Stunning snaps of people and places around the world
Updated / Sunday, 14 Feb 2021
11:50
The Last Winter by Yukihito Ono, Japan, Winner, National Awards, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards (Yukihito Ono/PA)
From prayers on astro turf to snow-capped trees, a hopeful long-tailed macaque and a mesmeric car park configuration, the National winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 have been crowned.
This portion of the awards (overall winners across all categories will be announced in April) celebrates a project set up by the World Photography Organisation to encourage and champion the work of local photographic communities globally.
These are just some of the winning images to enjoy…
The Sony World Photography Awards 2021 is shaping up very nicely indeed.
The judges have revealed the winners in the competition s National Awards. And they re quite something.
Overall, the contest receives entries from over 200 territories. However, these winners are drawn from the 51 countries in its National Awards programme, which celebrates local photography talent. Any photographer from a participating country that entered an image in the open contest in any category was automatically entered.
The judges had to sift through 165,000 images before choosing a single winning image from each country. Quite a task.
The jaw-dropping winning images include an electrifying lightning shot taken in Switzerland, an enchanting photo of a red fox in Italy, an awe-inspiring snap of an active volcano in Mexico and a mesmerising picture of a winding mountain road in Japan.