Winners Of The Sony World Photography Awards 2021 Announced & UK Photographer Takes Top Title

The results of the 2021 Sony World Photography Awards have been announced with UK photographer Craig Easton taking the over title of 'Photographer of the Year' for his series 'Bank Top' which examines the representation and misrepresentation of communities in northern England, focusing on the tightknit neighbourhood of Bank Top in Blackburn.

Craig's project, which was a collaboration with writer and academic Abdul Aziz Hafiz, forms part of wider work in the region including Thatcher’s Children (2nd place, Documentary Projects, 2021 Professional competition,), an investigation into the chronic nature of poverty as experienced by three generations of one family; and Sixteen (shortlisted in the Portraiture category of the 2017 Awards), a look into the dreams, aspirations and fears of 16 year-olds from all walks of life.

Commenting on his win Easton says: "I am delighted to have this work recognised by the Sony World Photography Awards. I photograph to learn, to try to understand and to document and share stories. It is a privilege to be able to do so and to challenge perceptions and stereotypes - something that is especially important to me. To have these stories from underrepresented or misrepresented communities in northern England where I live recognised and shared worldwide is wonderful. Thank you."

Also announced are the ten category winners alongside 2nd and 3rd place of the Professional competition and overall winners of the Open, Student and Youth competitions.

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY WINNERS:

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

• WINNER: Tomáš Vocelka (Czech Republic) for his series Eternal Hunting Grounds
• Finalists: 2nd place Frank Machalowski (Germany); 3rd place Gu Guanghui (China Mainland)

CREATIVE

• WINNER: Mark Hamilton Gruchy (United Kingdom) for his series The Moon Revisited
• Finalists: 2nd place Luigi Bussolati (Italy); 3rd place Sasha Bauer (Russian Federation)

DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS

• WINNER: Vito Fusco (Italy) for his series The Killing Daisy
• Finalists: 2nd place Craig Easton (United Kingdom); 3rd place Lorenzo Tugnoli (Italy)

ENVIRONMENT

• WINNER: Simone Tramonte (Italy) for his series Net-zero Transition
• Finalists: 2nd place Mohammad Madadi (Islamic Republic of Iran); 3rd place Antonio Pérez (Spain)

LANDSCAPE

• WINNER: Majid Hojjati (Islamic Republic of Iran) for his series Silent Neighborhoods
• Finalists: 2nd place Andrea Ferro (Italy); 3rd place Fyodor Savintsev (Russian Federation)

PORTFOLIO

• WINNER: Laura Pannack (United Kingdom) for her submission Portfolio Overview
• Finalists: 2nd place Brais Lorenzo (Spain); 3rd place Loli Laboureau (Argentina)

PORTRAITURE

• WINNER: Craig Easton (United Kingdom) for his series Bank Top
• Finalists: 2nd place Julia Fullerton-Batten (United Kingdom); 3rd place Jane Hilton (United Kingdom)

SPORT

• WINNER: Anas Alkharboutli (Syrian Arab Republic) for his series Sport and Fun Instead of War and Fear
• Finalists: 2nd place Patrick Meinhardt (Spain); 3rd place Farzam Saleh (Islamic Republic Of Iran)

© Anas Alkharboutli, Syrian Arab Republic, Finalist, Professional, Sport, Sony World Photography Awards 2021

STILL LIFE

• WINNER: Peter Eleveld (Netherlands) for his series Still Life Composition, Shot on Wet Plate
• Finalists: 2nd place Alessandro Pollio (Italy); 3rd place Paloma Rincon (Spain)

WILDLIFE & NATURE:

• WINNER: Luis Tato (Spain) for his series Locust Invasion in East Africa
• Finalists: 2nd place Graeme Purdy (United Kingdom); 3rd place Angel Fitor (Spain)

OPEN, YOUTH STUDENT & OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY WINNERS: 

• OPEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - Tamary Kudita (Zimbabwe). More details on the Open competition can be found here: Open Competition 2021 Winners Announced
• STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - Coenraad Heinz Torlage (South Africa)
• YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - Pubarun Basu (India, 19 years old)
• OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY - Graciela Iturbide

Also unveiled today is a virtual exhibition of winning and finalists’ work; A Year in Photos from the Sony World Photography Awards 2021, a specially commissioned documentary feature hosted by art historian Jacky Klein and entertainer Nish Kumar; and a free digital copy of the Sony World Photography 2021 book all available to view and download via the World Photo website.