Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year 2012

• Tobias Bräuning from Germany announced as overall Open winner
• William Klein receives the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award
• Asef Ali Mohammad from Middlesex University, UK, wins Student Focus Award

The Sony World Photography Awards were announced at the Sony World Photography Awards Gala ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in London’s Park Lane last night.

The Open Photographer of the Year title was awarded to Tobias Bräuning for his innovative and striking image Dancing Queen, in the split second category, a new category this year. Inspiration for his image came from pictures of simple water drops on a German DSLR internet forum. The 29 year old software engineer from Germany was awarded a $5,000 cash prize as well as Sony’s latest digital imaging camera equipment.

Other announcements on the night included the professional category winners, covering the newly introduced Nature & Wildlife category alongside others such as Current Affairs and Travel. Among the winners are Peter Franck from Germany who, returning from his victory at the 2010 Awards, and after being shortlisted in four categories, triumphed in the Commercial campaign and fashion categories, and the UK’s Simon Norfolk, winner of the Photojournalism & Documentary People category, who is the author of books such as Bleed – based on the aftermath of war in Bosnia.

The awards ceremony was attended by leading figures from the international photographic community, along with Minister of Culture, Ed Vaizey, speaking in support of the photography industry in the UK.

Outstanding Contribution

This year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award went to William Klein; one of the 20th century’s most important and influential photographers and film-makers. With a career spanning the past 60 years, Klein, 83, has worked in painting, photography and film, always at the cutting edge of his chosen medium.

Student Focus

Student photographer Asef Ali Mohammad from Middlesex University, UK, was announced as the winner of the Student Focus award that attracted entries from over 200 institutions across six continents.

Asef used a Sony SLT-A65 camera to complete the brief, ‘Your world in colour’, that must evoke emotion through the choice of colour. His series of images about youngsters in Kabul were chosen as the winning entry over the other ten shortlisted photographers, landing Middlesex University the prize of 45,000 Euros worth of Sony digital imaging equipment.

Youth Award

The title of Sony World Photography Awards Youth Award Winner went to Sergey Kolyaskin from Russia, for his image The Last Hero. Sergey was awarded with Digital SLR camera equipment from Sony and his winning image will be showcased at the winner’s exhibition. New for the 2012 Awards, the Youth Competition was open to anyone under the age of 20.

3D Award

The 3D Award, new this year to the competition, was awarded to Nick Saglimbeni from the United States for his stunning image, Nuclear Summer. Nick currently shoots many celebrity-driven commercial ad campaigns and he continues to be a pioneer in the world of both 2D and 3D photography. The competition was open to anyone using true 3D technology in photography or video and had two categories: ‘3D Panoramic’ and ‘3D Still’.

Moving Image Awards

The Moving Image Award went to Natasha Nicholson and Michael McDougall from Canada, for their short film Dead Languages. Michael has a background in design and moving image, whereas Natasha is a photographer.

Focus campaign

It was also announced that the upcoming Focus campaign is ‘Youth on Assignment’. This will integrate student photographers with Sony’s CSR programmes in Sumatra, Argentina, South Africa, Malawi and others. Each one of these represents not only a very important philanthropic project, but also an opportunity for youth to be involved in real life humanitarian work, all documented through the power of photography.

To see the full list of winners of the professional categories, click here.

The winning images and more will be on display at The Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House.
For more information, go to: www.worldphoto.org

Post a comment (you must be a registered user to comment) Login | Sign Up

Your Comment

Your Email
Friend’s Email
Message

Average Article Rating 0 Stars: Your Rating Login Required!
Sorry - You must be a registered user & logged in to rate this. Login | Register

Back to Categories

Which Digital Camera - Camera Finder

: DSLR

You want to take the best photos you can and possibly explore photography as a hobby

Enter this section if you are looking for a more advanced camera with the ability to change lenses to suit your needs. You will find entry-level cameras through to high-end models favoured by professional photographers.

What’s your budget?
Do you have a specific brand in mind?
Resolution

: Bridge

You want the convenience of a compact with the versatility of a DSLR

Enter this section if you are looking for the convenience of a compact camera but the photographic power of a DSLR. You will find both point-and-shoot cameras as well models offering more advanced functionality.

What’s your budget?
Do you have a specific brand in mind?
Resolution
Zoom Range

: Compact

You want to take family snaps, events and holidays

Enter this section if you are looking for a small easy-to-use camera. You will find a wide range of models to suit every budget all of which offer a wide range of features for everyday shooting.

What’s your budget?
Do you have a specific brand in mind?
Resolution
Zoom Range
The range of compact cameras available in the sub £250 price bracket frequently changes. Therefore Which Digital Camera has invited manufacturers to maintain their own listings in this section only. This includes their own recommendations.

We regret we are unable to include all manufacturers.