The amazing winning images of the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Photography

From a forest lit up by fireflies to raccoons prowling a San Francisco park: The spectacular winners of the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards revealed

Published: 12:31 EDT, 17 April 2023 | Updated: 12:42 EDT, 17 April 2023

The victorious photographers in the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards have been revealed – and the images in this year’s winners’ gallery are as remarkable as ever.

Each year, the prestigious contest, which receives entries from across the globe, runs several competitions, including the professional contest and the open competition. Standout images include a photo of a forest in India lit up in spellbinding fashion by fireflies, a hypnotic image of raccoons on the prowl in San Francisco, a breathtaking image of an Alpine meadow in Italy and a picture that shows the Milky Way framing Chureito Pagoda, a pagoda that overlooks the Japanese city of Fujiyoshida and faces Mount Fuji.

Reigning supreme overall, the Photographer of the Year title and the $25,000 (£20,220) cash prize were awarded to the Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins for his series ‘Our War’, which paid tribute to his late friend, photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was killed during the Libyan Civil War in 2011.

Commenting on his win, Martins – who submitted his winning series to the Professional competition – said: ‘It is quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage… there’s no award that has the reach of the Sony World Photography Awards.’

Sharing his thoughts on Martins’ winning project, Mike Trow, Chair of the 2023 Professional competition, says: ‘Photography is so often about memory and its nature… Our War by Edgar Martins has used memory and invention to give us a powerful, personal set of portraits that attempt to explain the last days of his friend, the photojournalist Anton Hammerl. His work highlights the lengths photographers will go to tell a story and create meaning; each image giving a sense of the journey Anton took without ever being explicit about how his life ended. The entire jury this year was fulsome in their appreciation of the work and its narrative force.’

Exhibiting the work that captivated the judges, the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 exhibition opens at Somerset House, London, until May 1, featuring over 200 prints and hundreds of additional images from winning and shortlisted photographers. Scroll down to see some of the category-winning and shortlisted images from the overall contest – with Martins’ award-winning work at the very bottom…

This extraordinary picture shows black bear cubs playing on a rope swing in the backyard of a home in Asheville, North Carolina. It's part of a series - 'Cities Gone Wild' - by U.S photographer Corey Arnold, who says: 'Urban black bears in Asheville are becoming more bold and fearless, resulting in a large influx of bears wandering residential neighbourhoods.' Shedding light on the series as a whole, Arnold says: 'Cities Gone Wild is an exploration of three savvy animals - black bears, coyotes and raccoons - that have uniquely equipped to survive and even thrive in the human-built landscape while other animals are disappearing. I tracked these animals in cities across America to reveal a more intimate view of how wildlife is adapting to increased urbanization.' The series is the overall winner in the 'Wildlife and Nature' category of the Professional Competition

This shot, a second from Corey Arnold's prize-winning Cities Gone Wild series, shows raccoons in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The American says: 'Reliant on humans for food, these raccoons have been habituated with feeding by raccoon lovers. On two occasions, I witnessed cars pulling up with many pounds of dog-food, sour cream, chicken, chips and other snacks, dumping them on the ground and in the bushes. The practice is illegal, but still common. Coyotes also arrived at times when regular feedings seem to occur just after dark. Raccoons and coyotes are thriving in the urban environment that is San Francisco because of the abundance of food left by humans'

'In the area surrounding Nordenskjold Land National Park in Svalbard [a Norwegian archipelago], a lone polar bear is exposed on rocks where a decade ago there was a glacier.' So says Australian photographer Mark Fitzsimmons of this poignant picture, titled 'Climate Change'. He adds: 'Despite relatively healthy numbers in the Svalbard region of the Arctic, polar bears face many issues, including increased human/wildlife conflict, warmer summers and receding glaciers.' Impressing the judges, the image was shortlisted in the 'Natural World and Wildlife' category of the Open Competition

Entered into the 'Landscape' category in the awards' Open Competition, this picture shows the sunrise over Seiser Alm, a high-altitude Alpine meadow in Italy. It was captured by Slovenian photographer Ales Krivec, who says of the houses in the frame: 'The cottages are idyllic and I can just imagine living here, waking every day to a stunning view like this'

This moody shot shows earth pyramids that 'were formed millions of years ago' in the Dolomite mountains in Italy's Percha region. 'On this particular morning they were in low clouds, which adds to the atmosphere,' says photographer Robert Bilos. The image was shortlisted in the 'Landscape' category of the Open Competition

This magical image - a composite of several pictures taken over 16 minutes - shows fireflies illuminating Anamalai Tiger Reserve in southern India. Photographer Sriram Murali says: 'Anamalai Tiger Reserve is a biodiversity hotspot known for its megafauna and flora, but for a few days every year it is this tiny insect that steals the show at night.' It's part of a wider photography series focusing on these fireflies, which snapped up third place in the 'Wildlife and Nature' category of the Professional Competition. Murali explains: 'In April 2022, I set out to a remote area of the reserve with forest officials. Flashes of green started appearing at twilight and as the place grew dark, millions of fireflies started synchronising their flashes across several trees. The flashes would start in one tree and continue across other trees like a Mexican wave. Such large congregations of fireflies are very rare, and this series captures the phenomenon of fireflies turning an entire forest into a magical carpet of yellowish-green light'

Putting a spotlight on the women's peace movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this picture is part of a series by British photographer Hugh Kinsella Cunningham. In the shot, captured in the country's North Kivu Province, peace activist Liberata Buratwa can be seen speaking to communities that were displaced by an M23 rebel offensive. Cunningham says: 'Liberata arrived to host a meeting where she received updates on the security situation to share with her network. Shifting frontlines mean that it is often unclear which areas are unsafe for civilians. Activists also speak to recently displaced civilians to collect testimonies of human rights violations they may have witnessed.' Of the wider series, he says: 'Nearly 20 years on from a conflict that killed five million people and upended tenfold more lives, the Democratic Republic of Congo is once again sliding into chaos. As renewed conflict with the M23 rebels, massacres and regional militarisation caught the world’s attention this year, the vital contribution of women to peace remains invisible. Despite escalating violence, some women are working to create [a] dialogue between armed actors and communities. They track human rights violations, warn of impending violence and plead with rebel leaders to stop attacks. In doing so, they take immense risks.' The series took the top prize in the 'Documentary Projects' category of the Professional Competition

This picture by photographer Maria Camila Ramirez Castaneda shows the Colombian city of Medellin, the country's first Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation. The image was shortlisted in the awards' Student Competition

This mesmerising picture shows the Milky Way framing Chureito Pagoda, a pagoda that overlooks the Japanese city of Fujiyoshida and faces Mount Fuji. Photographer Yukihito Ono notes that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom when the picture was taken, adding: 'It is rare that full bloom cherry blossoms, a new moon and clear skies coincide.' The image was shortlisted in the 'Travel' category of the Open Competition

This striking shot is one of a series that focuses on the Tieshan Cement Factory, set in Guilin City in south China. Photographer Fan Li explains: 'The factory was built in 1996 and played an important role in Guilin’s economic development and urban construction. However... the cement factory has now been relocated, leaving behind the old buildings, water towers, pools and railway tracks.' The series has snapped up first place in the 'Architecture and Design' category

In this dynamic shot, Kelsie Whitmore, the first female professional baseball player to play in an all-male pro league, pitches in the bullpen before a game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island, New York. It's part of a wider series focusing on Whitmore, which was captured by photographer Al Bello. He explains: '[Kelsie] plays outfield and pitches for the Staten Island Ferryhawks in the Atlantic League of professional baseball... on September 3, 2022, Kelsie became the first woman to record a hit in association with Major League Baseball.' The series took the top prize in the 'Sport' category of the Professional Competition

This vibrant picture by photographer Gabriela Timo shows an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California, in the summertime. It was entered into the 'Motion' category in the awards' Open Competition

This is one captivating picture from the photography series that earned Edgar Martins the title of Photographer of the Year. It shows a dissident freedom fighter in a makeshift burka in Libya. Sharing the story behind the series, Martins says: 'In 2011, my dear friend and the photojournalist, Anton Hammerl, travelled to Libya to cover the conflict between pro-regime and anti-Gaddafi forces. On April 5 he was forcefully abducted and killed by government militia. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation to find his mortal remains, in 2022 I took matters into my own hands and travelled to Libya. This previously unseen body of work is structured as a self-portrait of Anton Hammerl through the people he photographed and met, and others involved in the conflict (freedom fighters or their descendants, ex-militia, local residents, Gaddafi loyalists or lookalikes, and so on). They were selected because they resembled him, espoused similar ideas and beliefs, or reminded me of him at different stages of our friendship.' The series was entered into the 'Portraiture' category of the Professional Competition

This jarring shot, a second image from Martins' winning portfolio, shows a fighter demonstrating what it's like 'being shot in the head'

There’s A Kinetic Sculpture Park In Colorado, And It’s One Of The Quirkiest Places You’ll Ever Go

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

For a quirky yet incredible Colorado attraction, visit the one-of-a-kind Starr Kempf’s Kinetic Sculptures.

IKEA Nytillverkad Collection Delves Into the Archives in Colorful Fashion

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Design

As a new homeowner on a budget, I’ve taken my fair share of trips to IKEA in pursuit of adding a few affordable basics. Even as I’ve matured into a mostly post-IKEA lifestyle, the world’s most famous purveyor of modern flatpack furniture still holds sway when I need to find something contemporary, affordable (and in-stock). The Swedish brand’s super power has always been the supremely adaptable nature of their wares, a catalog imagined for every corner of the home offered at prices that tap into that same urge that makes shopping at the likes of Costco or outlet stores so impulsively dangerous.

Now celebrating their 80th anniversary, IKEA is refreshing a selection of home goods and furnishings plumbed from their archives and given a colorful, contemporary refresh. The deliciously candy-coasted Nytillverkad collection arrives to furnish the apartment and homes of an entirely new generation on a budget, and we have to admit, their design team makes a compelling case to revisit these designs with a new eye.

The Nytillverkad collection isn’t so much a single collection, but the kickoff of an ongoing series of curated reissued designs sourced from the brand’s archives, reinvented with new colors and materials, and sporting new names. IKEA says, “Over the next few years, we will release a series of carefully selected home furnishings…updated to match the bold outlook of the next generation.”

“This collection is loud, colorful, and fun. All the products have a story behind them, like one of our most iconic products LÖVET, first introduced in 1956. In the Nytillverkad version, we call it LÖVBACKEN, and it comes in orange, blue, and light green with an ash veneer top, adding a bold pop of color to any room”, says Karin Gustavsson, the Creative Leader of Nytillverkad collection, IKEA of Sweden.

The first collection is arriving to stores in July 2023, and includes mid-century style side tables, tubular stools, tree-like coat racks, round rugs, bedding, pillows, candle holders, and tablewares. Tell us what you think of the first IKEA Nytillverkad collection on our Instagram!

Gregory Han is Tech Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Selected artists announced for MuralFest

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Native

Artist Greg Gossel (far right) and his assistant Jacob Gossel (left) finish up a new downtown mural on the north wall of the Family Health Clinic located downtown. Greg said that he has been a full time artist for 15 years now and his background is in graphic design. (B Kay Richter/Odessa American)

Odessa Arts’ MuralFest, presented by United Supermarkets & Market Street, is pleased to announce the selected artists and entertainment for the May 13th event.

“152 artists applied for the mural commissions,’ Odessa Arts executive director Randy Ham said in a press release. “We selected 4 of the best. We are so excited to bring their talents to Odessa.”

Selected muralists include: Nekoda Witsken, Dan Thompson, Maxilie Martel, and Jeremy Flores. Muralists were encouraged to create designs that celebrate Odessa’s designation as a Music Friendly Community by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022. Mural locations and designs will be revealed when the muralists begin work the week of May 7th. Murals have been sponsored by Eofficial Enterprises.

As well as the four new murals, seventeen additional artists will be installing designs on twelve traffic boxes and five donated pianos in the downtown Odessa footprint.

“Downtown Odessa, Inc. has been an amazing partner throughout the planning process. Not only have they taken on the logistics of the permits, permissions, security, street closures, and so much more, they also helped to fund the wrapping of the remaining traffic boxes in the Downtown footprint. Each box wrap was designed by a different local artist and they also reflect the Music Friendly designation,’ continued Ham, ‘It’s one of the things that we’re really proud of with this festival. There will be permanent leave behinds that will last for years, even after the crowds have gone home. MuralFest will also include several immersive art experiences and performances. With the support of the FMH Foundation, the Bike Zoo from Austin, TX will offer opportunities for community members to ride on artist designed bicycles that resemble living creatures: butterflies, armadillos, and the first West Texas appearance of the Bike Zoo snake skeleton.

Paradox Traveling Art, an immersive art installation inside a repurposed school bus will open its doors for exploration and activities, courtesy of the Moore Foundation.

A children’s area will offer activities including painting, and other arts based crafts, and is sponsored by the Children’s Miracle Network at Medical Center Hospital.

A silent disco will give dancers the opportunity to move to the groove of three different DJs.

The newly completed Odessa College green space will host a rotating lineup of local talent including musicians, theatricals, dancers, and more.

‘We are so excited to be one of the first events in the new green space. We’ve been watching the construction with so much anticipation. We cannot thank OC enough for partnering with us on this event,’ said entertainment coordinator Amber Gray.

Forty vendors including food trucks and local artisans will line the street from 5-9pm for participants to shop. West Texas native Barry Corbin will hit the stage at 7pm at the Ector Theater with CBS7’s Jay Hendricks to talk about his Hollywood career: from Urban Cowboy to Northern Exposure. This ticketed event will benefit Meals on Wheels. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/7390622/an-evening-with-actor-barry-corbinbenefiting-meals-on-wheels-odessa-odessa-the-ector-theatre

A special Preview Party at Homemade Wines on Friday the 12th will give patrons early access to many of the MuralFest offerings. Tickets for the preview party are on sale now.

Have your say on children’s sculpture trail in Bognor’s sunken gardens

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

Arun District Council gardeners are giving members of the public the chance to have their say on designs for a children’s sculpture trail planned for Hothamton Sunken Gardens by participating in a survey.

If You’re Looking For Normal, You Won’t Find It At The Other Art Fair Dallas

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

All images © The Other Art Fair, shared with permission

Your average art fair experience might look like this: a sparse selection of art on display, out of budget, eerily quiet, and overall a bit underwhelming. The Other Art Fair aims to shake this up and is heading to Dallas this May. We’re talking dazzling immersive experiences, live DJ sets, interactive workshops, and more. The fair encourages visitors to step out of their comfort zones and discover art differently—an outlandish and unmissable game plan for the weekend.

The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi Art is a celebration of art in all its forms. Born in London in 2011, fair founder Ryan Stanier had the vision to connect art lovers and first-time buyers with undiscovered emerging artists. Since then, the fair has expanded to over seven global locations including Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Sydney, with thousands of artworks finding homes along the way.

Running May 11 to 14 at Dallas Market Hall, the Dallas edition will bring together the talent of more than 130 emerging artists who have been busy creating new work in their studios. The mix of local and international artists is carefully selected by a committee of art world experts to ensure you have an abundance of artistic styles, sizes, and prices to choose from and love.

You might find yourself drink in hand on the buzzing Thursday Opening Night, an artwork under your arm that you just landed for under $500, surrounded by a group of friends who share your curiosity for new experiences. For more of a party atmosphere, consider joining the Friday Late experience. Think music, drinks, and the best way to kick off the weekend. Alternatively, you could take advantage of the fair taking place on Mother’s Day by making plans with a mom you know. Take a Sunday stroll while opening your mind to whatever creative conversation comes your way.

Thousands of artworks from game-changing independent artists move, excite, and energize viewers all under one roof. Each fair has brand-new guest artists, features, installations, and encounters. Come again for a familiar yet different experience. Art that is boundary-pushing yet always affordable—whatever your vibe, you’re invited.

Book your tickets for May 11 to 14 at theotherartfair.com.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article If You’re Looking For Normal, You Won’t Find It At The Other Art Fair Dallas appeared first on Colossal.

Minnesota’s Creative Corner: Printmaker

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Printmaking

Minnesota Live Producer C.C. Rode introduces us to a printmaker in Northeast Minneapolis who is creating unique pieces of art using wood.

An artist who won an award at a world-renowned photography competition says the winning image was actually generated by AI

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Boris Eldagsen’s image “The Electrician” came first in a category at the Sony World Photography Awards.
But there’s a catch – the image was actually generated using DALL-E 2, the artist said.
He said he wouldn’t accept the prize and the awards appear to have scrubbed him from their website.

An artist says his image that won first prize in a photography competition was actually generated by AI.

German photographer Boris Eldagsen said that he wouldn’t be accepting the prize because his image “The Electrician” wasn’t a real photo. It had come top in the creative category in the open competition at the World Photography Organisation’s Sony World Photography Awards 2023.

“AI is not photography,” Eldagsen, who has been a photographer for around three decades, wrote on his website. “Therefore I will not accept the award.”

Boris Eldagsen said that the image “has all the flaws of AI.”

The 1940s-style black-and-white image shows a woman stood behind another with her hand on the other woman’s shoulders. Other hands appear to be adjusting the dress of the woman in the foreground. Both women’s gazes are averted.

Though the image looks photorealistic, there are some signs that it has been generated by AI, such as the position of some of the fingers, the appearance of some fingernails, and the shape of one of the women’s pupils. Her dress also appears to blend into her arm.

“It has all the flaws of AI, and it could have been spotted but it wasn’t,” Eldagsen told Insider, adding that he was surprised the image won. After hearing of his success in early March, he immediately told the competition’s organizers that the image was AI-generated, he said.

AI image-generation sites such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have boomed in popularity over recent months. In their prompts, users can ask the sites to create artwork in the style of a particular artist or images of events that never happened — leading to deepfake images of former President Donald Trump being arrested going viral. Users can also ask the platforms to edit existing images.

Eldagsen told Insider that he generated the image in September using DALL-E 2 in a process he referred to as “promptography.”

“For me, working with AI image generators is a co-creation, in which I am the director,” he wrote on his website. “It is not about pressing a button – and done it is. It is about exploring the complexity of this process, starting with refining text prompts, then developing a complex workflow, and mixing various platforms and techniques.”

Eldagsen told Insider that he wanted to start a conversation around the relationship between AI and photography. Competition organizers should create separate categories for AI-generated art, which is becoming increasingly realistic, he said.

Three images, each of two women, created by Boris Eldagsen with DALL-E 2 — Some of the images Boris Eldagsen generated with DALL-E 2 in the process of creating “The Electrician.”

“Midjourney 5 really looks like photography,” he said.

“The Electrician” has since been removed from the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 and no longer features on the World Photography Organisation’s website or at the physical exhibition in London.

A spokesperson for CREO, the company behind the awards, told Insider that the category “The Electrician” won “welcomes various experimental approaches.”

“As such, following our correspondence with Boris and the warranties he provided, we felt that his entry fulfilled the criteria for this category, and we were supportive of his participation,” the spokesperson continued, adding that the image was removed after Eldagsen declined the award.

“The Electrician” is part of a series by Eldagsen called “pseudomnesia,” the Latin term for “fake memory.” The images are “fake memories of a past, that never existed, that no-one photographed,” created by putting them through AI image generators between 20 and 40 times, Eldagsen says on his website.

Two images of a woman generated using DALL-E 2 — Images from Boris Eldagsen’s “pseudomnesia” series.

“The photographic language of photography has now separated itself from the medium,” Eldagsen told Insider.

“It’s free floating. It’s an entity in itself and got all the knowledge and the quality of the image making from the photographic medium. But is it photography? That’s a debate I just wanted to start. I don’t have easy answers.”

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East Lubbock Art House Offers Free Community Art Classes

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Printmaking

East Lubbock Art House, a nonprofit gallery and community center, is offering free community art classes now through the end of May.

Gallery: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Character Key Art

Apr 17, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Character Art — *Image: Nintendo Life*

In the run-up to the official release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on 12th May, Nintendo has been releasing various pieces of character art for us to get a good look at the game’s main figures.

With the marketing campaign now in full swing, it can be a little difficult to keep track of just which characters have been officially revealed up until this point. We have therefore collected each piece of art revealed via the official Nintendo Twitter account and compiled them into the following gallery for you to take a look at without needing to hunt them down individually.

Each piece of artwork has followed a trailer in which that respective character was revealed, so if you have been avoiding every Tears of the Kingdom promo up until this point, then we would suggest not reading any further until you have played enough of the game that the following designs will be old news to you.

If, however, you are eager to check out all of the character art that Nintendo has revealed so far, then you can find each and every piece down below, starting with the Hero of Time himself…

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Character Art

Link

It wouldn’t be a Zelda game without Link. This time around, it looks like the hero will once again be sporting a variety of different outfits and hairstyles, from the Breath of the Wild Champion’s Tunic to the Barbarian-looking bare-chest look.

Zelda

The curious and courageous princess of Hyrule, Zelda. What’s that she’s holding in her left hand…?

Ganondorf

“Do not look away. You witness a king’s revival…and the birth of his new world.”
The mighty Demon King, Ganondorf, returns in The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom.

Riju

Riju is the leader of the Gerudo, first appearing in Breath of the Wild. She is a direct descendent of Urbosa and was an integral part of the ‘Divine Beast Vah Naboris’ quest in the prior mainline game.

Sidon

[Sidon] cares deeply about his people and selflessly protects their home, Zora’s Domain, with integrity and passion.

Tulin

[Tulin is] a skilled archer from the Rito tribe, a race with a bird-like appearance who use their powerful wings to soar through the sky.

Bokoblins

One of the main enemies throughout the entirety of the Zelda series, Bokoblins will return to Tears of the Kingdom with some notable changes from BOTW. Notice the new horns on their heads? Perhaps the new Fuse ability will see us relying on these to craft weapons.

Master Sword

From the trailers, we have seen both the Master Sword and Link’s arm getting entangled in some kind of magic, leading to them both becoming corrupted. What was this power and how will Link be able to get his iconic sword back?

That’s everything that we have seen so far. Be sure to keep an eye on this gallery over the coming weeks as we will keep it updated when more official art is released.

Which character design is your favourite so far? Let us know in the comments below.

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