This year’s best photography from around the world

The 2017 Sony World Photography Awards celebrates the best photography from all corners of the globe, and we've picked out our favourites from the winners.

It’s been ten years since the launch of the Sony World Photography Awards, a decade since this annual celebration of photographers and their work began. This year, some 227,000 entries were received from over 180 countries, making it the world’s largest photography competition.

Born in Antwerp in 1984, Frederik Buyckx, a freelance photographer for the Belgian newspaper De Standaard, was awarded Photographer of the Year 2017. Buyckx’s images have been published and exhibited internationally and most recently he was shortlisted for the ZEISS Photography Award.

This image of Buyckx’s captures a shepherd in the North of Montenegro walking to his herd of sheep with a self-made broom in his hand. The broom was used to wipe off the snow lying on the back of the sheep.

It’s part of the winning series, Whiteout, which was taken in the Balkans, Scandinavia and Central Asia, remote areas where people often live in isolation and in close contact with nature.

A donkey is getting up after rolling in the snow in the mountains in Albania.

“There is a peculiar transformation of nature when winter comes, when snow and ice start to dominate the landscape and when humans and animals have to deal with the extreme weather,” Buyckx explains. “The series investigates this struggle against disappearance.” It’s a beautiful investigation into the superhuman force of nature.

Frederik Buyckx, Belgium, Photographer of the Year, Professional, Landscape, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

We take a look at the crème de la crème of this year’s other winners…

Diego Mayon: Athens Studio

Diego Mayon’s ethereal project, mostly shot at night, has a beautiful Lynchian vibe. Prostitution is legal in Greece and the authorities have decided to stipulate that all brothels must have permits.

There are different kinds of brothels, the upper class ones are called ‘Studios’. A person welcomes the clients and once inside there is a waiting room where the women come out to show themselves. At this point the clients decide whether to stay or to leave.

These brothels are recognisable by a pink light sign with the word Studio.

Diego Mayon, Italy, 3rd Place, Professional, Architecture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

Yuan Peng: The Twins’ Gymnastics Dream
The twins’ gymnastics dream

This series was taken in a sports school in Jining in Shandong province, China. Liu Bingqing and Liu Yujie are twin sisters, who have liked gymnastics since their childhood. They have studied, trained and grown up here.

Yuan Peng, China, 1st Place, Professional, Sport, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.