Magical Sunrise, © Marcelo Portella, Brazil, Commended, Open, Landscape & Nature (2018 Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Tjentiste, © Anastasia Riakovskaia, Russian Federation, Shortlist, Professional, Architecture (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Enafrinat (‘the floured’), © Antonio Gibotta, Italy, Shortlist, Professional, Discovery (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

绽放, © Lin Chen, China, Commended, Open, Travel (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Mammatus, © Mitch Dobrowner, United States of America, Shortlist, Professional, Natural World & Wildlife (2018 Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Braine Le Comte 2017 Belgium, © Paul D’Haese, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional, Discovery (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Team Italia, © Adam Pretty, Australia, Shortlist, Professional, Sport (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Perfect Toupee, © Wiebke Haas, Germany, Shortlist, Professional, Natural World & Wildlife (2018 Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

ANA’A BUILDING FACADE, SANA’A, YEMEN – 29 APRIL 2017: A building in the Yemeni capital damaged by ground fighting and gunfire during conflict in 2011. © Giles Clarke, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Professional, Current Affairs & News (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Cenote II, © James Monnington, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open, Landscape & Nature (2018 Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Bee Eaters Mating, © Petar Sabol, Croatia, Shortlist, Open, Wildlife (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Ballet, © Fredrik Lerneryd, Sweden, Shortlist, Professional, Contemporary Issues (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Patterns of Glacial River, © Manish Mamtani, India, Shortlist, Open, Travel (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Black and White, © Valentina Morrone, Italy, Shortlist, Open, Portraiture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Before sunrise, Mount Kilauea volcano © Joseph Anthony, United Kingdom, Commended, Open, Landscape & Nature (2018 Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Smoke and Mirrors, © Lucie Goodayle, United Kingdom, Commended, Open, Still Life (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Untitled, © Pavlo Nera, Ukraine, Commended, Open, Street Photography (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Walking, © Suphakaln Wongcompune, Thailand, Commended, Open, Travel (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

A Wave of Fish, © Eric Madeja, Switzerland, Commended, Open, Wildlife (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Sunset Double Exposure, © Poppy Cornell, United Kingdom, Commended, Open, Enhanced (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Grand Prize, and 1st Prize Nature Category. Photo and caption by Sergio Tapiro Velasco. The power of nature. Powerful eruption of Colima Volcano in Mexico on December 13th, 2015. That night, the weather was dry and cold, friction of ash particles generated a big lightning of about 600 meters that connected ash and volcano, and illuminated most of the dark scene. On last part of 2015, this volcano showed a lot of eruptive activity with ash explosions that raised 2-3 km above the crater. Most of night explosions produced incandescent rock falls and lightning not bigger than 100 meters in average.

Nature, 2nd place. Photo and caption by Hiromi Kano. To live. Swans who live vigorous even in mud.

Cities, 2nd place. Photo and caption by Andy Yeung. Walled City #08. The Kowloon Walled City was the densest place on Earth. Hundreds of houses stacked on top of each other enclosed in the center of the structure. Many didn’t have access to open space.This notorious city was finally demolished in 1990s. However, if you look hard enough, you will notice that the city is not dead. Part of it still exists in many of current high density housing apartments. I hope this series can get people to think about claustrophobic living in Hong Kong from a new perspective.

Cities, 3rd place. Photo and caption by Misha De-Stroyev. Henningsvær Football Field. This football field in Henningsvær in the Lofoten Islands is considered one of the most amazing fields in Europe, and maybe even in the world. The photo was taken during a 10-day sailing trip in Norway in June 2017. We arrived to Henningsvær after a week of sailing through the cold and rainy weather. Upon our arrival, the weather cleared up. I was really lucky that the conditions were suitable for flying my drone, and I managed to capture this shot from a height of 120 meters.

Nature, 3rd place. Photo and caption by Tarun Sinha. Crocodiles at Rio Tarcoles. This image was captured in Costa Rica when I was traveling from Monteverde to Playa Hermosa. As you cross over this river, you can stop and peer over the edge of the bridge. Below, reside over 35 gigantic crocodiles, relaxing on the muddy banks of the river. I wanted to capture the stark difference between the crocodiles on land and in the water. In the murky waters, the body contours of these beasts remain hidden, and one can only truly see their girth as they emerge from the river.

Nature, honorable mention. Photo and caption by Clane Gessel. Marble Caves. The marble caves of Patagonia.

Nature, honorable mention. Photo and caption by Yutaka Takafuji. Forest of the Fairy. Shooting in the forest This photograph was taken in the evening hours of a humid early summer day in the forest of a small remote village in the Tamba area of Japan. It beautifully captures the magical atmosphere of Princess fireflies carpeting a stairway leading to a small shrine revered by the local people.

People, 1st place. Photo and caption by F. Dilek Uyar Worship. Whirling Dervish in an historical place of Sille Konya, Turkey. The ‘dance’ of the Whirling Dervishes is called Sema and is a symbol of the Mevlevi culture. According to Mevlana’s teachings, human beings are born twice, once of their mothers and the second time of their own bodies.

People, 3rd place. Photo and caption by Rodney Bursiel. Under The Wave. I recently traveled to Tavarua, Fiji to do some surf photography with pro surfer Donavon Frankenreiter at Cloudbreak. I’m always looking for new angles and perspectives. The usual surf shots have all been done so we decided to get a little creative. Makes you look twice.

© Michael B. Hardie. All rights reserved. All photos courtesy Smithsonian.

© Lina Samoukova. All rights reserved.

© Sharon Castellanos. All rights reserved.

© Liam Wong. All rights reserved.

© rekha Bobade. All rights reserved.

© Luis Henry Agudelo Cano. All rights reserved.

© vickson dasan. All rights reserved.

© Pier Luigi Dodi. All rights reserved.

#1 (Grand Prize) Takayuki Fukada, Japan / All images courtesy IAPLC & Aquabase.

#2 Chao Wang, China

#3 Junichi Itakura, Japan

#4 Katsuki Tanaka, Japan

#5 Adriano Montoro Nicácio, Brazil

#6 Yoyo Prayogi, Indonesia

#12 Yi Ye, China

#14 Yanfei Qian, China

#18 Wei Chen, China

#19 Yucheng Pan, China

#21 Hoai Nam Vu, Vietnam

#27 Juan Puchades Rufino, Spain

“Hitchhikers” (Lion’s Mane Jellyfish), St Kilda, off the Island of Hirta, Scotland, by George Stoyle

“Welcome to the Party” (Grey Seal), Farne Islands, Northumberland, England, by Adam Hanlon

“Free Bird,” London, England, by Chaitanya Deshpande

Common Weasel (Pic 1), North Yorkshire, England, by Robert E Fuller

“A Mountain Hare by an Ice Cave,” Highlands, Scotland, by Andy Rouse

“Grey Seal Pup in a Sandstorm,” Norfolk, England, by Jamie Hall

“Hello Ducky” (Brown Trout and Mallard Duck), Hampshire, England, by Paul Colley

Tadpoles, Bristol, England, by Jeanette Sakel

“Eye to Eye” (Emerald Damselfly), Cornwall, England, by Ross Hoddinott

Whilst on a road trip in Iceland, we stumbled across a sea of old lava flows that has, over the centuries, been blanketed in thick, green layer of moss, © Dylan Shaw / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Spring season in japan, People love to walk in this blue carpet flowers (Nemophila blue flowers) at Hitachi seaside park Ibaraki, © Danilo Dungo / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

During a snow storm I decided to head over to Bryce Canyon NP and enjoy the freshly fallen snow. Visibility was down to almost zero, but then I found this single tree right next to a snow drift and knew this would be my shot, © Photo and caption by Yvonne Baur /National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

This picture was taken during Mt. Bromo eruption, the horse seems a little agitated due to the sound of the eruption, © Reynold Dewantara / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Stunning peaks & thousands of King Penguins on South Georgia in soft early sunrise. The photography challenge was to resist shooting only Penguin close-ups (very tempting for sure) & step back occasionally to be equally amazed by the landscape in which they live. Special Bonus: It was 100 years to the month that Shackeltonís boat (Endurance) finally went under the Antarctic pack ice (Nov 1915), precipitating his epic traverse of South Georgia, before finding help at nearby Stromness (1916), © Photo and caption by Shivesh R. / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

This image was captured very early in the morning after climbing Yellow Mountain at 3 am and waiting for few hours in the cold and wind at -4 degrees. No HDR and no Photoshop was used for the effect of this image, everything is 100% natural. The magic of the nature did its work and I have been lucky, © Thierry Bornier / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

An hours walk on a cold Winter’s morning was needed to get to this location. Looking back over the Trotternish Ridge from the Quirrang on the Isle of Skye is one of my favourite locations, © Photo and caption by Andy Dines / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Performances of Chinese opera are usually held in a mat-shed at the Pak Tai Temple in Taipa village.
In this small temporary make-up room built solely with bamboo and iconic red-blue-white plastic bags, over 10 performers are preparing for the show, © Photo and caption by Antonio Leong / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Devotees carrying the palki, sedan chair, of Shiva. The Shiva’s Temple, known as Khandoba locally, is a very famous temple situated in the town of Jejuri, in Maharashtra, India. Every year on the day of Somvati Amavasya – a no moon day – thousands of devotees arrives at the temple. The festival’s main ritual is offering of turmeric powder by the devotees. Such large quantities of turmeric powder are used that all the devotees and the temple ground are covered in yellow colour of the turmeric, © Photo and caption by Aashit Desai / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

This amazing stacked architecture of Hong Kong shows the housing of its rather dense population. It’s visually striking to understand that your whole horizon is built from people’s lit windows. It shocks you that each life so big and important to the person himself and his close circle looks just like a tiny star in a huge sky next to millions of the same stars, © Photo and caption by Julia Wimmerlin / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

© Warren Richardson – Hope for a New Life. Migrants crossing the border from Serbia into Hungary. World Press Photo of the Year 2015.

© Anuar Patjane Floriuk, Whale Whisperers

© Christian Bobst, The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal

© Christian Ziegler. Chameleon Under Pressure. Furcifer ambrensis, female foraging for insects with extendable tongue.

© Daniel Ochoa de Olza, La Maya Tradition. A ‘Maya’ girl sits in an altar during the traditional celebration of ‘Las Mayas’ on the streets of the small village of Colmenar Viejo, near Madrid, Spain Saturday, May 2, 2015. The festivity of ‘Las Mayas’ comes from pagan rites and dates from at least the medieval age, appearing in ancient documents. It takes place every year in the beginning of May and celebrates the arrival of the spring. A girl between 7 and 11years is chosen as ‘Maya’ and should sit still, serious, and quiet for a couple of hours in an altar on the street decorated with flowers and plants, afterwards they walk to the church with their family where they attend a ceremony. Not more than four, or five girls are chosen as a Maya each year.

© Francesco Zizola, In the Same Boat. An overcrowded rubber dinghy sailed from the Libyan coast is approached by the M.S.F. (Médecins Sans Frontières – Doctors Without Borders) search and rescue ship Bourbon Argos in the Mediterranean Sea, in international waters. The migrants on board the dinghy in distress have issued an emergency call and are waiting to be rescued. On the horizon, an offshore oil platform just off the Libyan coast. 26 August 2015.

© John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune. Lamon Reccord, left, scolds a police sergeant during a police violence protest and march at State and Randolph streets Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in Chicago.

© Jonas Lindkvist, Neptun Synchro. Malmö FF- PSG på Malmö stadion

© Kevin Frayer, Bliss Dharma Assembly on October 30, 2015 in UNSPECIFIED, China.

© Kevin Frayer on December 10, 2015 in UNSPECIFIED, China.

© Matic Zorman, Waiting to Register. PRESEVO, SERBIA – OCTOBER 7, 2015: A child refugee is covered with raincoat while she waits in line to get registered in Presevo refugee registration camp. Most of the refugees who crossed Serbia try to continue their route towards Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and other countries of the European Union.

© Mauricio Lima – Amazon’s Munduruku Tribe 1. Tapajós River, Itaituba, Pará State, Brazil, on February 10, 2015.
Indigenous children jump into the water as they play around the Tapajós river, in the Munduruku tribal area called Sawré Muybu.

© Rohan Kelly, Storm Front on Bondi Beach. Sunbather oblivious to the ominous shelf cloud approaching – on Bondi beach. A massive “cloud tsunami” looms over Sydney in a spectacular weather event seen only a few times a year. The enormous shelf cloud rolled in from the sea, turning the sky almost black and bringing violent thunderstorms in its wake.

© Sergio Velasco. Colima Volcano in Mexico shows a powerful night explosion with lightning, ballystics and some incandescent rockfalls. Photo taken on dec. 13 at 22:24 hours, 12.5 km away from the crater near a lagoon named Carrizalillos on Comala municipality in the state of Colima.

© Tim Laman, Tough Times for Orangutans