Sony World Photography Awards announces Open competition winners

The winning image in the Portraiture category, The Barefoot Volcanologist, was taken by Australian photographer, Elle Leontiev and presents a striking portrait of Phillip, an internationally recognised, self-taught volcano scientist, standing atop a volcanic rock bomb on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu.© Elle Leontiev.

Now in its 19th year, the Open competition recognises the best single images taken in the last year, chosen from more than 430,000 images from over 200 countries and territories. The selected images celebrate the power of an individual image to pique curiosity, spark imagination, and reveal a wider narrative. This year’s Open category winners are:

ARCHITECTURE: Markus Naarttijärvi (Sweden) for his image of the paper mill in Obbola, Sweden.

CREATIVE: Siavosh Ejlali (Iran, Islamic Republic Of) for Lost Hope, poignant ode to Iranian women.

LANDSCAPE: J Fritz Rumpf (United States) for Shapes and Patterns of the Desert, showing the Sossusvlei dunes in Namibia.

LIFESTYLE: Vanta Coda III (United States) for the portrait Charlotte and Dolly, depicting a young woman and her cow in West Virginia, United States.

MOTION: Franklin Littlefield (United States) for his motion blur shot of a punk concert in Providence, Rhode Island.

NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE: Klaus Hellmich (Germany) for a photograph of a blue arctic fox in the Varager Peninsula, Norway.

OBJECT: Robby Ogilvie (United Kingdom) for Colour Divides, showing a blue car against bright green and pink buildings in the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood in Cape Town, South Africa.

PORTRAITURE: Elle Leontiev (Australia) for The Barefoot Volcanologist.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: Giulia Pissagroia (Italy) for Between the Lines, a candid, comedic black-and-white photograph of a family at Ørnevegen (Eagle Road), Norway.

TRAVEL: Megumi Murakami (Japan) for a glowing photograph capturing the lively Abare Festival in the Noto region of Japan.

The Open Photographer of the Year will be announced at the Awards’ ceremony in London on 16 April and will receive a $5,000 (USD) cash prize as well as a range of Sony Digital Imaging equipment. A selection of winning and shortlisted images will be shown as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London from 17 April – 4 May 2026, and will then travel to other locations. Click here for more information.