Three American Photographers Are Among Winners of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2nd Place, Professional, Natural World ©Ami Vitale, USA

The 2017 Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) received over 227,000 images from 183 counties, and two American photographers were among the winners in the Professional competition of this prestigious event, including Ami Vitale who made the image above and was awarded 2nd Place in the Professional, Natural World category for her series entitled “Pandas Gone Wild.”

She photographed giant pandas in China at the Conservation Center for the Giant Panda as part of her interest in helping protect this once endangered species. Vitale is also profiled in the current (May 2017) issue of Shutterbug magazine and shot the cover image.

2nd Place, Professional, Current Affairs & News ©Joe Raedle, USA

Produced by the World Photography Organization, the SWPA competition is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with its decade-long sponsorship by Sony. Miami-based photojournalist Joe Raedle made the above image as part of a series documenting the devastating 2016 floods in Louisiana, and was awarded 2nd Place in the Professional Current Affairs News category.

Youth Photographer of the Year ©Katelyn Wang, USA

Katelyn Wang, a 16-year-old student from Los Angeles, was named the SWPA Youth Photographer of the Year for the beautiful scenic image above of Lake Pehoe in Chile’s Torres del Pain National Park.

2017 Photographer of the Year ©Frederik Buyckx, Belgium

Both amateurs and professional photographers from across the globe were invited to enter their best work in a variety of categories, and Frederik Buyckx of Belgium was named overall 2017 SWPA Photographer of the year for his landscapes series “Whiteout.” The above image is one shot from the winning series, which earned Buyckx a $25,000 prize.

1st Place, Professional, Contemporary Issues ©Tasneem Alsultan, Saudi Arabia

All winning images are on display beginning today at London’s Somerset House in an exhibition running through May 7th. The above image earned Saudi photographer Tasneem Alsultan 1st Place in the Professional Contemporary Issues category.

1st Place, Professional, Portraiture ©George Mayer, Russia

The striking image above by Russian photographer George Mayer was awarded 1st Place in the Professional Portraiture category. You can read complete details about the contest and view a gallery of all the beautiful winning images on the Sony World Photography Awards website. You can also look at our earlier story about this year’s contest featuring the best shots in the contest’s Open Competition.

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