This year’s Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House showcases some of the best contemporary range of photography in various photojournalism, fine art and commercial categories. This is the second year in which the awards have been held in London with over 112,000 image entries from 171 countries – the most entries seen to date. Mitch Dobrowner was awarded the prestigious L’Iris d’Or title for his series of images entitled Storms, winning a $25,000 cash prize and Sony’s latest digital imaging camera equipment, but some other striking images also caught our eye at the exhibition. Donald Weber won first place in Current Affairs, for his Life in the Exclusion Zone series documenting the haunting effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on Odaka in north-eastern Japan, which rendered the 13,000 populace area into a ghost town. In the same category, second place was awarded to Fernando Alfonso Brito Lizárraga whose images of Mexican drug casualties are additionally haunting in their own right, both photographers hinting at mankind’s destructive capabilities through different subjects. Another striking collection from Alessandro Grassani chronicles a Mongolian family’s struggle through recent harsh winters alongside their herd of sheep.
These thought-provoking series among many others are well worth visiting, a true showcase of photographic commentary for 2012, on until 20 May. We are giving away a pair of tickets daily for this exhibition, follow @PCLTweet for details.
