Subscribe now

Comment

See our pick of the entries for the Sony World Photography Awards

From a firefly panorama to a howling coyote, these are some of the finalists and shortlisted photographs for the professional competition in the 2023 Sony awards

By Gege Li

19 April 2023

Searching for the stars near my hometown, Pollachi, led me to the forests of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. As I moved away from towns and their lights, the darker it got, the more I could see - fireflies, stars. I was fascinated when I saw hundreds of fireflies flashing at the edge of the forest and heard stories of trees laden with fireflies deep in the forest. Predicting the time of their peak activity, I set out to a remote area of the reserve along with forest officials. I waited for nightfall in anxiety. Flashes of green started appearing at twilight. As the place grew dark, millions of fireflies started synchronizing their flashes across several trees. Flashes started in one tree and continued across several trees in a mexican-wave like fashion. It lasted all night. I felt transported to another planet. Being under a sky full of stars, with fireflies flashing in the foreground, owls and other nocturnal creatures calling at a distance, Elephants and Leopards lurking around the corner, this was Nature as our ancestors experienced. The image, created by stacking several photographs, shows a 16 minute activity of the fireflies. ? Sriram Murali, India, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Anamalai Tiger Reserve near Pollachi, India

Sriram Murali, India, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature

THIS dynamic spread of images shows some of the entries to the professional competition of the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards, which were held on 13 April.

Among the finalists in the Wildlife & Nature category was Sriram Murali for his shot of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve near his hometown of Pollachi, India (main image). Though the area is a hotspot for bigger wildlife, it is the millions of fireflies that steal the show after dark, says Murali, who created the image by stacking several photos of this glowing congregation.

SWPA 2023 ? Adalbert Mojrzisch, Germany, 2nd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Adalbert Mojrzisch, Germany, 2nd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature

Pictured above is another finalist entry, by Adalbert Mojrzisch, displaying the remarkable colours of a hard-bodied tick revealed by the magnification and polarised backlight of a microscope.

? Corey Arnold, United States, Winner, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Corey Arnold, US, Winner, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature

The photo above, of a coyote framed by city lights, is part of Corey Arnold’s series Cities Gone Wild, which won the Wildlife & Nature category.

Town of Las Manchas. La Palma, Spain. January 21, 2022. The eruption of the La Palma volcano that began on September 19, 2021 and lasted for 85 days, destroyed thousands of homes, displacing more than ten thousand people. It also covered large areas of ash, which now accumulates everywhere and is gradually receding so that the island's inhabitants can return to their routine. One of the areas most affected by the ash was the town of Las Manchas, where several meters of ash accumulated, completely burying some homes. In the image, a soccer field in Las Manchas, buried by ash. ? Cesar Dezfuli, Spain, Shortlist, Professional competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Cesar Dezfuli, Spain, Shortlist, Pro competition, Landscape

In the Landscape category, the shortlisted image above by Cesar Dezfuli shows a soccer field covered in ash in La Palma, Spain – the aftermath of a 85-day volcanic eruption that started in September 2021.

A car submerged by flood waters in Mayendit, Unity State, South Sudan, November 23, 2022. Unprecedented floods have submerged large swathes of the country and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Mayendit is one of those villages which is disappearing underwater. In 2020 more than 12.000 people were living there, but in the last two years, two-thirds of them left it to eventually become internally displaced. ? Fabio Bucciarelli, Italy, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Fabio Bucciarelli, Italy, 3rd Place, Pro competition, Landscape

This photo is a shot of a submerged car in Mayendit village in South Sudan, taken by finalist Fabio Bucciarelli, showing the result of extreme floods.

Organic gardening is an art form at the Ch??teau de Villandry. The original ch??teau was built in the 16th Century and sold in 1906 to Joachim Carvallo and Ann Coleman, who re-built the Renaissance garden based on classical designs. The garden today is managed by their great-great Grandson, Henri Carvallo, who lives with his family in the horse stables overlooking this horticultural masterpiece. The garden has ten full-time gardeners and attracts about 350,000 visitors per year. The central grid of nine square plots measures a little more than a hectare, with 90% planted in a rotating array of 90% seasonal vegetables, and the rest boxwood, and flowers. This picture was taken a week before the garden is harvested for their annual garden fair. The orange dots in the central square of the vegetable garden are pumpkins ? George Steinmetz, United States, Shortlist, Professional competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

George Steinmetz, US, Shortlist, Professional competition, Landscape

Finally, George Steinmetz was shortlisted for his drone shot of an organic garden at the Château de Villandry, France (pictured above), part of his series exploring the challenge of feeding a booming population.

Selected images from the awards are on show at Somerset House, London, until 1 May.

Topics: