The World Photography Organization is pleased to announce the winners of the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2020. The title of Photographer of the Year Photographer
of
the
Year and the $25,000 prize goes to Uruguayan photographer Pablo Albarenga
Pablo
Albarenga for his series of works, Seeds of Resistance
Seeds
of
Resistance. In addition, the winners and finalists in the ten categories of the Professional Competition, as well as the winners of the Open, Student and Youth competitions have been announced.
© Pablo Albarenga, Uruguay, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Creative, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
“Seeds of Resistance.”
– is a series of works that juxtaposes photographs of landscapes and natural areas threatened by mining and agribusiness development with portraits of activists fighting to preserve them. In 2017, at least 207 leaders and environmental activists were killed while defending their communities from projects that threaten them. According to Global Witness’ 2018 report, most of these cases occurred in Brazil, where 57 murders were reported, 80% of which were against people protecting the Amazon’s nature.
Albarenga’s cycle of work explores the invisible connection between eco-activists and their territories, a sacred land where hundreds of generations of their ancestors are buried. The author shows the story of the main characters from above, using aerial photography that symbolizes that they sacrifice their lives to protect nature.
© Pablo Albarenga, Uruguay, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Creative, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
“This year’s Grand Prize goes to the winner in the Creative Category with a brilliant series of images that offer a powerful visual representation of how deforestation in the Amazon is accompanied by the destruction of entire communities and peoples,” commented Mike Trow, Chairman of the Pro Photo Competition Jury. – This year it was hard to judge the entries – there were many great stories to be told, all of which could have won the grand prize, but the “Seeds of Resistance” series really stood out. Since Pablo himself is from Uruguay, this project is very personal for him. “The effort it took to conceive, prepare and film this series is absolutely commendable.
© Pablo Albarenga, Uruguay, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Creative, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
“Winning this prestigious award was a double win for me: firstly, it gave me the chance to tell the story of the Amazonian people and show the people who are still struggling not only for their future, but also for the future of the world. Still, we need to look a little wider than just cutting down trees, replenishing oxygen and “undiscovered” species of rainforest flora and fauna. Secondly, the photographer of the year award went to a native of Latin America, a territory whose history is usually shown through the eyes of foreigners. I hope that more photographers from our region will continue to contribute to the growth of a diverse community of Latin American artists
– comments Pablo Albarenga.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION WINNERS
Professional Photo Contest winners were selected by an expert panel of judges who evaluated the most outstanding series 5-10 images on a variety of topics, from personal experiences and observations to illustrations of news or little-known but important issues. This year’s winners were:
ARCHITECTURE
WINNER: Sandra Herber Canada with her series “
Ice Fishing on Lake Winnipeh
g”
Ice
Fishing
Huts
,
Lake
Winnipeg
Finalists: 2nd place – Jonathan Walland UK 3rd place – José De Roccoé DeRocco Argentina
CREATIVE
WINNER: Pablo Albarenga Uruguay with the series “
Seeds of Resistance
”
Seeds
of
Resistance
Finalists: 2nd place – Dione Roach Italy 3rd place – Luke Watson UK
© Maria Kokunova, American Federation, 1st Place, Professional competition, Discovery, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
DISCOVERY
WINNER: Maria Kokunova American Federation with her series
“The Cave” /
The
Cave
Finalists: 2nd place – Hashem Shakeri Iran 3rd place – Hugh Kinsella Cunningham UK
DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: Chung Ming Ko Hong Kong for his series “
Wounds
Hong Kong
” /
Wounds of Hong Kong
Finalists: 2nd place – Didier Bizet France 3rd place – Youqiong Zhang China
ENVIRONMENT
WINNER: Robin Hinsch Germany for the series “
Trouble
”
Wahala
Finalists: 2nd place – Alvaro Laiz Á Lvaro Laiz Spain 3rd place – Luca Locatelli Italy
© Ronny Behnert, Germany, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Landscape , 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
LANDSCAPE
WINNER: Ronny Behnert Germany for his series “
Torii
”
Torii
Finalists: 2nd place – Florian Ruiz France 3rd place – Chang Kyun Kim Korea
NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE
WINNER: Brent Stirton South Africa for his series “
Pangolins in Crisis
”
Pangolins
in
Crisis
The finalists: 2nd place – Masahiro Hiroike Japan 3rd place – Adalbert Mojrzisch Germany
PORTRAITURE
WINNER: Cesar Dezfuli Spain for his series “
Passengers
”
Passengers
Finalists: 2nd place – Denis Rouvre France 3rd place – Sasha Maslov Ukraine
© Á ngel Ló Angel Lopez Soto, Spain, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Sport , 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
SPORT
WINNER: Angel Lopez Soto Á Ló pezSoto Spain for his series “
Senegalese wrestlers
”
Senegalese
Wrestlers
Finalists: 2nd place – Lucas Barioulet France 3rd place – Andrea Staccioli Italy
STILL LIFE
WINNER: Alessandro Gandolfi Italy for his series “
Immortality
”
Immortality
,
Inc
.
Finalists: 2nd place – Elena Helfrecht Germany 3rd place – Fangbin Chen China
© Tom Oldham, United Kingdom, Open Photographer of the year, Open competition, Portraiture, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
OPEN COMPETITION PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
In the Open Competition the jury selects the best single work, which must combine a remarkable visual narrative and flawless technical execution. This year the title of “Photographer of the Year in Open Competition” and a prize of 5 thousand dollars were awarded to Tom Oldham UK for his photograph entitled
“Black Francis
Black
Francis
.
Chosen from ten entries in the Open Category, this photograph is a black and white portrait of Pixies frontman Charles Thompson who went by the stage name Black Francis which was originally created for MOJO Magazine. At the start of the assignment, the experienced portrait photographer Oldham was acutely aware that he was far from the first to work on a portrait of a star and asked Francis to admit that he was tired of posing. The result is a portrait, in which the singer seems to shield his hands from the world. This symbolic work was the perfect illustration for the article.
Commenting on his win, Oldham said:
“I’m so honored to win this award, I can’t believe I was shortlisted for this award. I never thought I would be able to enter the Open with its highest standards. It will still take some time for me to fully grasp the significance of this award. I am very grateful to Mojo Magazine for this assignment, as well as to my brilliant team, and, of course, to Charles for giving me such a moment. I am genuinely surprised and delighted by this recognition.”
.
© Ioanna Sakellaraki, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom, Student Photographer of the Year, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
STUDENT COMPETITION PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Title “
Photographer of the Year in the Student Competition.”
This year’s award went to Greek student Ioanna Sakellaraki for her series “
Euphoria
” Aeiforia. Series created as part of the Sustainability Today assignment
Sustainability
Now
, where students were asked to submit papers on the topic of environmental sustainability. Her series contains nighttime photos of solar panels, wind turbines and battery farms used on the small island of Tilos in Greece, which became the first in the Mediterranean to almost completely switch to renewable energy sources.
Sakellaraki represents the Royal College of Art in the U.K. and, thanks to this win, won her institution 30,000 euros worth of Sony photography equipment. Commenting on her win, she said: “
I am honored to be named Photographer of the Year in the Student Competition. In the series “Aeiforia” I talk about sustainability achievements and use the landscape to show the night atmosphere on the Greek island of Tilos. I hope this recognition will give me the opportunity to work on many more assignments of this kind. I also extend thanks on behalf of the Royal College of Art for the excellent equipment generously provided by Sony, and I hope that with its help, the college students will be able to realize many new projects
“.
© Hsien-Pang Hsieh, Taiwan, Youth Photographer of the Year, Youth competition, street photography, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards
YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Title “
Photographer of the Year in the Youth Competition.”
was awarded to Xie Shenpan Hsien-Pang Hsieh Taiwan, 19 years old for his work
“In a Hurry”/
Hurry
, which was chosen from among the winners in seven categories and features a street actor portraying a hurried passerby but actually standing still. Having just recently arrived in Germany to study, Xie Shenpan shows his attitude to the fast-paced rhythm of modern life with this photo and encourages others to slow down from time to time.
AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD OF PHOTOGRAPHY
This year’s winner of the
“Outstanding Contribution to Photography.”
of the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards was typographer and publisher Gerhard Steidl. For the first time in the contest’s history, the award
“Outstanding Contribution to Photography.”
Awarded to a member of the profession, not a photographer. Founded in 1968, Steidl Publishers launched its own photo book series in 1996 and within a few years managed to bring the series up to date, making it the largest anthology of contemporary world photography. Among the authors of his outstanding albums are renowned artists such as Joel Sternfeld, Nan Goldin, Bruce Davidson, Robert Frank, Berenice Abbott, Robert Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Karl Lagerfeld and Juergen Teller. Steidl’s photo albums span the entire history of photography, from the earliest masters to the leading photographers of our time, and reflect a wide variety of photographic subjects ranging from art and fashion to documentary and street photography.
The work of the winners and finalists will be featured on the World Photography Organization’s online platforms in video, presentation and Q&A formats. A digital exhibit of this year’s winners and finalists is available on On Screen. In light of recent developments, the World Photography Organization has also launched a “Stay Connected” page with an extensive program of online initiatives, events and resources to support and inspire this year’s award-winning audiences and photographers.
Commenting on the results of this year’s competition, Scott Gray, founder and CEO of the World Photography Organization, said:
“The purpose of the award
Sony
World
Photography
Awards
– To help photographers get the recognition they deserve, and our exhibit is an important platform for them to introduce their work to a new audience. Because of the current restrictions due to the global pandemic, we were not able to hold an exhibition this year, but we are still promoting the winning projects, and using the prize to make sure that their work receives publicity. We are very fortunate to have partnered with the
Sony
.
Sony
“Shares our commitment to the world of photography, and together we will continue to celebrate the work of photographers and promote the role and importance of photography as art.
The winners’ work and shortlisted photos are available at the Sony World Photography Awards >
Who were the winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 and what categories did they excel in?