The 2013 Sony World Photography Awards, organised by the World Photography Organisation (WPO), are now open for entries. Each year the Sony World Photography Awards uncover and celebrate the very best in international contemporary photography. To date, over 430,000 photographs from 178 countries have been submitted. Free to enter and judged by leading figures of the photography community, the awards bring worldwide recognition and exposure to its winning and shortlisted photographers. Previous winners include Alejandro Chaskielberg, Simon Norfolk, Paolo Pellegrin, Robin Hammond, Rena Effendi, David Zimmerman and the 2012 L’Iris d’Or recipient, US photographer Mitch Dobrowner.
Widely recognised as the leading global photographic awards programme, the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards include:
• Professional competition for serious photographers
• Open competition for amateurs and enthusiasts
• Student Focus for higher education photography students aged 18-28
• Youth competition for photographers under 20
• Moving Image Award for those experimenting with film and narrative formats (will be live later in the year)
• 3D Award for anyone using 3D technology in photography or video
A full list of competitions and categories can be found in the notes to editors. The competitions close on 4 January 2013, with the exception of the Professional competition which will close on 9 January 2013. All entries will be judged anonymously by a panel of prestigious photography professionals from the World Photographic Academy. The shortlist will be announced in February and the winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony in London in late April 2013. The winner of the L’Iris d’Or Sony World Photography Awards Professional Photographer of the Year title will be presented with $25,000 (USD) and the Open Photographer of the Year will receive $5,000 (USD). All winners, including category winners, will receive the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony. The Student Focus winner will receive €40,000 (Euros) worth of digital imaging equipment from Sony for their university.
All winners, plus many shortlisted photographers, will receive an exhibition of their work at London’s spectacular Somerset House from April – May 2013. The exhibition is part of World Photo London, WPO’s month-long celebration of photography and moving image, which returns to Somerset House for the third consecutive year.
The WPO will also feature the winning work across its website, through international exhibitions and inside the annual Sony World Photography Awards hardcover book.
Scott Gray, Managing Director of the World Photography Organisation, said: “Each year we are astonished at the quality, and volume, of entries. It is fantastic to see such a variety of imagery taken from photographers around the world. We look forward to welcoming this year’s entries into a programme that is built to support those photographers and show their work to a worldwide audience.”
