25 February 2015

Insights into the living worlds of people around the globe

The shortlisted pictures of the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) 2015 are like the gallery of a journey through the living worlds of people around the globe. Many stagings and situations are culturally determined such as the costumes for the (conflict solving, manhood proving) fighting ritual Takanakuy which happens each year on 25 December in Peru (the SWPA shortlisted image shows two men in traditional costumes in front of a cantina), and some things seem to stay always and everywhere the same; such as the smile of a mother who gave just birth to a child and sees her kid for the first time. The title of the image (below) is 'Love at First Sight' and is one of 173,444 entries from 171 countries which were sent to participate in the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.

Yesterday, the shortlisted images such as the one of the mother and her new-born by photographer Kiatthaworn Khorthawornwong (from Thailand) were published online. 'Love at First Sight' is shortlisted in the category 'Smile' of the Open Competition. The awards are divided into Professional (13 categories like lifestyle, travel...), Open (10 categories: arts & culture, smile, etc) and Youth Competition (3 categories: environment, portraits, culture). It's announced that the names of the winners will be made public on 23 April at the awards ceremony in London. The shortlisted images of the 26 categories will be shown from 24 April to 10 May at Somerset House in London.

fig.: 'Love at First Sight' by Kiatthaworn Khorthawornwong "Smile from real heart, smile from true love... smile from Mom." Photo: (C) Kiatthaworn Khorthawornwong, Thailand, Shortlist, Smile, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.

more culture>