Organized by the World Photography Agency, the annual Open competition selects “the best single images” in areas such as travel, architecture and street photography.
Vietnamese photographer Khanh Phan won the travel department for the fish drying statue, which was taken at the Long Hai fish market in Ba Ria -Vung Tau, Vietnam.
Spanish photographer Juan López Ruiz won the landscape category for capturing the hour of lightning strikes over a lavender field, with a solitary tree in the center.
Spanish photographer Juan López Ruiz won the landscape category for this image. Credit: Juan López Ruiz / 2021 Sony World Sculpture Awards
German designer Klaus Lenzen won the architectural department for his image of a series of stairs at the Hyatt hotel in Dusseldorf that appear to be floating in space.
And F. Dilek Uyar, from Turkey, was named the winner of the street photography category for a photo of a city worker in Ankara, Turkey, disinfecting a train platform.
Winners in the other six categories are as follows: Tamary Kudita, Zimbabwe, in the creative category; Mariano Belmar Torrecilla, Spain, lifestyle; Marijo Maduna, Croatia, movement; Cristo Pihlamäe, Estonia, natural life and wildlife; Kata Zih, Hungary, item; and Lyudmila Sabanina, Russian Federation, photo.
Vietnamese photographer Khanh Phan won the travel category for this image. Credit: Sony Khanh Phan / 2021 World Photo Awards
Winners of all 10 categories will now be considered for the full title and $ 5,000 prize. They also get a selection of Sony digital imaging equipment. The winner of the Open competition will be announced on 15 April.
Over 100 photographers were shortlisted for the competition along with the category winners. Winning and shortlisted work will be displayed in a meaningful exhibition on the World Photography Agency website.
The 2021 competition was judged by Gastón Deleau, gallery director of FOLA (Fototeca Latinoamericana – Latin American Image Library) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the 10 category winners in the Sony Open World Photography Awards competition.