Shortlist revealed for the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

“There was a truly global reach to the Sony World Photography Awards judging this year – the images were more diverse and broad ranging than I have ever seen before,” said curator Zelda Cheatle, who was chair of the professional jury of the competition this year.
The Awards, now in its tenth year, has just announced the shortlisted photographers, who between the represent 49 countries; the shortlist was drawn from some 227,596 images entered from 183 countries, including – for the first time – Armenia, Cuba, Iceland and Saudi Arabia. The winning photographers will be announced on 20 April, with the overall Photographer of the Year scooping a $25,000 cash prize plus Sony kit.

Syuzanna, nine, sitting in a “shelter” made of rusty old car parts. Ten days ago Syuzanna's father committed suicide, people say, because of debt. In 1988, a 7.0 Richter-scale earthquake struck northern Armenia. The quake killed at least 25,000 people in the region. Thousands more were maimed and hundreds of thousands left homeless. Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city bore much of the damage. Large-scale war by the early 1990s, the collapse of the Soviet Union, an energy shortage, and a blockade that left landlocked Armenia with just two open borders, contributed to exacerbating the region's already prevalent social and economic problems. A quarter of a century later, Gyumri has the country’s highest poverty rate at 47.7%. The city has lost nearly half of its population since 1988, due in part to the migration of the labour force. A few thousand families are still living in makeshift shelters, waiting for help. From the series Inhabitants of the Empty © Yulia Grigoryants, Armenia, shortlist, Professional, Daily Life, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards — Syuzanna, nine, sitting in a “shelter” made of rusty old car parts. Ten days ago Syuzanna’s father committed suicide, people say, because of debt. In 1988, a 7.0 Richter-scale earthquake struck northern Armenia. The quake killed at least 25,000 people in the region. Thousands more were maimed and hundreds of thousands left homeless. Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city bore much of the damage….a quarter of a century later, Gyumri has the country’s highest poverty rate at 47.7%. From the series Inhabitants of the Empty © Yulia Grigoryants, Armenia, shortlist, Professional, Daily Life, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Along with Zelda Cheatle, the 2017 professional competition was judged by Aida Muluneh, (founder/director of Addis Foto Fest), Allegra Cordero di Montezemolo (curator and head of exhibitions at Mexico’s Centro de la Imagen), Denis Curti, (an Italian curator and journalist), Russ O’Connell (picture editor of The Sunday Times Magazine) and Françoise Callier (program director at Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops).
The winning, shortlisted and commended images will go on show at Somerset House 21 April – 07 May, in a two-part exhibition that will also feature rarely seen work by Martin Parr, who has been awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Photography Prize by Sony. The exhibition will then go on tour around the world.
www.worldphoto.org

Fighters of the Libyan forces affiliated to the Tripoli government walk around the gigantic chandelier of the conference room in Ouagadougou congress complex Sirte, Libya, July 14, 2016. From the series We are taking no prisoners © Alessio Romenzi, Italy, shortlist, Professional, Current Affairs News category, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

We think we know the archetypal Trump voter. He is white, male, blue-collar, frustrated and angry. But is that really the case? Are these the only people that will be voting for the Republican candidate? Trump has defied all predictions and surprised media and commenters more than once. Now it is time to meet some of his most unexpected supporters, the Latinos for Trump. "I’m a proud American, I love this country, and I think it’s time America, to wake up." Raul Rodrigues jr. Apple Valley, California, from the series Los Trumpistas © Giulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille, Italy, shortlist, Professional, Portraiture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards — We think we know the archetypal Trump voter. He is white, male, blue-collar, frustrated and angry. But is that really the case? Are these the only people that will be voting for the Republican candidate? Trump has defied all predictions and surprised media and commenters more than once. Now it is time to meet some of his most unexpected supporters, the Latinos for Trump. “I’m a proud American, I love this country, and I think it’s time America, to wake up.” Raul Rodrigues jr. Apple Valley, California, from the series Los Trumpistas © Giulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille, Italy, shortlist, Professional, Portraiture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Muharram mourning ceremony in Ardabil City, Iran, 11 October 2016 © Emrah Karakoç, Turkey, shortlist, Open, Culture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

In the Soviet era, the sport of bodybuilding was not welcomed by official institutions, as opposed to weight lifting, which was judged acceptable and included in the Olympic program. But people everywhere, from small towns in the far North-East to Siberia, Moscow and even the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, persisted in going to the "sweat box" gyms in cellars, to "build a body". Today, with the ban lifted, bodybuilding’s popularity has not diminished. The only difference is that some of the clubs have moved from their old basements into modern fitness centres, though the basement scene remains. A couple of times a year the participants climb the podium during various amateur and even professional tournaments. Here you can meet anyone; tax inspectors and businessmen, housewives and popular TV presenters. From the series Pumping Iron in Russia © Eduard Korniyenko, Russian Federation, shortlist, Professional, Sport, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards — In the Soviet era, the sport of bodybuilding was not welcomed by official institutions, as opposed to weight lifting, which was judged acceptable and included in the Olympic program. But people everywhere, from small towns in the far North-East to Siberia, Moscow and even the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, persisted in going to the “sweat box” gyms in cellars, to “build a body”. Today, with the ban lifted, bodybuilding’s popularity has not diminished. The only difference is that some of the clubs have moved from their old basements into modern fitness centres, though the basement scene remains. A couple of times a year the participants climb the podium during various amateur and even professional tournaments. Here you can meet anyone; tax inspectors and businessmen, housewives and popular TV presenters. From the series Pumping Iron in Russia © Eduard Korniyenko, Russian Federation, shortlist, Professional, Sport, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

This picture was taken in February in Nagano-ken at an altitude of about 1700m. In Japan, February is the coldest season in a year. Diamond dust can be seen only a few times during cold season, so it took four years to make this work. The orange circles are diamond dust - usually it looks white, but it turns orange at sunrise. Image name Diamond Dust © Masayasu Sakuma, Japan, shortlist, Open, Nature, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards — This picture was taken in February in Nagano-ken at an altitude of about 1700m. In Japan, February is the coldest season in a year. Diamond dust can be seen only a few times during cold season, so it took four years to make this work. The orange circles are diamond dust – usually it looks white, but it turns orange at sunrise. Image name Diamond Dust © Masayasu Sakuma, Japan, shortlist, Open, Nature, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

New hot spring spa complex at the Chongqing municipality, Fuling, China, January 2015. In western China, the pace of economic development has ushered in a new unprecedented period of transformation, one that has radically redefined the topography of the country while displacing significant parts of its population from rural areas to vast, newly-built mega cities. Semi-deserted landscapes carry a profound ambivalence, suggesting at the same time fecundity and sterility, a promise and nothingness. China West is a visual exploration of the impact economic development has had on western China’s landscape, focusing on the dwindling interstice left between nature and urbanisation, a space, which, perhaps more than any other, reveals the true process of change. From the series China West © Julien Chatelin, France, shortlist, Professional, Architecture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Is a panda cub fooled by a panda suit? That’s the hope at Wolong’s Hetaoping center, where captive-bred bears training for life in the wild are kept relatively sheltered from human contact, even during a rare hands-on checkup. From the series Pandas Gone Wild © Ami Vitale, USA, shortlist, Professional, Natural World, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

This project explored the idea of beauty. When I started casting for it, the number of applications was incredible. I was very surprised to see so many people, who you would never have thought could be interested, show enthusiasm for taking part. They are not models, they are ordinary people wearing ordinary clothes, but all of them are beautiful. I looked for women of all ages, of different weights and heights. This image shows Camila, a university student. From the series I Know What Beauty Looks Like © Romina Ressia, Argentina, shortlist, Professional, Portraiture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Dr. Ciupitu doing a house call to consult on an infant. The child had otitis due to improper bathing. According to Eurostat data, with an infant mortality rate of 8.4 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014, Romania ranks first among European countries (the EU rate is 3.7). Gangiova, Romania, 18 August 2016. From the series A country doctor and her calling © Ioana Moldovan, Romania, shortlist, Professional, Daily Life, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Iraqi men from the Hawija region of Iraq wait to be questioned by Kurdish security personnel at a base near Kirkuk. Having fled areas still under the control of ISIS militants, men and boys of fighting age are vetted for any links to the group before being allowed to join their families in camps for displaced people in the Kurdish controlled region of the country. From the series Caught in the Crossfire © Ivor Prickett, Ireland, shortlist, Professional Current Affairs & News, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards — Iraqi men from the Hawija region of Iraq wait to be questioned by Kurdish security personnel at a base near Kirkuk. Having fled areas still under the control of ISIS militants, men and boys of fighting age are vetted for any links to the group before being allowed to join their families in camps for displaced people in the Kurdish controlled region of the country. From the series Caught in the Crossfire © Ivor Prickett, Ireland, shortlist,
Professional Current Affairs & News, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Sitting in a hide in the pitch black African night, suddenly, a herd of cape buffaloes came in to the water hole to get a drink. Taken on tripod with first exposure lit for buffaloes and without changing camera position second exposure without light and focused on the stars instead of the buffaloes. Taken at Zimanga Private Game Reserve, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Image title Buffaloes and Stars © Andreas Hemb Sweden, shortlist, Open, Wildlife, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards — Sitting in a hide in the pitch black African night, suddenly, a herd of cape buffaloes came in to the water hole to get a drink. Taken on tripod with first exposure lit for buffaloes and without changing camera position second exposure without light and focused on the stars instead of the buffaloes. Taken at Zimanga Private Game Reserve, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Image title Buffaloes and Stars © Andreas Hemb, Sweden, shortlist, Open, Wildlife, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Diane Smyth

Diane Smyth is the editor of BJP, returning for a second stint on staff in 2023 - after 15 years on the team until 2019. As a freelancer, she has written for The Guardian, FT Weekend Magazine, Creative Review, Aperture, FOAM, Aesthetica and Apollo. She has also curated exhibitions for institutions such as The Photographers Gallery and Lianzhou Foto Festival. You can follow her on instagram @dismy

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