2024-03-05 23:16:27
Cut flowers contribute to global warming, NASA’s space program lacks members of the LGBTQ+ community, and in Germany – dressed in leather pants with a drawbridge – they celebrate a bizarre finger fight. The thematic range of photographers who are nominated for the World Photography Awards (compared to the photographic equivalent of the film Oscars) is so broad.
The prestigious Sony World Photography Awards entered its 17th year this year and announced a new record: this year, an incredible 395,000 submitted images from photographers from 220 countries and regions passed through the judges’ hands. The participation in the most important part of the competition called Professional was also the highest in history. In the end, this year’s absolute world champion will emerge from that.
Photographers who submitted their series of images to the Professional competition could compete in ten categories: architecture, documentary, wildlife, landscape, creative photography, portrait, portfolio, sports, still life and environment. The jury has now published the nominations, i.e. the first three finalists in each category. From those, he will choose the winner and finally the absolute winner.
This year, there is no photographer from the Czech Republic among the finalists. The best result for 2024 is the placement of Lukáš Zeman on the so-called shortlist in the Wild Nature category – he is therefore in 4th to 7th place, without the possibility of fighting for victory. He photographed females (small desert foxes) in their natural habitat.
Lukáš Zeman: A female in her hole. A picture from the group that made it to the so-called shortlist (4th to 7th place) in the Wildlife category, but did not advance to the finals. | Photo: Sony World Photography Awards 2024
The winners of the individual categories and the absolute world champion will be announced in London on April 18. At the same time, an exhibition of award-winning works will begin in the Somerset House gallery there, which will last until May 6 and will then travel to other cities around the world.