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Photography

Gallery: Sony World Photography Awards shortlist puts the pros in the spotlight

By Nick Lavars
March 27, 2019
Gallery: Sony World Photography Awards shortlist puts the pros in the spotlight
Professional shortlist: A white-banded cleaner shrimp hopped into the mouth of a grouper
Professional shortlist: A white-banded cleaner shrimp hopped into the mouth of a grouper
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Student shortlist: From the series "Soul of the Wild. "I chose Syukor as the model to show that he belongs with animals: I decided to focus on the harmony between humans and animals.
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Student shortlist: From the series "Soul of the Wild. "I chose Syukor as the model to show that he belongs with animals: I decided to focus on the harmony between humans and animals.
Student shortlist: From the series Urban Moments. "Viewed through the nocturnal gaze, Dhaka’s roads become elevated corridors which crisscross over the entire city, a city in the process of expansion as the locals are stressed, dawdling near the traffic."
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Student shortlist: From the series Urban Moments. "Viewed through the nocturnal gaze, Dhaka’s roads become elevated corridors which crisscross over the entire city, a city in the process of expansion as the locals are stressed, dawdling near the traffic."
Student shortlist: From the series Urban Moments. "Viewed through the nocturnal gaze, Dhaka’s roads become elevated corridors which crisscross over the entire city, a city in the process of expansion as the locals are stressed, dawdling near the traffic."
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Student shortlist: From the series Urban Moments. "Viewed through the nocturnal gaze, Dhaka’s roads become elevated corridors which crisscross over the entire city, a city in the process of expansion as the locals are stressed, dawdling near the traffic."
Student shortlist: Four women select the oranges that are going to be exported to all of Europe., from the series "La Terreta"
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Student shortlist: Four women select the oranges that are going to be exported to all of Europe., from the series "La Terreta"
Student shortlist: Orange pickers from the series La Terreta
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Student shortlist: Orange pickers from the series La Terreta
Student shortlist: From the series Dissonance, "a visual exploration of the space between preconceived ideas and physical reality. Taken in Northern California, U.S., this series reflects a search for belonging in a landscape of concrete and shifting national identity."
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Student shortlist: From the series Dissonance, "a visual exploration of the space between preconceived ideas and physical reality. Taken in Northern California, U.S., this series reflects a search for belonging in a landscape of concrete and shifting national identity."
Student shortlist: From the series Dissonance, "a visual exploration of the space between preconceived ideas and physical reality. Taken in Northern California, U.S., this series reflects a search for belonging in a landscape of concrete and shifting national identity."
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Student shortlist: From the series Dissonance, "a visual exploration of the space between preconceived ideas and physical reality. Taken in Northern California, U.S., this series reflects a search for belonging in a landscape of concrete and shifting national identity."
Professional shortlist: Rainbow Cabana snapped on Miami Beach
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Professional shortlist: Rainbow Cabana snapped on Miami Beach
Professional shortlist: Yellow and White Cabana snapped on Miami Beach
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Professional shortlist: Yellow and White Cabana snapped on Miami Beach
Professional shortlist: From the series "Back to the Future." The individual works are alluring collages that demand and seduce our visual and art historical memory, create time jumps and explore new combinations of different genres
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Professional shortlist: From the series "Back to the Future." The individual works are alluring collages that demand and seduce our visual and art historical memory, create time jumps and explore new combinations of different genres
Professional shortlist: "A Special decision for every child : slide to the left - you can stand in low water - slide to the Right you have to swim in the Deep water . built in 1964 and accompanied me through my childhood."
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Professional shortlist: "A Special decision for every child : slide to the left - you can stand in low water - slide to the Right you have to swim in the Deep water . built in 1964 and accompanied me through my childhood."
Professional shortlist: The Swimming pool of the Leobad in southern Germany
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Professional shortlist: The Swimming pool of the Leobad in southern Germany
Professional shortlist: "Within the traditional Romanian mindset, the house is considered the nucleus of the family life, a primordial space which generates and preserves vital energies"
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Professional shortlist: "Within the traditional Romanian mindset, the house is considered the nucleus of the family life, a primordial space which generates and preserves vital energies"
Professional shortlist: A student dwelling from the series Dormitory Belongings
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Professional shortlist: A student dwelling from the series Dormitory Belongings
Professional shortlist: A student dwelling from the series Dormitory Belongings
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Professional shortlist: A student dwelling from the series Dormitory Belongings
Professional shortlist: From a black-and-white series of photos 'about two sisters abandoned by their father
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Professional shortlist: From a black-and-white series of photos 'about two sisters abandoned by their father
Professional shortlist: From a black-and-white series of photos 'about two sisters abandoned by their father
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Professional shortlist: From a black-and-white series of photos 'about two sisters abandoned by their father
Professional shortlist: The day before the Corban Festival in China, people return to their hometown for a reunion
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Professional shortlist: The day before the Corban Festival in China, people return to their hometown for a reunion
Professional shortlist: Uyghur youths
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Professional shortlist: Uyghur youths
Professional shortlist: Phundundu Wildlife Area, Zimbabwe, June 2018. Members of the all-female conservation ranger force known as Akashinga undergo tough training in a water hole near their base
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Professional shortlist: Phundundu Wildlife Area, Zimbabwe, June 2018. Members of the all-female conservation ranger force known as Akashinga undergo tough training in a water hole near their base
Professional shortlist: Phundundu Wildlife Area, Zimbabwe, June 2018. Petronella Chigumbura, 30, an elite member of the all-female Akashinga conservation ranger force undergoes stealth movement and concealment training in the bush near their base
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Professional shortlist: Phundundu Wildlife Area, Zimbabwe, June 2018. Petronella Chigumbura, 30, an elite member of the all-female Akashinga conservation ranger force undergoes stealth movement and concealment training in the bush near their base
Professional shortlist: A shirtless young protester in Gaza gripping a Palestinian flag with one hand and swinging a slingshot over his head with the other
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Professional shortlist: A shirtless young protester in Gaza gripping a Palestinian flag with one hand and swinging a slingshot over his head with the other
Professional shortlist: Funeral of a Palestinian in Gaza
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Professional shortlist: Funeral of a Palestinian in Gaza
Professional shortlist: India, Tamil Nadu, May 2018. One of the skulls claimed to be the skull of a farmer who committed suicide, held by Mr Premkumar, a member of the South Indian Farmers Association
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Professional shortlist: India, Tamil Nadu, May 2018. One of the skulls claimed to be the skull of a farmer who committed suicide, held by Mr Premkumar, a member of the South Indian Farmers Association
Professional shortlist: Ayah, 37, (R) and wearer of the niqab weeps as she is embraced by a police officer during a demonstration against the Danish face veil ban in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 1, 2018
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Professional shortlist: Ayah, 37, (R) and wearer of the niqab weeps as she is embraced by a police officer during a demonstration against the Danish face veil ban in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 1, 2018
Professional shortlist: Hossein, a 13-year-old boy, is from Beris, Chaabahar, Balouchestan, which although it is a free-zone area and is located next to the harbor, has very oppressed residents. Despite the fact that they live near the sea, they lack healthy drinking water
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Professional shortlist: Hossein, a 13-year-old boy, is from Beris, Chaabahar, Balouchestan, which although it is a free-zone area and is located next to the harbor, has very oppressed residents. Despite the fact that they live near the sea, they lack healthy drinking water
Professional shortlist: Drought, poverty, unemployment and addiction have spread through this rural region of iran. Hoveida, 30, is an addict and lives next to the Zahak dam, which was until recently full of water but is now dried up and full of garbage, with only urban sewage flowing through it
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Professional shortlist: Drought, poverty, unemployment and addiction have spread through this rural region of iran. Hoveida, 30, is an addict and lives next to the Zahak dam, which was until recently full of water but is now dried up and full of garbage, with only urban sewage flowing through it
Professional shortlist: Maria Meza (C), a 40-year-old migrant woman from Honduras, runs away from tear gas with her five-year-old twin daughters Saira Mejia Meza (L) and Cheili Mejia Meza (R) in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico, in Tijuana, Mexico, November 25, 2018
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Professional shortlist: Maria Meza (C), a 40-year-old migrant woman from Honduras, runs away from tear gas with her five-year-old twin daughters Saira Mejia Meza (L) and Cheili Mejia Meza (R) in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico, in Tijuana, Mexico, November 25, 2018
Professional shortlist: Fernando Velosque, a migrant boy from Honduras sits in front of Mexican policemen while a group of migrants gather near the El Chaparral port of entry (or border crossing) between Mexico and the United States in Tijuana, Mexico November 22, 2018
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Professional shortlist: Fernando Velosque, a migrant boy from Honduras sits in front of Mexican policemen while a group of migrants gather near the El Chaparral port of entry (or border crossing) between Mexico and the United States in Tijuana, Mexico November 22, 2018
Professional shortlist: Entos Eyesus church forest on an island in Lake Tana near Bahir Dar
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Professional shortlist: Entos Eyesus church forest on an island in Lake Tana near Bahir Dar
Professional shortlist: Debre Mihret Arbiatu Ensesa church near Ambesane surrounded by subsistence agriculture
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Professional shortlist: Debre Mihret Arbiatu Ensesa church near Ambesane surrounded by subsistence agriculture
Professional shortlist: Joshua Tree National Park in California is one of the four Gold Tier International Dark Sky Parks in the US, It is known by its beautiful trees and in this photograph taken in May 2018 we can see the desert landscape populated by the trees under the milky way and its galactic core
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Professional shortlist: Joshua Tree National Park in California is one of the four Gold Tier International Dark Sky Parks in the US, It is known by its beautiful trees and in this photograph taken in May 2018 we can see the desert landscape populated by the trees under the milky way and its galactic core
Professional shortlist: Professional shortlist: Joshua Tree National Park in California is one of the four Gold Tier International Dark Sky Parks in the US, It is known by its beautiful trees and in this photograph taken in May 2018 we can see the desert landscape populated by the trees under the milky way and its galactic core
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Professional shortlist: Professional shortlist: Joshua Tree National Park in California is one of the four Gold Tier International Dark Sky Parks in the US, It is known by its beautiful trees and in this photograph taken in May 2018 we can see the desert landscape populated by the trees under the milky way and its galactic core
Professional shortlist: Winter in the polytunnel; dried asparagus plants being cleared in anticipation for the roots to throw out new shoots in the spring
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Professional shortlist: Winter in the polytunnel; dried asparagus plants being cleared in anticipation for the roots to throw out new shoots in the spring
Professional shortlist: "Bob walks through the hallway, past the bathroom, back to his room. During rehabilitation, DVM Odette Doest found out that Bob had been habituated by humans and therefore could not be reintroduced back into the wild. So now he spends his time at her house, where he shares a room with his other avian rescue friends."
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Professional shortlist: "Bob walks through the hallway, past the bathroom, back to his room. During rehabilitation, DVM Odette Doest found out that Bob had been habituated by humans and therefore could not be reintroduced back into the wild. So now he spends his time at her house, where he shares a room with his other avian rescue friends."
Professional shortlist: At the end of a long day at her veterinary practice, Odette makes supper, accompanied by Bob and, on her shoulder, Willy, a two-year-old free-flying chestnut-fronted macaw she rescued as a chick. Odette and her son also share their home with nine cats and ten dogs. Bob is unfazed by his housemates
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Professional shortlist: At the end of a long day at her veterinary practice, Odette makes supper, accompanied by Bob and, on her shoulder, Willy, a two-year-old free-flying chestnut-fronted macaw she rescued as a chick. Odette and her son also share their home with nine cats and ten dogs. Bob is unfazed by his housemates
Professional shortlist: México, Baja California Sur, Bahia Magdalena. A striped marlin hunting a school of mackerel some 40 miles off the coast of San Carlos
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Professional shortlist: México, Baja California Sur, Bahia Magdalena. A striped marlin hunting a school of mackerel some 40 miles off the coast of San Carlos
Professional shortlist: México, Baja California Sur, Los Islotes. A sea lion swimming among a school of sardines
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Professional shortlist: México, Baja California Sur, Los Islotes. A sea lion swimming among a school of sardines
Professional shortlist: A white-banded cleaner shrimp hopped into the mouth of a grouper
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Professional shortlist: A white-banded cleaner shrimp hopped into the mouth of a grouper
Professional shortlist: A white-banded cleaner shrimp hopped on a moray eel to have some food from dead skin
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Professional shortlist: A white-banded cleaner shrimp hopped on a moray eel to have some food from dead skin
Professional shortlist: Near Bangun Sari village in the Aceh province of Northern Sumatra Indonesia. The rescue of an orangutan lost in a rubber plantation
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Professional shortlist: Near Bangun Sari village in the Aceh province of Northern Sumatra Indonesia. The rescue of an orangutan lost in a rubber plantation
Professional shortlist: Substitution mother Selvi, is teaching Jating, a 1-year-old orphaned male orangutan to climb on trees in the playground at the SOCP (Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme) Quarantine Centre
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Professional shortlist: Substitution mother Selvi, is teaching Jating, a 1-year-old orphaned male orangutan to climb on trees in the playground at the SOCP (Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme) Quarantine Centre
Professional shortlist: Grapefruit hanging in a lit courtyard, Oaxaca city
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Professional shortlist: Grapefruit hanging in a lit courtyard, Oaxaca city
Professional shortlist: Stephen, New Orleans LA, USA 2018
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Professional shortlist: Stephen, New Orleans LA, USA 2018
Professional shortlist: Benbecula island. Danielle Mac Gillivray 28 years old, raises alone her son Peter, four years old. She works in her father's souvenir shop in Benbecula, the island where she lived and grew up. A single mother, suffering from multiple sclerosis, Danielle is aware that in her small community it will not be easy to rebuild her life
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Professional shortlist: Benbecula island. Danielle Mac Gillivray 28 years old, raises alone her son Peter, four years old. She works in her father's souvenir shop in Benbecula, the island where she lived and grew up. A single mother, suffering from multiple sclerosis, Danielle is aware that in her small community it will not be easy to rebuild her life
Professional shortlist: The ferry between Harris and North-Uist is the only way to connect the two islands. The fate of the islands has become increasingly uncertain after Brexit.
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Professional shortlist: The ferry between Harris and North-Uist is the only way to connect the two islands. The fate of the islands has become increasingly uncertain after Brexit.
Professional shortlist: Cheikh & Zoé
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Professional shortlist: Cheikh & Zoé
Professional shortlist: Birama & Ndeye Fatou
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Professional shortlist: Birama & Ndeye Fatou
Professional shortlist: From the series Inner Atlas, exploring the art of bodysurfing
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Professional shortlist: From the series Inner Atlas, exploring the art of bodysurfing
Professional shortlist: From the series Inner Atlas, exploring the art of bodysurfing
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Professional shortlist: From the series Inner Atlas, exploring the art of bodysurfing
Professional shortlist: Football supporters in Britain
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Professional shortlist: Football supporters in Britain
Professional shortlist: Outside The Griffin, one of the four pubs encircling the stadium of Reading Football Club in Britain
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Professional shortlist: Outside The Griffin, one of the four pubs encircling the stadium of Reading Football Club in Britain
Professional shortlist: Archery is, above all, a sport of precision, so in principle its practice requires a great capacity for concentration
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Professional shortlist: Archery is, above all, a sport of precision, so in principle its practice requires a great capacity for concentration
Pyongyang, North Korea. On the football field adjacent to Mirae Primary School, with the typical skyscrapers of Pyongyang in the background, children practice the synchronized execution of a tul, a series of offensive and defensive techniques against one or several virtual adversaries
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Pyongyang, North Korea. On the football field adjacent to Mirae Primary School, with the typical skyscrapers of Pyongyang in the background, children practice the synchronized execution of a tul, a series of offensive and defensive techniques against one or several virtual adversaries
Professional shortlist: Democratic Republic of Congo. Goma. 28/05/2018. 18 year-old Blandini portrayed on the building site where she occasionally spend her nights. She also trains in the so-called Friendship Boxing Club
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Professional shortlist: Democratic Republic of Congo. Goma. 28/05/2018. 18 year-old Blandini portrayed on the building site where she occasionally spend her nights. She also trains in the so-called Friendship Boxing Club
Professional shortlist: Democratic Republic of Congo. Goma. 29/05/2018. Elysèe, 16 years old. portrayed on the streets of central Goma, she is part of one of the official boxing clubs in Goma
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Professional shortlist: Democratic Republic of Congo. Goma. 29/05/2018. Elysèe, 16 years old. portrayed on the streets of central Goma, she is part of one of the official boxing clubs in Goma
Professional shortlist: I went to Marrakech to visit a friend , but I got lost in the medina, and was robbed by some boys. I was too scared to fight back. I stayed in my friend’s house without going out for days. Then I decided to get out. I met a neighborhood boy and told him what happened. He invited me to follow him. We ran for quite some time and arrived in a dark place where some boys were boxing. "If you trust me, I'll make you a strong man and you won't be scared anymore," said the master. I practised with them, sweating and swearing. On my last day, I asked to take some photos. I wanted to illustrate this weird, funny group of boxers. I found something grotesque but also something sweet in them. They look very ramshackle but very determined, as if they're screaming: "We are the boxers of Marrakech and nobody can stop us!"
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Professional shortlist: I went to Marrakech to visit a friend , but I got lost in the medina, and was robbed by some boys. I was too scared to fight back. I stayed in my friend’s house without going out for days. Then I decided to get out. I met a neighborhood boy and told him what happened. He invited me to follow him. We ran for quite some time and arrived in a dark place where some boys were boxing. "If you trust me, I'll make you a strong man and you won't be scared anymore," said the master. I practised with them, sweating and swearing. On my last day, I asked to take some photos. I wanted to illustrate this weird, funny group of boxers. I found something grotesque but also something sweet in them. They look very ramshackle but very determined, as if they're screaming: "We are the boxers of Marrakech and nobody can stop us!"
Professional shortlist: I went to Marrakech to visit a friend , but I got lost in the medina, and was robbed by some boys. I was too scared to fight back. I stayed in my friend’s house without going out for days. Then I decided to get out. I met a neighborhood boy and told him what happened. He invited me to follow him. We ran for quite some time and arrived in a dark place where some boys were boxing. "If you trust me, I'll make you a strong man and you won't be scared anymore," said the master. I practised with them, sweating and swearing. On my last day, I asked to take some photos. I wanted to illustrate this weird, funny group of boxers. I found something grotesque but also something sweet in them. They look very ramshackle but very determined, as if they're screaming: "We are the boxers of Marrakech and nobody can stop us!"
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Professional shortlist: I went to Marrakech to visit a friend , but I got lost in the medina, and was robbed by some boys. I was too scared to fight back. I stayed in my friend’s house without going out for days. Then I decided to get out. I met a neighborhood boy and told him what happened. He invited me to follow him. We ran for quite some time and arrived in a dark place where some boys were boxing. "If you trust me, I'll make you a strong man and you won't be scared anymore," said the master. I practised with them, sweating and swearing. On my last day, I asked to take some photos. I wanted to illustrate this weird, funny group of boxers. I found something grotesque but also something sweet in them. They look very ramshackle but very determined, as if they're screaming: "We are the boxers of Marrakech and nobody can stop us!"
Professional shortlist: Lee Dickerson, a team member of the “Hot Rod Hoodlums” is enjoying a cigarette after a successful run on "The Flats
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Professional shortlist: Lee Dickerson, a team member of the “Hot Rod Hoodlums” is enjoying a cigarette after a successful run on "The Flats
Professional shortlist: Dennis and Cindy Adere are not racing themselves, but brought their car collection along to watch the action at Speed Week
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Professional shortlist: Dennis and Cindy Adere are not racing themselves, but brought their car collection along to watch the action at Speed Week
Professional shortlist: A freediver at the AAS Depth Championships 2018, Bali Indonesia
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Professional shortlist: A freediver at the AAS Depth Championships 2018, Bali Indonesia
Professional shortlist: A freediver at the AAS Depth Championships 2018, Bali Indonesia
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Professional shortlist: A freediver at the AAS Depth Championships 2018, Bali Indonesia
View gallery - 62 images

The Sony World Photography Awards are edging towards their climax for another year, and that means another round of shortlisted images portraying subject matter as diverse as it is compelling. The jury has now filtered through the submissions of photographers hailing from 161 countries to wind up with the finalists in its Professional category. Let's take a look a some of the photos to make the cut.

The Professional competition is just one of four making up the Sony World Photography Awards, along with the Youth category for 12 to 19 year-olds, the Open category for the single best image, and the Student category, whose finalists were also announced this week.

Rather than an individual image, the Professional competition seeks to celebrate an artist's body of work by judging a photographic series of between five and 10 images as a whole. These are again sorted into 10 different categories, such as architecture, documentary, landscape and the natural world, and wildlife.

Professional shortlist: A shirtless young protester in Gaza gripping a Palestinian flag with one hand and swinging a slingshot over his head with the other
Professional shortlist: A shirtless young protester in Gaza gripping a Palestinian flag with one hand and swinging a slingshot over his head with the other

The shortlisted collection amounts to 120 images in all and includes action shots of protestors in Gaza (above), portraits of college students in their cramped dormitories, conflict at the Mexico-USA border and the night sky over Joshua Tree National Park (below).

Professional shortlist: Joshua Tree National Park in California is one of the four Gold Tier International Dark Sky Parks in the US, It is known by its beautiful trees and in this photograph taken in May 2018 we can see the desert landscape populated by the trees under the milky way and its galactic core
Professional shortlist: Joshua Tree National Park in California is one of the four Gold Tier International Dark Sky Parks in the US, It is known by its beautiful trees and in this photograph taken in May 2018 we can see the desert landscape populated by the trees under the milky way and its galactic core

The freshly announced Student shortlist, meanwhile, showcases the work of 10 students from around the world who were asked to respond to the themes of "Evolution" and "Belong." The 10 student finalists will all be flown to the awards ceremony in London on April 17, where the Photographer of the Year will also be announced, along with the winners of the Open and Youth categories.

To see the shortlisted images to catch our eye, jump on into the gallery.

Source: Sony World Photography Awards

View gallery - 62 images

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1 comment
Nick Lavars
Nick Lavars
Nick has been writing and editing at New Atlas for over six years, where he has covered everything from distant space probes to self-driving cars to oddball animal science. He previously spent time at The Conversation, Mashable and The Santiago Times, earning a Masters degree in communications from Melbourne’s RMIT University along the way.

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Loy
Terrible; every one of them!! No thanks.