20 Extraordinary National Winners Of Sony World Photography Awards 2020

Aimed at supporting the best regional photographers across more than 60 countries around the globe, the Sony World Photography Awards National has released its list of 2020 winners from a record number of more than 190,000 entries.

One photographer from each nation has been honored for a single, stand-alone image and all will showcase their work for a global audience at the renowned Sony World Photography Awards 2020 exhibition, to take place at Somerset House, London, from April 17 to May 4.

The 2020 Sony World Photography Awards received a record-breaking 350,000 submissions to its Open category, which spans a number of themed sections, all seeking the best single photograph from either amateur or professional photographers.

All entries in the Open category automatically qualify for the National Award based on the photographer's nationality.

The selection of winning photos includes a singular and diverse variety of images from gorgeously-framed drone shots and wildlife scenes to surreal and fantastic portraits.

All the winning images can be seen here

"As I watched the sun set through the smoke, a kookaburra appeared and allowed me to walk right up to it," explains the photographer, who won the national award for Australia with this powerful image taken on his iPhone X after devastating bushfires swept through Wallabi Point in New South Wales, near his home. "We shared a moment watching the sun fade behind the apocalyptic scene…He was laughing."

Hundred of horses are galloping when the sun is about to shine its last ray. It's traditionally said that "a Mongol without a horse is like a bird without a wing," the photographer said.

All winners of the National Awards receive Sony digital imaging equipment, have their work showcased to a global audience at the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 exhibition in London and are published in the Sony World Photography Awards book.

The overall winner of the Photographer of the Year 2020 title will be announced during the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 ceremony in London on April 16. The winners of the Sony World Photography Awards open contest and youth contest also will be announced at the same event.

This photo was taken in Olgii Provinces, Mongolia, where people hunt with eagles. Normally, they stay at the border of Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

Each October, Kazakh eagle-hunting customs are displayed at the annual Golden Eagle Festival. Although the Kazakh government has made efforts to lure the practitioners of these traditions back to Kazakhstan, most Kazakhs have remained in Mongolia.

The award is the product of a 13-year partnership between the World Photography Organization and Sony and has become one of the world’s leading contemporary photography competitions.

The World Photography Organization is a global platform for photography initiatives. "Working across up to 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet," the organization's website explains. "We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both individual photographers as well as our industry-leading partners around the world."

The photo above illustrates the narrative of union between people from different black ethnic groups who were trafficked and enslaved in Brazil for three centuries. "It is a portrait of the symbiosis and metamorphosis, which occurred in the country between black people from different regions and cultures of Africa," explains the photographer. "Despite all the cuts and lashes, there is an afro-centripetal force that changes us, but also keeps our ancestral ligature."

The photo above shows how very low temperatures freeze the ground outside the Seljalandsfoss in southern Iceland. "I went inside the waterfall and found this little world," the photographer says. "The aurora danced outside the cave for a moment, as if it contained the whole universe."

The image above was taken in November, 2019, at the Huangshan Mountain in China. "It was impossible for my senses to ignore the wonder of the Huangshan mountains as if they were posing for my lens and allowing me to capture their splendor," writes the photographer. "That sunset showed me a beautiful orange light and let me see many viewpoints, endless stairs and bridges to cross from one mountain to another."

Fog and snow particles created an interesting glow around the tree in the photo above. This optical phenomena, known as 'Halo,' is produced by light typically from the sun or the moon interacting with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Halos can take many forms, ranging from colored or white rings to arcs and spots in the sky.

The photo above was taken in Bermamyt Plateau, "the best place with a view of Mount Elbrus and the highest mountain peak in Russia and Europe" says the photographer. It is also included in the list of highest peaks of the world “Seven Peaks.”

A hard and dusty journey of sheep herding in Bitlis, Turkey, becomes a pastoral symphony in the image above. Sheep have great importance in Bitlis.