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4 New Zealander photographers recognized in the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s most diverse photography awards

February 28, 2018: The judges of the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards today honor the work of 4 Zealander photographers by shortlisting and commending their photographs as the top 50 in the world in the Awards’ Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s most diverse photography competition. The 11th edition saw a record breaking 320,000 submissions by photographers from more than 200 countries and territories, presenting some of the world’s finest contemporary photography captured over the past year. The international range of entries display a huge diversity of imagery in terms of genre, style and subject matter across the Awards’ 4 competitions: Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus.
• In the Professional competition, 1 New Zealander photographer has been recognized for a strong body of work between 5-10 images.

• The Open competition, which rewards the best single image across ten categories, also features 1 New Zealander photographer on top 50 in the world (commended).

• This year, New Zealander photographers have also been shortlisted in the Youth and Student Focus Competitions.

Recognizing a huge diversity of work, the judges placed the following New Zealander photographers:

Professional shortlist: Martyn Aim, Current Affairs & News category (London, UK)

Wellington-born Martyn Aim is a documentary photographer based in London, UK. His series "Near Dark - The Battle for Mosul" depicts families fleeing the Iraqi city last March as the country’s forces advanced to retake the city.

Open Commended: Peter Kurdulija, Still Life category, (Lower Hutt)

Judged on a single image, this year’s submissions across the Open competition are drawn from a range of inspirations. Previously commended in 2016 in the Panoramic category, Peter Kurdulija's "My City, Twelve Dollar Lunch and a Million Dollar View" depicts a beautiful and idyllic mountain view painted as a fresco behind a row of plastic tables and chairs.

Youth shortlist: Iona Francis, Age 18, (New Zealand)

This competition saw a diverse range of entries from 12-19 year old photographers who submitted one image on the theme of ‘Your Environment’. Iona's shortlisted image "Theatre Ambitions" portrays two young men relaxing on the grass covered in leaves and make up. She was inspired to create this after observing the pressures of the final year at school in her peers, and decided this would be her creative and peaceful response.

Student Focus shortlist: Bianca Rocca, University of Auckland

Students around the world submitted a single image highlighting an environmental issue, inspired by this year’s Student Focus partner, the environment charity, "Parley for the Oceans". Bianca's submission "When I want to Remember" depicts the The Waihopai Dam on New Zealand’s South Island.

The work of the shortlisted and commended photographers will be exhibited at the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London from April 20 - May 6. The Open category winners will be revealed March 20, and the Professional category winners on April 19.

Click for details about the full 2018 shortlist

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