40 of the very best photos: Sony World Photography Awards’ 2016 winners are a must-see

by Mike Tomkins

posted Friday, April 22, 2016 at 7:37 PM EDT

A couple of months back, we told you about the shortlist for the 2016 World Photography Awards, sponsored by Sony and now in its ninth year. Today, we can now reveal the winners, and they make for some powerful, thought-provoking viewing!

The Sony World Photography Awards are said to be the world's largest photography competition, and with a staggering 230,103 entries from 186 countries, we'd wager they're the biggest by quite some margin. We can't even begin to comprehend the mammoth task of selecting the very best images from such a monumental group, and yet somehow it's been accomplished once again.

L’Iris d’Or Photographer of the Year
Winner, Professional, Contemporary Issues

Fire of Hatred
Copyright: © Asghar Khamseh, Iran
Photographer of the Year, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards
Winner, Professional, Contemporary Issues, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

This year's overall winner was Iranian photojournalist Asghar Khamseh, who receives the title of L’Iris d’Or Photographer of the Year for his portrait series "Fire of Hatred", which calls attention to the victims of acid-throwing attacks. Khamseh's works earned him the US$25,000 grand prize in this year's contest.

Fire of Hatred
Copyright: © Asghar Khamseh, Iran
Photographer of the Year, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards
Winner, Professional, Contemporary Issues, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Khamseh's harrowing portraits also won in the Documentary (Contemporary Issues) category, one of 14 categories open to professional photographers. The remaining category winners follow below, and one other point of particular note for this year is that for the first time, a single photographer -- Kevin Frayer of Canada -- has won two categories in the same year.

Winner, Professional, Architecture

Empire of dust
Copyright: © Amélie Labourdette, France
Winner, Professional, Architecture, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Candid

Waiting For the Candymen
Copyright: © Kirstin Schmitt, Germany
Winner, Professional, Candid, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Waiting for the Candymen
Copyright: © Kirstin Schmitt, Germany
Winner, Professional,Candid, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Conceptual

Greetings From Mars
Copyright: Julien Mauve, France
Winner, Professional, Conceptual, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Landscape

Land of Nothingness
Copyright: © Maroesjka Lavigne, Belgium
Winner, Professional, Landscape, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Portraiture

Ebola Survivors
Copyright: © Marcello Bonfanti, Italy
Winner, Professional, Portraiture, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Staged

Iconic B
Copyright: © Alberto Alicata, Italy
Winner, Professional, Staged, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards/ Sie Photography

Winner, Professional, Still Life

Migrant Tomatoes
Copyright: © Francesco Amorosino, Italy
Winner, Professional, Still Life, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards/Luz Photo Agency

Winner, Professional, Campaign

TransBrasil
Copyright: Jetmir Idrizi, Kosovo
Winner, Professional, Campaign, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Current Affairs

In search of the European Dream
Copyright: © Angelos Tzortzinis, Greece
Winner, Professional, Current Affairs, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards/ AFP

Winner, Professional, Daily Life

The Curse of Coal
Copyright: Espen Rasmussen, Norway
Winner, Professional, Daily Life, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards/ VG / Panos Pictures

Winner, Professional, Environment

Eagle Hunters of Western China
Copyright: © Kevin Frayer, Canada
Winner, Professional, Environment, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, People

Nomadic Life Threatened on the Tibetan Plateau
Copyright: © Kevin Frayer, Canada
Winner, Professional, People, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Winner, Professional, Sport

Second Best
Copyright: © Nikolai Linares, Denmark
Winner, Professional , Sport, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

That brings us to the end of the professional winners, and what a powerful selection of photos they are! The Sony World Press Photography Awards are also open to the public, though, not just pros. Let's move onto the enthusiasts next!

Open Photographer of the Year

Enchanted Bamboo Forest
Copyright: © Kei Nomiyama, Japan
Open Photographer of the Year, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Youth Photographer of the Year

Winner, Student Focus

The Glue Boys
Copyright: © Sofia Jern, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Finland
Winner, Student Focus, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

And so we come to this year's final award, received by the Chinese husband-and-wife team of RongRong & inri. Their first major showing in Europe will take place at Somerset House, London, where their photos will be shown alongside all of the other winning and shortlisted images from April 22nd to May 8th, 2016.

Outstanding Contribution to Photography

And that concludes our coverage of the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards. To find out more, learn about the jury, and see more of the runner-up and shortlisted images, be sure to check out the World Photography Organization website!

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