A New Lens

What does a barrel-racing cowgirl, a Mundari tribesman looking after his cows, and a pair of crested caracara birds all have in common? They’re all the subjects of category-winning photographs at this year’s Sony World Photography Awards Open competition.

Sitting alongside seven other stunning works of the other category winners, the diversity of subject, style and origin within the images are both beautiful and arresting.

The winning photographs were picked out of 200,000 entries from over 200 countries in the Open competition, all vying it out for a top spot in one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions. Entries are open to both established and emerging photographers, offering them the opportunity for their work to be showcased on a world stage. The competition, now in its 16th year, also honours the most influential artists in the medium each year with the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award, which this year went to Japanese photographer, Rinko Kawauchi.
The following images are the category winners of this year’s competition, including the Open competition winner – Mighty Pair by Dinorah Graue Obscura.