“I am interested in people, and my photos are a reflection of the world at the time the camera shutter is triggered. I try not to distort reality, and to objectively tell a story about things that I care about”. Category: Professional Shortlist, Lifestyle. Country: Russia. (Photo by Aleksey Myakishev/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Lifestyle. Summer family – the images show the photographer's family on a seaside holiday in Liguria in the summer of 2012. (Photo by Alice Caputo/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

A group of 20-30 men and women with 12 horses and sleighs will travel during three days, crossing snowed roads and iced lakes, to reach the opening day of Røros winter fair in Norway. A Royal decree of 1853 states that from 1854 onwards a yearly market shall be held in Røros, commencing the second last Tuesday in the month of February, lasting until the following Friday. Every year more than 200 people will travel to Røros as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. (Photo by Agurtxane Concellon/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Portraits of children and youths who survived the massacre on the island of Utoeya outside Oslo (NO) on 22nd of July 2011. Cecilie Herlovsen (17) hid at the south end of the island, where she was shot in her arm, her shoulder and chin. The last bullet was stopped by her wisdom tooth, which most likely saved her life. Cecilie had to amputate her arm. (Photo by Andrea Gjestvang/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Contemporary Issues. Prisons of South America – “I spent 10 years traveling to South American jails, a different and complex world in which violence and abuse are part of convict's life. I saw, during the time, how the convicts try to find a space similar to that one they had outside jails. They try to preserve their dignity. The history of this work is not to denounce the situation in jails but to discover and tell what joins and what separates the South American countries”. Here, a close-up of prisoners' eyes in one of the most violent prisons near Caracas, Venezuela, where many are armed. (Photo by Valerio Bispuri/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Lin Chun Chung, 1st Place, Taiwan National Award, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Lin Chun Chung/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Families visit the shrine of Hazrat Ali, or the Blue Mosque, in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan on May 11, 2012. The historical mosque attracts thousands of pilgrims each year. (Photo by Kuni Takahashi/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Women veterans of the Second World War in Belarus. They are almost 90. The war started for them in 1941 when they were 16-18. They were born in all parts of the Soviet Union. As a result of the fall of Soviet Union they are all Belarussians now. Belarussian propaganda uses them as an example of good patriots and citizens. (Photo by Agnieszka Rayss/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Karp Belgayev, a coal miner, walks through his abandoned Arctic town where he is among the last ten inhabitants. Most others have left after the closure of the Soviet-era coal mine. Coal dust gathered around his eyes left unwashed during years working in the Arctic cold has left permanent black rings. (Photo by Justin Jin/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Campaign. Honkey Kong – an advertising campaign for the sneaker brand Jim Rickey, shot on location in Hong Kong. A 2d platform game tribute. Images were shot from skyscrapers toward the ground, using a telephoto lens to make the image as flat as possible to make it look like a platform game. (Photo by Christian Aslund/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“My work is about a traditional dance from Indonesia. This dance called Jaranan. I chose Jaranan because this dance usually played by adult, so it looks unusual. That boy played as Pentulan”. (Photo by Diko Risanto/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“How often we arrived in an airport of an unknown city, ask for a taxi and drive into it in the search of our hotel or our meeting. That route through the window, longer or shorter, is the first impression we get of the city, and it's completely new for us. Quick glances to the locals, to the streets with no names, to the buildings. We astonishingly recognize those touristic icons that we see passing by, we track them and unsuccessfully put them in place because we haven't explored the city yet. That feeling of ephemeralness is what I pretended to get in this project, to which I aim to add more cities. New York, Paris and Marrakesh are the first chosen metropolis, on purpose, because they represent three continents and three cultures. I don't ask the taxi driver what do I want to see. I just simply let me being carried, with my open eyes and aware of what happens outside the car. I shoot left and right, back and forth, with the avidity of a tourist, enthusiast of his new destination”. (Photo by Daniel Duart/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Youth Photographer of the Year – Traditions. New Year's eve traditions in Romania. (Photo by Alecsandra Dragoi/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Ornamental chicken breeding clubs have emerged in Indonesia, Thailand, North America and even European countries such as the UK and France. Malaysia is however the epicenter of this cultural phenomenon. These chickens are prized for their build, size, behavior and showmanship by their owners and competitions or beauty contests as they are often described are held almost every week in at least one village in Malaysia. Judges sit around a square table inspecting each chicken for a few minutes trying to determine a champion specimen in its own weight class based on its stance, temperament and physical assets like wings, tails and comb. The walk or strut by an ornamental chicken in a beauty contest, much like a runway model, constitutes a large part of the scoring system. (Photo by Ernest Goh/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

The southern winter sky shows off its best in this 240 degree view of the Milky Way behind the Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Both Magellanic clouds are visible on the left, while the central bulge of our own galaxy contrasts with the warm glow of light pollution from the nearby town. (Photo by Florian Breuer/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“Lie Down” is a surrealist collection of pictures that create the feeling of being upright on a vertical surface. The objects on each image talk to the viewer and tell them about a distort reality from a subjective point of view by playing with installations under natural light and reflections. Each urban skyscape represents a different scenario, from a observation to contemporary issues to a close look into the artist's experiences. The pictures from the Lie Down collection are analog shots composed on the camera and consist of a highly manipulated reality rather than combination printing or digital airbrushing. (Photo by Edurne Aguinaga/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Elmar Akhmetov, Kazakhstan, Winner, Low Light, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Elmar Akhmetov/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

The last pollen spore preparing to leave a ladybird trying to hold on, because it didn't want to be alone. (Photo by Hoang Hiep Nguyen/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Gilbert Yu, Hong Kong, Winner, Arts and Culture, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Gilbert Yu/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Holi – the festival of colors – is undoubtedly the most fun-filled and boisterous of Hindu festivals. It's an occasion that brings in unadulterated joy and mirth, fun and play, music and dance, and, of course, lots of bright colors! (Photo by Anurag Kumar/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Open Photographer of the Year, Enhanced category. Storm – This girl stands firm in the storm. When confronting challenges, she will never give up. (Photo by Hoang Hiep Nguyen/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“I took the picture of the two girls four days before I left Cambodia. I was allowed to take pictures behind the stage of the biggest performance festival in Cambodia”. (Photo by Jessica Hetke/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Two homeless street children were playing in the smoke created from burnt straws at Chittagong, Bangladesh. Suddenly dense smoke covered them and they were trying to protect themselves and escape. (Photo by Kazi Riasat Alve/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Photographer Markus Reugels writes, “All my high speed pictures are single shots without any Photoshop manipulation. I only adjust the levels of contrast. Some little sprinkles are cleaned with Photoshop. That's all the processing”. Reugels uses splashes of colored water on hard surfaces to create his stunning images. (Photo by Markus Reugels/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Hisatomi Tadahiko, Japan, Winner, People, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Hisatomi Tadahiko/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Matjaž Tančič's series of photographs inspired by Hui-style living rooms in the Chinese town of Yixian won the 3D category. (Photo by Matjaž Tančič/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Manny Fajutag, Philippines, Winner, Travel, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Manny Fajutag/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

The twins Laura and Beln on the day of their fifteenth birthday celebration. In Latin America, the celebration of the fifteenth birthday of a teenager is very important because it marks the transition from childhood to maturity. (Photo by Myriam Meloni/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

The protagonists of my pictures are taken out of the context of place and time. They share visual kinship which is further emphasized by the scenery among which they are placed. We can only wonder what their relationships out of the frame are and whether the community they have formed in front of the eye of the camera really exists. It is entirely up to us to decide what conclusions we will draw and whether we will resist the temptation to classify and judge quickly. Student Focus Photographer of the Year. (Photo by Natalia Wiernik/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Ming Hui Guan (Mac Kwan), China, Winner, Smile, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Ming Hui Guan/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Matías Gálvez, Chile, Winner, Split Second, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Matías Gálvez/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Natalia Wiernik, Poland, Student Focus Photographer of the Year. (Photo by Natalia Wiernik/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Landscape. A Portrait of the Matterhorn. When I was young, I had long fantasized about climbing the Matterhorn but I never really had the chance. The Matterhorn was the last great Alpine peak to be conquered and its first ascent in 1865 marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. Its North Face, which is on all images, is amongst the “Three Great Problems” in the Alps and was not climbed until 1931. I have been around Zermatt countless times, the village nestled at the foot of the Matterhorn, looking toward the mountains and trying to capture the exquisiteness of this magical peak and its endless state of change; to compress the passing of time the beauty of the wind and the clouds dancing around the mountain. This portfolio is a kind of memento to all climbers who dared to go there and for those who never returned. Night Clouds #3, 07 Jan 2012 – 3:17 AM – Matterhorn at full moon. (Photo by Nenad Saljic/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

On November 14, 2012 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a seven day operation in the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip, dubbed “Operation Pillar of Defense”. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that 158 Palestinians were killed during the operation, of which: 102 were civilians. (Photo by Oliver Weiken/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“Of the Tiger and Turtle” is a work of art on an industrial landmark. (Photo by Peter Mysticdidge Plorin/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

The Australian Mens Olympic Waterpolo Team are photographed in an empty Bondi Icebergs pool at Bondi Beach on May 31, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. The Aussie Sharks as they are known were finalizing their preparations for the 2012 London Olympic Games when I asked them to pose in an famous ocean pool... with the twist of it being empty. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional, People category. One day in history – Portraits of children and youths who survived the massacre on the island of Utoeya outside Oslo (NO) on 22nd of July 2011. “In the period after Utoeya I had a really hard time sleeping. I was afraid of the dark and suffered from dreadful nightmares. My mom and I decided that getting a dog might help me, so I got Athene. Now she sleeps on my stomach every night”. Iselin Rose Borch (15) from Grong was hiding behind a rock by the pump house on the island. She was rescued by tourists in a boat. (Photo by Andrea Gjestvang/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Portraiture: Six Degrees of Copenhagen – Based on the idea that every person on Earth is connected in the sixth degree, this series of photos depicts human connections through the city of Copenhagen. The set up is that I portray random people that I engage with in the streets, and that these chance meetings end up with me taking highly personal photos of these people, who then each send me on to another person in their network, who I can portray, who then gives me the name of another person. Anonymous woman. (Photo by Jens Juul/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“If my photographs have a mission it is to capture rare beautiful moments and present them in an artistic way . I do have a bias towards the medium of black and white as it allows me to be more expressive”. Category: Open Shortlist, Nature & Wildlife. Country: South Africa. (Photo by Peter Delaney/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Contemporary Issues. Prisons of South America. Prison inmates in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Valerio Bispuri/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Little girl of Turtuk Village, Nubra Valley, Ladakh, India. (Photo by Sandipan Mukherjee/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Current Affairs: Personality and society. Reality vs illusions – In 2012, the people of North Korea celebrated the centennial birthday of the founder of their state, Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Il, who had continued the policy of his father for many years, passed away in 2011. Because of the policies of Kim Jong Il, North Korea remained the most closed country for many years. There has never been any complete and reliable information about developments in North Korea. Here, school students and a soldier at an official ceremony unveiling a monument to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. (Photo by Ilya Pitalev/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

These images were taken throughout the last four months of Barack Obama's presidential campaign and were used by the campaign in television advertising, the web, social media, and print literature. (Photo by Scout Tufankjian/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Winner, Professional Fashion & Beauty. i-D Iceland – The story was photographed in the remote east coast of Iceland, on and around the glacier lake of Vatnajokull named Jokulsarlon. This shot was taken on the slowly moving edges of a glacier. (Photo by Klaus Thymann/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Usain Bolt of Jamaica races ahead of Ryan Bailey of the United States, Yohan Blake of Jamaica, Justin Gatlin of the United States and Tyson Gay of the United States to win the Men's 100m Final on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 5, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Pretty/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

“I tend to take photos of landscapes, wildlife and nature. I like action shots as well, which comes in handy when taking photos of wildlife!”. Category: Youth Shortlist, Culture. Country: United Kingdom. (Photo by Toby Pickard/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Yeow Kwang Yeo, Singapore, Winner, Panoramic, Open Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. (Photo by Yeow Kwang Yeo/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

Monks looked up at the magnificent night sky filled with thousands of lanterns in awe. Yi Peng lantern festival is meant as a time for tham bun to make merit. This was the moment I've been waiting for and it lasted very quickly due to strong wind. A very heavy downpour occurred right after we left the place. The lanterns were made of organic materials. (Photo by Ng Chai Hock/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)