark the occasion, a special program featuring the winners will be broadcast April 15 on the digital platforms of the World Photography Organization, hosted by art historian Jackie Klein and stand-up comedian Nish Kumar.

A total of more than 330,000 entries from 220 countries were received for the four Sony World Photography Awards 2021, with more than 145,000 entries in the 10 Professional categories, the highest number of entries in the history of the competition. This year’s Professional Competition introduced the Portfolio category, giving photographers the opportunity to submit individual works from various series that demonstrate their own recognizable style and technical prowess.

Sony World Photography Awards 2021 finalists include the following photographers and projects:

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

For your project “

Hymn to construction sites

” Gu Guanzhui Mainland China submitted photographs of construction sites in Ninghai County, Zhejiang Province. Shot from a bird’s-eye view, construction sites and builders take on abstract forms. Frank Machalowski Germany also works in the technique of abstractionism, whose series “

Bauhaus-Dessau Masters House.”

presents multi-layered images of the Bauhaus architects’ houses in Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius, and taken with various exposures. For his project “

Eternal Hunting Grounds

” Tomáš Voselka Czech Republic decided to photograph a former military complex turned into a pet crematorium by the minimalist architect Petr Hayek.

&copy Luigi Bussolati, Italy, finalist, Professional Competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

CREATIVE

Using family heirlooms to create staged visual metaphors, American photographer Sasha Bauer explores the history of his family through the prism of his grandfather’s turbulent life, from childhood in an orphanage to military service. Series

“Ampelio and I

Luigi Bussolati Italy presents photos from an old family album, projected onto landscapes of Parma and the Po Valley. The project was conceived in memory of Bussolati’s uncle, who was himself a keen photographer and tragically committed suicide in 1942. In the series “

Rediscovered Moon

” by Mark Hamilton Grouchy UK presents previously unpublished photographs of the Aroloo missions from NASA and JPL, along with photographs relating to key periods in history, from past wars to pop art and the current pandemic. In the resulting selection, the author contrasts the unchanging surface of the moon with the always dynamic pace of life on Earth.

&copy Craig Easton, UK, finalist, Professional Competition, Documentary Projects, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS

In the series

“Thatcher’s children.”

, Craig Easton UK explores the nature of chronic poverty and the effects of successive governments’ social policies through three generations of one family living in the north of England. Cycle

“The Killer Daisy.”

Vito Fusco Italy focuses on the pyrethrum, also known as the “flower of death”. This delicate but deadly insect-killing daisy is the backbone of a thriving organic insecticide industry in Kenya. Powerful Work “

Explosion at the Port of Beirut

” Lorenzo Tugnoli Italy documents the devastation after the explosion that rocked Beirut in August 2020, when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the city’s port, leaving hundreds dead, thousands injured and homeless.

&copy Mohammad Hossein Madadi, Iran, finalist, Professional Competition, Environment, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

ENVIRONMENT

Series “

City under clouds of dust

“Iranian photographer Mohammad Hossein Madadi’s Ampelio and Me series depicts the urban landscapes of Ahvaz, one of the most polluted cities in the world, where the dust and soot in the air makes the photos look like they are covered in a taupe haze. In the series of works

“The sea moves us, the sea moves Fouweme.”

, Antonio Perez Spain shows portraits of the residents of Fouweme, a small fishing village in Ghana, and their abandoned homes left in ruins by rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Cycle

“Total Transition.”

Simone Tramonte Italy explores Iceland, a country that now produces 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, as a successful example for other nations seeking a more sustainable future.

&copy Fyodor Savintsev, America, finalist, Professional competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

LANDSCAPE

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“Quiet Neighborhoods.”

Majid Hojjati Iran presents a series of landscapes with images of abandoned buildings, which in their poetic silence silently tell the stories of the people who once inhabited them. Project “

Zaim”

Andrea Ludovico Ferro Italy explores the iconography and theme of piety in political propaganda posters often found on the streets of Lebanese Tripoli. Series

“Volcano.”

American photographer Fedor Savintsev shows vivid colors, natural diversity and mystical, unearthly beauty of the volcanic belt in Kamchatka.

&copy Loli Laboureau, Argentina, Finalist, Professional Photo Contest, Portfolio, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

PORTFOLIO

Photojournalist Bryce Coutu Spain presented a series of works that were taken in his hometown of Orense in the Galicia region and depict poignant and dramatic scenes – the photographer explores various local events and issues, from the effects of a pandemic to forest fires and the carnival season. v

“Citizens of Tomorrow.”

Creative director and photographer Loli Laburo Argentina contrasts the bustling life and lively street scenes of the cities of the world “we’re used to,” with colorful and dramatically staged portraits depicting the “new normal. In photographs taken from her personal projects, documentary and portrait photographer Laura Pannack UK uses symbolism and a muted color palette to highlight the vulnerability and convey the fragility of her characters’ inner world.

&copy Julia Fullerton-Batten, UK, finalist, Professional Competition, Portrait, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

PORTRAITURE

As his second project shortlisted in the competition, Craig Easton UK presents the collaborative series “

Bank

Top

“

, Made with writer and academic Abdul Aziz Hafiz. In his framework, they explore real life and distorted perceptions of communities in northern England, focusing especially on the residents of one cohesive neighborhood in Blackburn. In the series

“An Inside Look, 2020.”

Julia Fullerton-Batten UK took to the streets of her West London neighborhood to capture her isolated neighbors – nestled at the windows of their own homes and gazing sadly into the distance. Inspired by John Huston’s The Misfits 1961 , this project

“Cowboys and Drag Queens

Jane Hilton UK consists of black and white portraits of the Las Vegas Drag Queen band members in “cowboy” outfits set against the Nevada desert backdrop.

&copy Anas Alkharboutli, Syria, finalist, Professional Contest, Sports, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

SPORT

In Cycle

“Sports and positivity instead of war and fear.”

Anas Alharbutli Syria movingly shows classes at the Wasima Satota Karate School for Children in the village of Aljina, near Aleppo. There, boys and girls ages 6 to 15, including those with disabilities, become friends and overcome the trauma of war together. Project

“Iron Fit.”

Kenya

Patrick Meinhardt Spain depicts athletes from across East Africa taking part in the second Iron Fit bodybuilding competition in Nairobi. In the project

“Rooftops.”

Rooftops

Farzam Saleh Iran shows Iranian athletes climbing on rooftops to keep fit during a pandemic.

&copy Peter Eleveld, Netherlands, Finalist, Professional Competition, Still Life, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

STILL LIFE

v “

Still lifes on the wet plate

“, Peter Eleveld Netherlands presents a series of black and white images of glass vases, fruits, and flowers, skillfully photographed on a large-format camera and developed from hydrocolloid photographic plates. Conceived during the first lockdown in Milan, the cycle of works

“Varying Interests.”

Alessandro Pollio Italy is a visual exploration of the photographer’s home environment, which in simple and sometimes humorous compositions of food and everyday objects recall days spent in isolation. Project

“Mexican Fist.”

– is a photographic ode to Mexican food and crafts, in which Paloma Rincon Spain pays homage to that country’s cultural influences through the vibrant colors and vivid textures of her studio work.

&copy Graeme Purdy, UK, finalist, Professional Competition, Natural World and Wildlife, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

THE NATURAL WORLD AND WILDLIFE WILDLIFE & NATURE

“

Sea Drops

” Angel Fitora Spain is a photographic reportage about the life forms that can be found in drops of sea water. Using micropipettes and a homemade microphotography studio, Fitor opens a drop-shaped window into the stunningly diverse world of different plankton species. In their series

“Nature in its purest form.”

Graham Pardee UK used close-ups, aerial photography and underwater shots to capture the fierce and majestic beauty of wild animals. Series

“Invasion of the Locusts in East Africa

Luisa Tato of Spain documents the devastating desert locust invasion across East Africa, destroying entire fields of vegetation and crops. This recent episode has been the worst in the region in decades, exacerbated by Covid-19 restrictions that have disrupted pesticide supply chains.

The works of the finalist photographers, as well as the projects shortlisted in the Professional Competition, were judged by: Natasha Egan, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago Sunyoung Kim, curator of the Museum of Photography in Seoul, South Korea Azu Nwagbogu, founder and director of the African Artists Foundation and Lagos Photo Festival Lindsay Taylor, curator of the Salford University Art Collection Hannah Watson, director of Trolley Books and Mike Trow, independent curator and photo editor and jury chair.

Commenting on this year’s finalists and shortlisted projects, Mike Trow said

: “The maturity, judiciousness and thoughtful edits of this year’s submissions sparked debate among the judges and the sincere admiration of the entries. The photographers successfully reflected on the challenges of 2020, using this time to delve deeper into their personal agendas and further explore topics relevant to their local communities. Their efforts really paid off: the short-listed and finalists’ projects noticeably improved in quality, which made this year’s contest special.

For more information on the winners and shortlists, visit the Sony World Photography Awards website