Pictures That Move. You.

Pictures That Move. You.

The Sony World Photography Awards have wrapped up again for another year celebrating the photographers capturing the dramatic everyday life this planet delivers. Whether it’s the quiet contemplation of rivers patiently slicing through Iceland mountains or the excited screaming of soccer fans in Indonesia something is happening somewhere always. Over almost two decades, the Awards have become a definitive annual moment for the discovery and celebration of contemporary photography.

The prestigious Photographer of the Year 2025 title was awarded to the acclaimed British photographer Zed Nelson for the series The Anthropocene Illusion. The Anthropocene Illusion is a long-term documentary project, spanning six years and four continents, which explores the deeply fractured relationship between humans and the natural world. The project looks at artificial spaces, created by humans as a means to ‘experience’ and interact with nature, from safari parks, nature reserves and resorts, to natural history museums, zoos and green cities.

Tbourida La Chute Photographer Name: Olivier Unia Many of the photographs taken during a traditional Moroccan ‘tbourida’ show the riders firing their rifles. With this image, the photographer wanted to share another side of the event, and show how dangerous it can be when a rider is thrown from their mount. Copyright: © Olivier Unia, France, Open Photographer of the Year, Open Competition, Motion, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Tbourida La Chute Photographer Name: Olivier Unia Many of the photographs taken during a traditional Moroccan ‘tbourida’ show the riders firing their rifles. With this image, the photographer wanted to share another side of the event, and show how dangerous it can be when a rider is thrown from their mount. Copyright: © Olivier Unia, France, Open Photographer of the Year, Open Competition, Motion, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Mulagljufur Canyon Photographer Name: Timo Zilz Image Description: This image captures the essence of Icelandic natural landscapes: green and brown moss, water cascading down a canyon and a mountain covered in snow and fog. Copyright: © Timo Zilz, Germany, Winner, National Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Mount Merapi Photographer Name: Sim Jhones Gozali Mount Merapi is a highly active volcano in Indonesia; lava is still flowing from it today. Copyright: © Sim Jhones Gozali, Indonesia, Winner, National Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Toji Train Station Photographer Name: Mohammed Muhtasib Image Description: Toji train station in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The station is bustling with people returning from jama’ah prayer, reflecting community and faith. Copyright: © Mohammed Muhtasib, Saudi Arabia, Winner, National Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Soaring Flames Photographer Name: Chen De-Huang Image Description: The world-famous Coming True Fire Group put on a free performance of their Firemosa tour for a group of local children. This decisive moment was captured during their Fire Fall dance, which lit up the eyes of the audience. Copyright: © Chen De-Huang, Taiwan, Winner, National Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Children in the Mountains Photographer Name: Yaping Du Image Description: This image depicts the carefree life of children in the mountains. Copyright: © Yaping Du, China Mainland, 2nd Place, National Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Photographer Name: Cristóbal Olivares The Cerro Tololo Observatory in Vicuña, Chile. The Atacama desert has been luring astronomers for decades. Its exceptionally clear skies have revealed profound discoveries, including potentially hazardous asteroids drifting close to Earth and evidence that the Universe’s expansion is accelerating. However, light pollution is now affecting the work of astronomers who need to see the stars. As the night brightens, and light pollution from cities rises closer to the celestial zenith, the weakening contrast is making it harder for astronomers to spot distant objects. Cities aren’t the only source of light pollution in Atacama, though. The mining industry has also become a visible contributor, with some of the larger mines generating as much light pollution as a small city. As the extraction of copper and lithium ramps up to meet soaring global demand, astronomers working in the area worry that the Chilean desert’s status as the ‘eyes of the world’ could be in jeopardy. Copyright: © Cristóbal Olivares, Chile, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Environment, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Photographer Name: Lalo de Almeida Image Description: A large firebreak advances over the Pantanal in the Miranda region. The Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland on the planet, but it has been facing a historic drought due to human actions and climate change. Brazil saw its hottest year in 2024. Although the high temperatures affected all regions of the country, three biomes were especially impacted, with drought, fire and deforestation transforming the landscape into apocalyptic scenes. In the Amazon, extreme drought turned some of the planet’s most powerful rivers into sand deserts. This also fuelled forest fires, with 134,979 fires recorded in the region in the first 11 months of the year – the highest since 2007. The Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on the planet, also faced a historic drought due to human activity and climate change, while the Cerrado – considered the most biodiverse savanna in the world and the birthplace of most of the country’s river basins – experienced increasingly high deforestation rates driven by agribusiness. Copyright: © Lalo de Almeida, Brazil, 2nd Place, Professional competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Lifting Photographer Name: Kevin Shi Image Description: A Canadian conservation helicopter collects a bear from the holding facility (‘bear jail’). The bear will be taken far away from the town and released back into the wild. This human/bear conflict has been created by environmental changes. Series Description: Polar bears rely heavily on sea ice for hunting, mating and resting, but face significant challenges due to rising Arctic temperatures. Every November they gather near Churchill, Canada, to wait for Hudson Bay to freeze, so they can venture onto the ice for winter. However, the warming sea has disrupted this routine. In recent years, the ice in Hudson Bay has not solidified until early December, leaving the bears stranded on the land for several weeks with no food source. Driven by hunger, these bears sometimes venture into towns, endangering their residents. Copyright: © Kevin Shi, United States, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2025

 

Centre of the Cosmos Photographer Name: Xuecheng Liu Image Description: This super-wide aerial view of Times Square in New York City has a resolution of 400 million pixels and a viewing angle equivalent to a 5mm focal length on a full-frame camera. Copyright: © Xuecheng Liu, China Mainland, Winner, Open Competition, Architecture, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

 

Akihabara Photographer Name: Hajime Hirano Image Description: The prototype of today’s Akihabara was a gathering of street vendors selling parts for radios. After the late 1950’s, during a period of rapid economic growth, Akihabara grew into ‘Japan’s largest electronics town.’ Nowadays, it is famous worldwide for its anime and cosplay culture. With two different faces, we can say Akihabara is a town that embodies an essence of ‘Japaneseness.’ Copyright: © Hajime Hirano, Japan, Winner, Open Competition, Lifestyle, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

 

The Whale Raft Photographer Name: Estebane Rezkallah Image Description: The misfortune of some brings happiness to others, and for these polar bears, the death of a whale in east Greenland heralded a royal feast. Attracted by the smell, more than sixty bears were recorded in the area. However, their behaviour was almost benevolent, possibly due to the abundance of food. Copyright: © Estebane Rezkallah, France, Winner, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

 

Celebrating Football Club Victories Photographer Name: Khairizal Maris Image Description: Fans celebrate a win by Persib Bandung football club by lighting flares in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Copyright: © Khairizal Maris, Indonesia, Winner, Open Competition, Street Photography, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

Isaac Taylor

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