From the powerful beauty of erupting volcanoes to the passionate play of a galloping horse in the snow, photographers have captured magical moments in nature, landscape, and travel.
Frogs, sunrises, and elephants are subjects of some of the winners and short-listed images in this year’s Open competition of the 2022 Sony World Photography Awards. Presented by the World Photography Organisation, the contest recognizes the best single images in 10 categories including landscape, travel, and natural world and wildlife.
“Bike with Flowers," above, by Thanh Nguyen Phuc of Vietnam, was the winner in the travel category. The photographer described the winning image:
More than 170,000 images were entered into this year’s Open competition. There were 10 category winners and more than 100 photographers named to the short list. The overall winner of the competition will be announced in mid-April.
“Creativity and originality were very important in choosing a winning image and it was terrific to see the excitement and joy of the photographers when they captured the moment,” said Hideko Kataoka, director of photography at Newsweek Japan, who judged the Open competition.
“The photographs in this competition each make a coherent visual statement about a situation or particular circumstance in an elegant visual way. As can be seen in many images in the shortlist this year, black and white photography holds a special place in the hearts of many photographers. The simplicity of black and white has the power to distil the content of an image, and direct the viewer’s attention to the subject.’’
Here are some of the winners and short-listed photos and what the photographers had to say about their work.
“Crowned Tree Frog”
Dinorah Graue Obscura of Mexico was named to the short list in the natural world and wildlife category for this image of a “chocolate” frog.
“Foggy winter sunrise at St. Thomas Church”
Peter Leyer of Hungary was named to the short list in the landscape category for this photo.
“Overflow”
Luis Manuel Vilariño Lopez of Spain earned a spot on the landscape short list for this volcano image.
“The Journey”
A wandering baby elephant is the subject of this short list image from Ewa Jermakowicz of Poland. It was entered in the natural world and wildlife category.
“Cleanse and Care”
Sujon Adikary of Bangladesh is on the short list for travel for this photo.
“Highland Cattle (Bos taurus taurus)”
Albert Beukhof of the Netherlands was named to the short list in the natural world and wildlife category for this photo of a Highland cow (Bos taurus taurus) covered with snow and ice in Deelerwoud, the Netherlands.
“Untitled”
Fernando Famiani of Italy was named to the shortlist in the landscape category for his volcano photo.
“Anger Management”
Scott Wilson of the United Kingdom won in the natural world and wildlife category for this photo of a wild mustang stallion kicking up dust in northwestern Colorado.
“Mangrove Swirl”
Stuart Chape of Australia made the landscape short list for this aerial view taken from a helicopter of mangroves in an estuary at Yamba, New South Wales, Australia.
“The Honey Collector”
Utsab Ahamed Akash of Bangladesh is the winner in the lifestyle category for this image.
“Winter sunset”
Martin Morávek of the Czech Republic landed on the short list in the landscape category for this photograph of a winter sunset in Krkonoše National Park.
“Natural Patterns”
Memo Gómez of Colombia was named to the short list for natural world and wildlife for this macaw image.
“Unstoppable”
Ronaldo the horse gallops runs through the snow in this image from Jessica Mohn of Germany. It made the short list in the natural world and wildlife category.
