A manta ray swimming peacefully in the Indian Ocean, a peacock fanning its feathers in Rajasthan, and an elephant riding a unicycle – these are just some of the entries submitted this year for the world’s biggest annual photography contest.
In its 10th year, the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards opened for entries in June, and has already assembled an impressive collection from amateur and professional photographers around the globe. Its last edition had received 230,103 entries from 186 countries in the professional, open, youth and national award categories. Among the winners were images of eagle hunters of Western China and Afghan refugees.
This year, the award was opened by the World Photography Organisation, with its CEO Scott Gray reaffirming the commitment to challenge "photographers to push their creative boundaries".
The basic requirement for the contest is that all entries must have been taken in 2016, with the exception of the professional competition entries. Those may have been taken prior to the dates, provided they were first published in 2016. Each year a total prize fund of $30,000 is shared between the winning photographers.
The winners of the 2017 contest will be announced next spring.
