2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition - William Kline Special

Until 18 May 2014 the west wing of London's Somerset House is home to the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition. There are some great images on display along with event awards for movies and books, plus there's also a section dedicated to photographer William Kline who received the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award in 2012 at the annual Sony World Photography Awards in recognition of his work in the field of photography. At 86, he is a living legend having shot fashion for the likes of Vogue and photojournalism with his non-standard photographic techniques. Carrying on the tradition of trying something new, his latest book - Brooklyn + Kline - sees him shooting digital reportage over the bridge from New York.



The Jamaican day parade features strongly in this book with images capturing the energy and support of the local events. Other images capture the vibrancy and relaxation of a fun city and its lifestyle.

One of my favourites (not shown here) was 'Graffiti in Williamsburg' where the street art shows people looking up as others walk past just at the right moment to make the whole final picture seem as one.



I was lucky enough to meet William at an event where he was signing copies of his book and another photographer called William was also there and he too was significantly inspired by his older namesake.



Would you recognise William Cheung having his book signed by William Klein? William Cheung himself is a famous photographer and actually one of the early inspirers for myself. 'From William to William' was a phrase that gained many smiles all round.

There is a whole room set aside for William Klein's work and I'm sure copies of his books will be on many coffee tables this summer. Mine is proudly on display in my photo book case - thank you.



Apart from William's work there is much, much more to see in the other areas of the Sony World Photography Award exhibition; from an amazing Nigerian image of a sunset fisherman throwing his nets brilliantly lit by an exposure matched speed light to a superb series on contemporary issues around challenged parenting and poverty issues in the USA and Canada. There is even a superbly artistic 'selfie' image where the photographer is a partial blur in the side of an almost abstract old architecture photograph. Over in the book section was a book titled: 'touching and imagining – an introduction to tactile art' so perhaps there really is something for everyone to see. 

Anyway, if you have £7 and a good hour to spare in London do visit the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House and do take a camera to capture shots of those super water fountain jets outside.

Words and event pictures by Stuart Fawcett (JackAllTog), The 4 book images courtesy of World Photography Organisation.