Here are 20 of the most spectacular pictures from this year's Sony World Photography Awards

Sony World Photography Awards - Copyright Sony World Photography Awards

Published on 07/02/2023 - 16:15

From piercing yellow-eyed owls to electrifying Moroccan horse racing festivals, here are 20 of the most stunning photographs from this year's Sony World Photography Awards.

Get ready to be wowed.

The World Photography Organisation has just revealed the National Award winners for the Sony World Photography Awards 2023, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

The National Awards program is an initiative set up to support local photographic communities around the world, with 55 countries taking part this year.

Over 415,000 images from over 200 countries and territories were submitted to the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 and over 200,000 were entered to the Open competition (from which the National Awards winner was selected).

But, don't worry, we've sifted through all the entries and handpicked 20 of the most breathtaking photos for you.

From the piercing gaze of yellow-eyed owls to the exhilarating energy of the Moroccan horse racing festival, buckle up for a visual journey that will leave you in awe.

1. Bosnia Old Bridge Diving (Armin Durgut)

Stefan Jevtic dives from the Old Bridge during the 456th traditional annual high diving competition in Mostar, Bosnia. A total of 31 divers from Bosnia and surrounding regions leapt from the 23-metre-high bridge into the Neretva river.

2. Knights (Oday Shanshal)

This photograph was taken in November 2022 at a horse festival in Morocco. The picture was taken using a slow shutter speed, while panning the camera to follow the movement of the knights.

3. Glare of a Predator (Rajeev Abeysekara)

4. The Girl with the Red Hat (Elena Georgiou)

5. The Captivating Eyes (Protap Shekhor Mohanto)

This spotted owlet was photographed from a hide at the National Botanical Garden of Bangladesh.

During the day these amazing birds tend to hide in nests made in the holes of tree trunks, but they sometimes peep out to observe their surroundings with their captivating yellow eyes.

6. Vojtech (Ivana Dostálová)

Vojtech, a ballet student in Prague. This portrait is from the series 'Ballet Life'.

7. Convergence (Dávid Balogh)

Team Brazil competes in the preliminaries of the women’s team highlight artistic swimming event during the 2022 World Aquatics Championships at the Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Stadium, Budapest.

8. Wonderland (Yawar Abbas)

9. Exhausted (Andreas Mikonauschke)

In Andalusia, Spain, the traditional Easter processions are a fascinating event to watch. The different brotherhoods (Hermandades) with their uniformed brothers (cofrades) are an everyday sight during the holy week, Semana Santa.

Central elements of the processions are the heavy wooden frames (pasos) showing biblical scenes with one or more statues - these are carried through the streets by volunteer paso carriers underneath - usually one only sees their feet but sometimes during the rare breaks one gets an impression of the tough job they have.

10. Untitled (Erhan Coral)

The famous hot springs at Güroymak, Bitlis, Turkey.

The hot springs maintain a temperature of about 40℃, even when the outside temperature is as low as -14℃.

11. Man and Nature (Hernan Jaramillo)

12. Imperfect (Angela Perez)

13. Lady of the Garden (Alexandros Othonos)

14. Siren's Dawn (Mateusz Żurowski)

15. Confident (Abdulla AL-Mushaifri)

A picture of a young ‘knight’ demonstrating his horsemanship, while simultaneously looking at the assembled photographers waiting to take a picture of him.

This photograph was taken in the Sultanate of Oman.

16. Natalia Ksenia (Vladimir Zivojinovic)

A portrait of Natalia Adamenko, 44, and her 17-year-old daughter, Ksenia, at a church housing Ukrainian refugees in Irota, Hungary, taken on 1 April 2022.

‘Everyone from Hungary has tried to help us. They are amazing people’, said Natalia, who stayed in one of the church cottages when she first fled Kyiv.

17. Untitled (Rabik Upadhayay)

Youths jostle to drink alcohol as part of a cultural practice during the Indra Jatra Festival in Kathmandu, Nepal.

During the week-long celebration a statue of Swet Bhairab (not seen in this picture) is unveiled and the alcohol is served through an extended brass pipe coming from the idol’s mouth.

It is a crazy experience, even for spectators, with many participants getting injured every year.