The first iPhone was released in 2007, revolutionising mobile phone design. This new technology allowed everyone to carry a camera in their pocket. The same year, the World Photography Organisation announced their inaugural award, celebrating the ability of an individual shot to record and distil a singular moment. Fast forward to today, and much has changed in the realm of image-making – more than 90% of daily pictures are taken on smartphones – but the Sony World Photography Awards continue to showcase the very best of lens-based artwork.
The competition has a diverse set of categories, acknowledging achievements in open, professional, student and youth groups. This year, there were more than 419,000 entries across all areas, with submissions from over 200 countries. Now, a selection of works, by shortlistees and finalists, is on display at Somerset House. Featured practitioners include Rhiannon Adam, who was selected for the first civilian flight to deep space, only to see it abruptly cancelled three years later. Her photographs document the process of reckoning with this abandoned dream.
Kasia Strek’s Repairing the Earth is part of the Professional Shortlist. The arresting image of dense foliage arching over a creek addresses the fact that “in Benin, one of the world’s poorest countries, mangrove forests have been saved through NGOs, political will and local beliefs.” In a visually-saturated world, a scroll through social media pulls our attention in countless different directions. Here, there is a recentring, as artists remind audiences that society cannot afford to be distracted from reality.
World Photography Awards | Somerset house, London | 17 April – 5 May
Image credits:
1. Kasia Strek is shortlisted in the Professional competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025. Exhibition at Somerset House, London, 17 April – 5 May.
2. © Kevin Molano, Colombia, 3rd Place, Latin America Regional Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025.
3. © Cecilia Nion, Uruguay, Shortlist, Latin America Regional Awards, Sony World Photography Awards 2025.
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