We are delighted to reveal Belgian photographer Frederik Buyckx as 2017 Photographer of the Year. The judges of this year’s Sony World Photography Awards were asked to find the best photographic series from across the 10 categories. They were taken by the beauty, scale and effort involved in Buyckx’s winning work, ‘Whiteout’.
Other prizes given out during an awards ceremony in central London include: Alexander Vinogradov’s ‘Mathilda’ selected as the best single photograph in the world, winning the photographer $5,000 (USD) along with the Open Photographer of the Year title; Sixteen-year-old student Katelyn Wang from Los Angeles, California received the Youth Photographer of the Year title; and Michelle Daiana Gentile, aged 21, of Escuela de Fotografía Motivarte, won Student Photographer of the Year with her series ‘Only Hope’.
Chosen from the winners of the ten Professional categories, Chair of Judges Zelda Cheatle says of Frederik Buyckx’s photographs: "These are beautiful pictures made by a serious photographer, and they are to be enjoyed. I hope this award will inspire many more photographers to take pictures that do not simply encompass the terrible aspects of life in these troubled times but also capture some of the joys and loveliness in each and every environment."
Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organisation comments: "I am especially proud of this year’s selection of Photographer of the Year. I feel that in many cases it is easy to shock but that it can be so tremendously difficult to capture a sophisticated elegance, that really is so beautiful it shows the medium of photography at its best."
Architecture winner: Dongni, China
2nd - Julien Chatelin, France / 3rd - Diego Mayon, Italy
Conceptual winner - Sabine Cattaneo, Switzerland
2nd - Alexander Anufriev, Russian Federation / 3rd - Gao Peng, China
Contemporary Issues winner - Tasneem Alsultan, Saudi Arabia
2nd - Li Sony, China / 3rd - Lorzenzo Maccotta, Italy
Current Affairs & News winner - Alessio Romenzi, Italy
2nd - Joe Raedle, United States / 3rd - Ivor Prickett, Ireland
Daily Life winner: Sandra Hoyn, Germany
2nd - Christina Simons, Iceland / 3rd - Alice Cannara Malan, Italy
Landscape winner: Frederik Buyckx, Belgium
2nd - Kurt Tong, United Kingdom / 3rd - Peter Franck, Landscape
Natural World winner: Will Burrard-Lucas, United Kingdom
2nd - Ami Vitale, United States / 3rd - Christian Vizl, Mexico
Portraiture winner: George Mayer, Russian Federation
2nd - Romina Ressia, Argentina / 3rd - Ren shi Chen, China
Still Life winner: Henry Agudelo, Columbia
2nd - Shinya Masuda, Japan / 3rd - Christoffer Askman, Denmark
Sport winner: Yuan Peng, China
2nd - Eduard Korniyenko, Russian Federation / 3rd - Jason O’Brien, Australia
