Sony World Photo Awards 2018 Winners Announced: Photographer of the Year wins $25,000
posted Friday, April 20, 2018 at 9:00 AM EST
After recently naming finalists in the 2018 Sony World Photo Awards, Sony and the World Photo Organization have announced the overall winners, including Photographer of the Year. The 11th edition of the annual contest received a record-breaking 320,000 submissions from photographers hailing from over 200 different countries and territories.
Taking home the grand prize of $25,000 USD and the title of "Photographer of the Year," British artist Alys Tomlinson won for her series Ex-Voto, which is a personal project for the 43 year old photographer focused on detailed still-life images of "ex-votos." Ex-votos are offerings of religious devotion often found at sites of pilgrimage. Tomlinson recently completed an MA (Distinction) in Anthropology of Travel, so it's clear that her project has a special meaning for her. This connection certainly comes through in the work, which displays both artistic and technical excellence.
Of winning the title, Tomlinson remarked, "I am very surprised to have won, there is so much amazing photography in this competition. This is a huge boost both personally and professionally. It’s a project I invested so much in, so this recognition makes it all worth it.”
Additionally, the 10 Professional category winners and finalists have been revealed. The ten categories include: Architecture, Contemporary Issues, Creative, Current Affairs and News, Discovery, Landscape, Natural World and Wildlife, Portraiture, Sport and Still Life. You can see the full series of winners by clicking here. Winners were also announced for Open Photographer of the Year, Youth Photographer of the Year and Student Photographer of the Year.
The Sony World Photography Awards exhibition begins tonight and runs through May 6 at the Somerset House in London. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here. If you'd like to enter next year's competition, entries begin on June 1. To show off more of this year's excellent work, we have selected a few of the winning images to show off below, but please go check out the full winners' galleries at the Sony World Photo Awards website.
