As the final leg of the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards kicks off, the Professional and Student competition shortlists reveal powerful series from four American photographers.
If you were inspired by the works showcased in the first shortlist announcement of this year’s Sony World Photography Awards, we’re sure you’ve been looking forward to seeing more. Finally, the World Photography Organisation has recently announced the shortlisted series under the Professional and Student competitions, each already hailed as some of the world’s best bodies of work published from the previous year.
Behind some of the impressive shortlisted works are four American photographers:Â David Behar (Los Angeles) in the Professional Architecture category, Imma Barrera (Metuchen, New Jersey) in Professional Landscape, Leah Schretenthaler (Hawaii) in Professional Creative, and Sam Delaware from Pacific Union College, California in the Student competition. The Professional photographers vie to win in their respective categories and emerge as the Photographer of the Year in the upcoming April 17 winner announcement.
Los Angeles-based art director and photographer David Behar earned a shortlist spot for his Cabana series, which we also featured last year. The bright and colorful body of work showcases the many faces of Miami’s beach cabanas through an eye-catching mix of architectural photography, street photography, travel photography, and even color studies.
Artist Leah Schretenthaler scored her spot with her series The Invasive Species of the Built Environment, which used traditional film and silver gelatin prints of controversial buildings and infrastructure projects in Hawaii. She removed the buildings from the image by laser etching, which scars the image and represents the permanent damage of infrastructure that cannot be removed.
Landscape and nature photographer Imma Barerra, meanwhile, secured her place with her Under The Night Sky series, comprised of Milky Way captures and star trails shot at three different picturesque locations.
For the Student shortlist, participants from leading higher education institutions around the world were first challenged to create a series to the theme “Evolution.” Out of this pool, ten students were shortlisted and tasked to put together a second series shot with Sony cameras in response to the theme “Belong”.
Sam Delaware of the Pacific Union College in Calefornia was first shortlisted for his Horizon series. Then, he was selected next for his Dissonance series, which was shot in Northern California and explores the idea of “belonging in a landscape of concrete and shifting national identity.”
All shortlisted photographers will compete with other talented photographers in their categories for the Professional Photographer of the Year and Student Photographer of the Year awards. The winners will be announced on April 17 at the London Awards ceremony. Aside from cash prizes, winners will also receive Sony camera equipment, and their images will be included in the 2019 Awards’ book.
Check out the World Photography Organisation website for the full Professional and Student shortlist galleries as well as more information about the competition.
