The World Photography Organisation has announced the shortlist for the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards.

The 2012 competition has garnered increased worldwide interest with more than 112,000 entries from 171 countries. The Professional competition reflects a turbulent year of global events with the war in Libya; the Greek and European economic crisis; the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and the fall of Gaddafi, in the Photojournalism & Documentary categories. The shortlist for the Fine Art and Commercial categories focus on daily life: a small sheep-farming community in Iceland; the rice harvest in South China; a religious pilgrimage in Poland and gold diggers in Chile.
This year the honorary jury found the quality of work exceptionally strong across all categories, discovering many photographers new to the awards. Australia photographers shortlisted this year include Adam Pretty, in the Pro Sport category and in the Open categories, Paul Støƒ ¶rm is listed in Arts & Culture and  Matthew Post and Terry Soo in Panoramic. Open category winners will be announced on 20 March.
The annual Sony World Photography Awards ceremony and gala dinner will take place on 26 April at the Hilton Hotel in London’s Park Lane. The awards celebration will precede World Photo, London, a month-long event which opens on 27April and includes  portfolio reviews, workshops, symposiums and the Sony World Photography Awards winners’ exhibitions, which continue through to 20 May 2012. Honorary Judges for the 2012 Awards and other international industry experts will be leading many of the festival events.
The WPO website, www.worldphoto.org, features an online gallery and news section. It also includes comprehensive information about the Awards, the categories, a current list of World Photographic Academy members and key dates.