The Anthropocene Illusion, Kenya: Zed Nelson (Winner of photographer of the year and first place, wildlife and nature)

This is a documentary project, spanning six years and four continents, that explores the fractured relationship between humans and the natural world. Nelson says: ‘Kenya’s reserves offer the chance to see wild animals in what remains of their natural habitat. In Maasai Mara, tourists engage in colonial fantasies, re-enacting the picnic scene in Out of Africa’ The Sony World Photography awards 2025 exhibition is at Somerset House, London, 17 April until 5 May

The Anthropocene Illusion, China: Zed Nelson

Taking the concept of the Anthropocene, a term for the current period in Earth’s history, which is characterised by humans being the dominant influence on the environment, Nelson’s series focuses on humanity’s response to its impact on the planet. The project looks at artificial spaces, created by humans as a means to ‘experience’ and interact with nature, from safari parks, nature reserves and resorts, to natural history museums, zoos and green cities

Roseann on the way to Manhattan Beach, New York, 1978: Susan Meiselas (Outstanding contribution to photography)

This award goes to acclaimed documentary photographer Susan Meiselas. Known for her collaborative approach to portraiture, and for shedding light on lesser-known narratives, Meiselas’s work has been instrumental in shaping contemporary documentary practices, and the conversation around participation in photography. More than 60 images by Meiselas, including excerpts from some of her landmark series, are on view as part of the Sony exhibition

M’kumba: Gui Christ (First place, portraiture)

Candomblé practitioner Samara Souza makes an offering to Yemanjá, the Yoruba deity of the sea waters. Yemanjá’s name means ‘the mother whose sons are fishes’ and she is the most popular orixá in Brazil. Due to syncretism, in Brazil she is represented by an image of a white, skinny woman, while in Africa her image shows a corpulent woman with big milking breasts. M’kumba is an ongoing project that illustrates the resilience of Afro-Brazilian communities in the face of local religious intolerance

Rhi-Entry: Rhiannon Adam (First place, creative)

Some 117 billion humans have gazed at the moon, yet only 24 people – all American men – have seen it up close. During the Covid pandemic, the artist discovered the chance to apply for the ultimate art residency: dearMoon. In 2018, Japanese billionaire and art collector Yusaku Maezawa announced a search for eight artists to join him on a week-long lunar mission aboard SpaceX’s Starship. In 2021, Rhiannon Adam was chosen as the only female crew member. For three years she immersed herself in the space industry, until Maezawa cancelled the mission

The Second: Tom Franks (Third place, portraiture)

Part of the reason the second amendment was written was to ensure that American civilians were sufficiently armed to deal with a British invasion. Yet when Tom Franks knocked on their door and asked – with a British accent – if he could see their guns, have a chat and take their photograph, he was invited straight into the subjects’ homes. The photographer spent over two weeks in Prescott, Arizona, visiting residents to learn about the normalisation of gun ownership in the US

The Journey Home from School: Laura Pannack (First place, perspectives)

Making our way home from school is a simple, nostalgic, universal activity that we can all relate to. This project explores the tumultuous public lives of young people in the gang-governed Cape Flats area of Cape Town, South Africa, where their daily commute carries the risk of death. Using handmade, lo-fi experimental techniques, this project explores how young people have to walk to and from school avoiding the daily threat of gang crossfire. It offers a rare insight into this confusing and challenging world

I am Here for You: Irina Shkoda (Second place, creative)

In April 2022, Irina Shkoda left Ukraine for France. As a refugee, she entered a culture that was entirely foreign to her, which required her to adapt, to speak a new language, to submit to new rules: to lose parts of herself in order to be accepted. Through this project, she explores her personal experience of hospitality, both given and received

The Waiting: Maria Portaluppi (Second place, environment)

Guayaquil is Ecuador’s largest city and its main port, but prioritising its urban, political and economic interests has had a severe impact on a number of endemic species. Two of the most serious problems are linked to trafficking and urban developments into the forest and estuary. The Sacha Rescue Foundation was established to protect wildlife and now receives a large number of species that it aims to return to the wild or transfer to conservation centres. Some arrivals come from illegal trafficking and possession

The Chad Olympic Team: Antonio López Díaz (Third place, sport)

This series follows the inspiring story of four girls from Chad who, in 2019, received scholarships from a Spanish foundation to move to Spain and pursue their dream of becoming professional gymnasts. The girls worked hard throughout their training, with the goal of representing Chad at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. Although they did not qualify, their story has had a transformative impact on their home country, leading to the creation of Chad’s first gymnastics federation, which already has five registered clubs

Apocalypse: Lalo de Almeida (Second place, landscape)

Brazil saw its hottest year in 2024. Although the high temperatures affected all regions of the country, three biomes were especially impacted, with drought, fire and deforestation transforming the landscape into apocalyptic scenes. In the Amazon, extreme drought turned some of the world’s most powerful rivers into sand deserts. This fuelled forest fires, with 134,979 blazes in the first 11 months of the year. The Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on the planet, also faced a historic drought due to human activity and the climate crisis

The Tokyo Toilet Project: Ulana Switucha (First place, architecture and design)

This is an urban redevelopment project in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, that involves the design and construction of modern public restrooms that encourages their use. The distinctive buildings are as much works of art as they are a public convenience. These images are part of a larger body of work documenting the architectural aesthetics of these structures in their urban environment

Shred the Patriarchy: Chantal Pinzi (First place, sport)

India, the world’s most populous country, with 1.4 billion people, has only a handful of female skaters. It is here that Shred the Patriarchy comes to life, portraying how – facing prejudice and threats – some women have rebelled, transforming skateboarding into a form of resistance against the patriarchy, through the art of falling and getting back up. Many have managed to avoid arranged marriages, while others have gained financial independence

Still Waiting: Peter Franck (First place, still life)

Still Waiting presents collages that capture moments of pause, of waiting. They depict the liminal space between events, a threshold where time seems to stretch and meanings remain unfixed. The juxtaposition of objects within the space leaves room for interpretation, inviting surreal flights of thought. Everything is suspended, held in a fragile equilibrium, where intervention feels imminent

Divided Youth of Belfast: Toby Binder (First place, documentary projects)

‘There is hardly any other country in Europe,’ says Toby Binder, ‘where a past conflict is still as present in daily life as it is in Northern Ireland.’ It is not only the physical barriers – the walls and fences – but also the psychological divisions in society. For many years, Binder has been documenting what it means for young people, all born after the peace agreement was signed in 1998, to grow up under this intergenerational tension in both Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods

Winter Mummy: Pascal Beaudenon (Second place, wildlife and nature)

The musk ox has the exceptional ability to thrive in the most extreme winter weather conditions. This places the magnificent animal among the rare survivors of the last ice age. For several years, Pascal Beaudenon has been observing musk ox during winter in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella national park in Norway, where they were reintroduced in the 20th century. This series was taken on the Høgsnita massif and shows the behaviour of musk ox as they attempt to save energy, preserve their body heat and protect their young

Memories of Dust: Alex Bex (Third place, documentary projects)

Memories of Dust is a long-term project that explores traditional masculinity in the photographer’s home state of Texas, by examining the cowboy and his place in a fast-changing society. The cowboy is a longstanding symbol of North America, and is romanticised as a ‘real man’, the strong, silent type, lonesome, self-reliant and emotionally distant. As Alex Bex travelled across Texas, spending time on ranches, he learned about the realities, routines and hardships of the cowboy, contrasting them with cultural myth

Tideland: Alessandro Gandolfi (Third place, still life)

The fragile Wadden Sea is one of Europe’s last true wilderness areas. This immense wetland was designated a Unesco world heritage site in 2009, and it was here, in the late 19th century, that modern ecology was born. Today, threatened by the climate crisis, it has become a living laboratory for innovative eco-sustainable practices, as scientists grapple with the pressing challenges of the future

Alquimia Textil: Nicolás Garrido Huguet (First place, environment)

Alquimia Textil is a collaborative project undertaken by Nicolás Garrido Huguet and the researcher and fashion designer María Lucía Muñoz, which showcases the natural dyeing techniques practised by the artisans of Pumaqwasin in Chinchero, Cusco, Peru. The project aims to bring visibility to, and help preserve, these ancestral practices, which demand many hours of meticulous work that is often underestimated within the textile sector

The Strata of Time: Seido Kino (First place, landscape)

This project invites viewers to consider what it means for a country to grow, and the advantages and disadvantages linked to that growth, by overlaying archival photographs from the 1940s to 1960s within current scenes of the same location. Early in Japan’s period of rapid economic growth from 1945 to 1973, the trade-off for affluence was pollution in many parts of the country. As an island, its land and resource constraints also led to an uneven population distribution