2013 Sony World Photography Awards Winners

The winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2013 were recently announced. Photographer of the Year was awarded to Norway's Andrea Gjestvang for her series of portraits of children and young people who survived the July 2011 Utøya massacre. This year the contest attracted more than 122,000 participants from 170 countries. Photos were judged in six categories, including Professional Photos, Open Photos and Student Photos.

(Total 20 photos)

1. This is one of the photographs from the photo project "One Day in History" by Norwegian photographer Andrea Gjestvang, who was named Photographer of the Year. “I wear my scars with pride because I got them for what I believe in,” says 15-year-old Ylva Schwenke. Ylva received gunshot wounds to her shoulder, stomach and thighs during the massacre on the island of Utøya, which was staged by Anders Breivik in July 2011. (© Andrea Gjestvang/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

2. Another victim of Breivik. “After what happened on Utoya, I slept very badly. I was afraid of the dark, I was tormented by terrible nightmares. My mother and I decided that the dog would help me calm down, so they bought me Atene. Now she sleeps on top of me every night,” says 15-year-old Islyn Rose Bork. She hid behind a rock on the island until she was picked up by tourists on a boat. (© Andrea Gjestvang/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

3. Winner in the category "Professional photos" and "Sports". This is a series of images from the London 2012 Olympic Qualifiers. Pictured is Melissa Wu of Australia training ahead of the London Olympics at a pool in London on July 25, 2012. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

4. Winner in the category "Professional photos" and "Sports". Usain Bolt of Jamaica leads USA's Ryan Bailey, Jamaica's Johan Blake, USA's Justin Gatlin and USA's Tyson Gay to win the 100m on Day 9 of the London Olympics. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

5. Young photographer of the year. One of the New Year traditions in Romania. (© Alexandra Dragoi/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

6. Winner in the Professional Portrait category. Photo titled "Six Degrees of Copenhagen". Based on the fact that all people on Earth are connected by six degrees, these photographs show people connected in the city of Copenhagen. The purpose of the project is this: the photographer met strangers on the streets of the city and took their portraits, and then they sent him to their acquaintances, whom he also photographed, and who also sent him to their other acquaintances, etc. (© Jens Juul/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

7. Another photo from the Six Degrees of Copenhagen series. (© Jens Juul/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

8. Winner in the category "Professional Photos" and "Modern Actions". The photo is called “Personality and Society. Reality versus illusion. In 2012, the people of North Korea celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the state, Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Il, who continued his father's policies, passed away in 2011. For many years, North Korea has been the most closed country in the world. No one could say what kind of research and development took place in the country. In this photo, schoolchildren and soldiers are captured at the official ceremony in honor of the opening of the monument to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. (© Ilya Pitalev/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

9. Winner in the same category. North Korean military and civilians at the Kim Il Sung Stadium. (© Ilya Pitalev/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

10. Winner in the professional landscape category. Pictured is the Matterhorn. Photographer comment: “When I was young, I dreamed of climbing the Matterhorn, but I never got the chance. The Matterhorn was the last great Alpine peak to be conquered, and the ascent of it in 1865 marked the end of the golden age of mountaineering. The north face of the mountain, appearing in all photographs, is one of the "three great problems" of the Alps. It was conquered only in 1931. I have been to Zermatt a hundred times - this is a village at the foot of the Matterhorn. I looked at the mountains and tried to capture their sophistication and endless state of change. I wanted to capture the passage of time and the beauty of the wind and clouds dancing around the mountain. This photo is a kind of tribute to all those who dared to conquer this mountain, as well as to those who did not return while doing it. (© Nenad Saljic/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

11. Winner in the Professional Arts and Culture category. The emblem of luxury that carried the politicians and rock stars of the 80s has now become an icon of Argentine pop culture. Brides in white dresses, socialites, 15-year-old girls on their birthdays - they all sit in this blue limousine on their important day. A limousine is a place where anything can happen. The limousine turns into a scenario for the lives of ordinary people who let their fantasies run wild behind the darkened windows of the limousine. In the photo: twins Laura and Bela on their 15th birthday. In Latin America, the 15th birthday is very important as it marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. (© Myriam Meloni/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

12. Winner in the Professional Campaign category. Hong Kong is an advertising campaign for the Jim Rickey sneaker brand, which was filmed in Hong Kong. The photos were taken from skyscrapers using a telephoto lens to make the surface appear as flat as possible, like in a platform game. (© Christian Aslund/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

13. Winner in the category "Contemporary Issues" - "Prisons of South America". “I spent 10 years traveling through South American prisons and a complex world in which brutality and violence are part of the life of a prisoner. I saw the prisoners trying to find a place similar to what they had outside the prison. They are trying to maintain dignity. I don't want to talk about the situation in prisons, I want to reveal and talk about what unites and divides all the countries of South America,” says photographer Valerio Bispuri. In this photo you see the eyes of a prisoner in one of the most brutal prisons in Caracas, Venezuela. (© Valerio Bispuri/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

14. Winner in the category “Modern problems. Prisoners in a prison in Santiago, Chile. (© Valerio Bispuri/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

15. Winner in the Fashion and Beauty contest. The picture was taken on the remote east coast of Iceland, next to a glacial lake near Vatnajökull. (© Klaus Thymann/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

16. Winner in the Lifestyle category. Summer Family is a project about the photographer's family during their holidays in Liguria in the summer of 2012. (© Alice Caputo/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

17. Photographer of the Year in the Student Focus category. (© Natalia Wiernik/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

18. Winner in the Travel category. Every year, before Christmas, thousands of Christians go to Lalibela - a small town in the highlands of Ethiopia, which is called the African Jerusalem. Lalibela is known for its 13th-century monolithic churches carved into the rock. In this photo, a barren woman is being baptized by priests. According to local belief, this water has healing properties that will help her conceive a child. (© Gali Tibbon/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

19. Winner in the category "Travel". A beam of light enters the church from a cross-shaped window. (© Gali Tibbon/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

20. Photographer of the Year in the Open Vote category. The girl stands firmly in the midst of a raging thunderstorm. If there are obstacles in front of her, she never gives up. (© Hoang Hiep Nguyen/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)