The category winners and shortlisted entries in the Open competition of the 2024 Sony World Photography Awards have been unveiled – and the images featured are as extraordinary as ever.
The prestigious contest runs several competitions every year, with more than 395,000 photographs from more than 220 countries and territories entered into this year’s overall awards.
Standout images from the Open contest include a scene from New Mexico that could be an alien planet, a moonrise burning across the horizon in Scotland and a curious capybara – the world’s largest rodent – wandering around the kitchen of a house in the Amazon Rainforest.
Other particularly mesmerising photos that wowed the judges include a shot of a jaguar attacking a caiman crocodile, a picture of a lone polar bear wandering past a group of walruses and a spellbinding image of llamas enveloped in freezing fog in the iconic Torres del Paine mountains in southern Chile.
Category winners receive digital imaging equipment from Sony and will go on to compete for the prestigious Open Photographer of the Year title and a $5,000 (£3,897) prize – announced on April 18 at an awards ceremony in London.
Scroll down to see MailOnline Travel’s pick of the bunch – and cast your vote for your favourite image from our selection in our poll at the bottom.
As a moonrise burns across the horizon, lights dance above the Old Man of Storr in Scotland. So says Liam Man of his above image, which takes the gong in the ‘Landscape’ category. The iconic rock formation is illuminated by ‘powerful lights attached to drones, cutting through the darkness to reveal the icy landscape below’, he adds. For our poll, it is photo No.1
This stunning photo, on the shortlist of the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category, shows horses running through thick snow in Inner Mongolia, China. The majestic animals ‘decided to take a short-cut from the high ground’, says Chee Kin Wong, who captured the moment. For our poll, it is photo No.2
An orangutan adopts a human-like pose in this enchanting image, taken by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan on a visit to Indonesia. It makes the shortlist in the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category and is photo No.3 for our poll
In this image, titled ‘Musketeers’, Chris Schmid captures three male muskox up-close during a snowstorm. It is on the shortlist in the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category and – for our poll – it’s photo No.4
This other-worldly scene makes the shortlist in the ‘Landscape’ category. Titled ‘Dune Ribs’, the photograph shows a lone camel thorn tree ‘dwarfed by a massive sand dune in Sossusvlei, Namibia’, says photographer Barry Crosthwaite. For our poll, it is photo No.5
‘It was a very cold morning when I set up to photograph the iconic Torres del Paine mountains in southern Chile, with frozen fog filling the valleys and shrouding the mountain,’ says photographer Charles Janson of this image, which is shortlisted in the ‘Landscape’ category. ‘A small herd of llamas entered the scene and I decided to include them – they were, after all, a part of the landscape as well,’ he added. For our poll, it is No.6
In this image, titled ‘Life on Mars’, Garret Davis captures the sun setting on hoodoos – tall, thin spires of rock caused by erosion – in northern New Mexico. It features on the shortlist of the ‘Landscape’ category. For our poll, it is photo No.7
A capybara – the world’s largest rodent – visits a house in San Antonio in the Amazon rainforest, Peru, in this image by Sergio Attanasio, which is shortlisted in the ‘Lifestyle’ category. For our poll, it is photo No.8
Shortlisted in the ‘Travel’ category, this alluring scene of the Allée des Baobabs [Avenue of the Baobabs] in Madagascar was captured by John Seager using a drone. The photographer said it is ‘probably one of the best places on the planet for viewing the incredible baobab trees’. For our poll, this is photo No.9
This astonishing shot shows a great blue heron swallowing its early morning catch near wetlands in Madison, Alabama. Christopher Baker is behind the lens. It makes it onto the shortlist in the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category and is photo No.10 in our poll
‘This well-fed male bear had been feasting on a whale carcass for several weeks, so it was surprising to see him approach this walrus colony and assess the situation,’ says Elodie Ruelleux-Dagorne, who photographed this image. ‘Sure enough, the bear only had a quick look before he decided it was wiser to move on,’ she added. It features on the shortlist of the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category and is photo No.11 in our poll
LEFT: Temples sit on top of the New Golden Summit, a lonely spire in the Wulung Mountains of China’s Guizhou province, in this colourful image, which was captured by Sophia Li and makes the shortlist in the ‘Architecture’ category. For our poll, it is photo No.12. RIGHT: Huanzhen Yang was behind the lens of this image, which shows the ‘orderly lines’ of Madrid’s Plaza Mayor appear ‘like rules in the midst of chaos’, according to the photographer. It makes the shortlist in the ‘Architecture’ category. For our poll, this is photo No.13
Behold the winner of the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category, taken by Ian Ford at Sao Lourenco River lodge in the Pantanal wetlands, Brazil. ‘As we were leaving, we heard that a jaguar had been spotted roughly 30 minutes away,’ the photographer said. ‘We raced to the scene and encountered this sleek female jaguar stalking her prey… an unsuspecting caiman.’ For our poll, it is photo No.14
‘Exodus’ is the title of this vast image, which makes the shortlist in the ‘Travel’ category. It shows an eight-hour vehicular queue as 72,000 participants leave the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada. Photographer Todd Kennedy describes it as ‘the world’s largest “leave no trace” event, which ends after eight days of heat, dust, rain and mud’. For our poll, it is photo No.15
The highlands of Iceland are an extraordinary area full of places that make you feel you are on another planet. So says Filip Hrebenda, who is behind the lens of this magnificent shot showing several of the island’s volcanic craters from above. It makes the shortlist in the ‘Landscape’ category. For our poll, this is photo No.16
Taken in Pamplona, Spain, this photograph shows the festivities of the San Fermin festival. It was taken exactly two minutes after the launch of the rocket that traditionally announces the start of the celebrations. It makes the ‘Travel’ category shortlist and is No.17 in our poll
The annual Perchville festival in Tawas, Michigan, is vividly portrayed in this mesmerising image, featuring a participant jumping through the ice in Lake Huron. Amy Sacka, who captured the moment, said: ‘Spectators were asked to watch from the shore, as the ice was so thin it couldn’t support a crowd.’ It makes the shortlist in the ‘Lifestyle’ category. For our poll, it is photo No.18
This spellbinding image, which makes the shortlist in the ‘Landscape’ category, draws attention to the majestic Maelifell volcano standing tall amidst the stark and desolate scenery of Iceland. Photographer Marco Capitanio describes it as ‘one of the most incredible places I have ever seen’. For our poll, it is No.19
Taking the gold in the ‘Travel’ category is Yan Li’s striking image of a floating village on Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia. It stands ‘in stark contrast to the approaching wildfire, a dramatic testament to nature’s dual disposition’, the photographer says. For our poll, it is photo No.20
Behold the magnificent golden tones of Obo Liang Yadan National Park in Qinghai, China. It was captured by Guangming Hu and is on the shortlist for the ‘Landscape’ category. For our poll, this is photo No.21
Paul Robertson captures a convent of nuns mountain walking on Pic d’Orhy, in the French Pyrenees. The image makes the ‘Lifestyle’ category shortlist. For our poll, it is No.22
LEFT: ‘This was taken in Washington, and my main goal was to photograph foxes in their natural environment,’ says Christopher Ratcliff Iverson of his image, which makes the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ shortlist. ‘As the light was fading I got very lucky, as a parent and pup appeared on the path with a brilliant sunset glow behind them.’ For our poll, it is photo No.23. RIGHT: A mother elephant greets her daughter in this adorable image, taken by Jesus Frias. ‘I called the little one Sonia, or Sony,’ he said. It is shortlisted in the ‘Natural World & Wildlife’ category and is No.24 in our poll
Located in northern California, Mount Shasta is a four-peaked stratovolcano with an elevation of just over 4,300m (14,108 ft). In this dramatic shot, Lisa K Kuhn captures a lenticular cloud (also known as a UFO cloud) forming over the mountain – a natural phenomenon that occurs throughout the year. ‘I wanted to capture the overall grandeur of the mountain, but also peek beneath the cloud where the mountaintops were hiding,’ she said. It is on the shortlist for the ‘Landscape’ category. For our poll, this is photo No.25
Margit Lisa Roeder says this ‘hidden object picture’ is a collage of sections from various photographs she took in Siena, Italy. ‘I was fascinated by the warm clay colours in the autumn sun,’ she added. It makes the shortlist in the ‘Creative’ category. For our poll, it is photo No.26
This photograph captures the moment a child and an old man meet in the medieval citadel of Sighisoara, Romania, says photographer Panfil Pirvulescu. It is shortlisted in the ‘Street Photography’ category and is No.27 in our poll
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