2014 Sony World Photography Awards L’Iris d’Or and competition winners revealed

© Sara Naomi Lewkowicz /Reportage by Getty Images, Winner L’iris d’Or and Contemporary Issues, Professional Category, 2014 Sony World Photography Award.

• American photographer Sara Naomi Lewkowicz wins L’Iris d’Or and $25,000 prize • Professional category winners announced • Chen Li, China, named Open Photographer of the Year • Mary Ellen Mark receives Outstanding Contribution to Photography award • British student wins Student Focus and German photographer collects Youth Award • Winners of KKF Book Awards for Best Photography and Moving Image Books revealed

Images available for publication at press.worldphoto.org or via Image.net

30 April. Thirty-one year-old American photographer Sara Naomi Lewkowicz is tonight announced as the winner of the 2014 L’Iris d’Or, Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year. Beating over 139,554 entries from 166 countries, this represents the highest number of entries in the awards’ seven year history. The photographer collected her award - Sony digital imaging equipment and $25,000 (USD) prize money - at the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Gala Ceremony held in London.

The judges voted unanimously for Lewkowicz’s hard-hitting series, ‘Shane and Maggie’, - an intimate examination of domestic violence as a process - as this year’s winner. Through her project, Lewkowicz seeks to take a deeper, unflinching look at domestic abuse as a process as opposed to a single incident. She examines how a pattern of abuse develops and eventually crests, as well as its short and long-term after-effects on victims, their families, and their abusers. The story is inescapable; horrific and tender, fierce and unfathomable, luridly colored.

Talking about her win, Lewkowicz comments: ”I'm completely stunned; there was such extraordinarily strong work, I figured there was no way I would win - I was just excited to receive one award! I am completely overwhelmed”

Talking about the winning series, jury chair, W.M. Hunt commented: “Vibrating colour, crackling, dramatic and full of impact, intimate and unsettlingly provocative.” Sara Lewkowicz is a native New Yorker pursuing a master's degree in visual communication from Ohio University in Athens. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina. Her work has been published in publications such as Time Magazine, Stern and Days Japan. She has won several grants and awards, including the 2013 Alexia Student Grant, first place in the Contemporary Issues Category for World Press Photo and the 2013 Ville de Perpignan Remi Ochlik Award. She has been named the 2013 College Photographer of the Year by COPY and other awards and honours include POYi, Days Japan, the World Report Award by Festival for Ethical Photography in Italy and numerous others.

Chosen by our esteemed Honorary Judging Committee, the L’Iris d’Or - our most distinguished award - is presented to one single photographer whose work represents the pinnacle of the entries received. The photographer is chosen from within the first place winner of all the professional categories. The L’Iris d’Or winning series of work, alongside those of the other winners announced tonight at the awards, will be displayed as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House from 1 – 18 May. The images will also be published in the 2014 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.

Open Photographer of the Year – Chen Li, China Chinese amateur photographer Chen Li was announced as the Open Photographer of the Year at this year’s Awards. Chen Li’s winning image, ‘Rain in an ancient town’, was selected from over 65,000 entries from across the world in a competition that sought to find the world’s single best image taken by an amateur photographer or photography enthusiast. Chen Li, who lives in Fenghuang County, Hunan Province, has been a keen amateur photographer for over 30 years.

Professional category winners and finalists The winners, plus the 2nd and 3rd placed photographers of the Professional competition, were also revealed at the awards ceremony. The Professional winners were flown to London to collect their award.

The wining series of works showcase the very best in international contemporary photography - from still life and architectural images forcing the viewer to find something surprising within the everyday - to witty images of wet dogs. The winners are:

• Architecture – Ludovic Maillard, France • Arts and Culture – Viviana Peretti, Italy • Campaign – Spencer Murphy, UK • Conceptual – Thomas Brummett, US • Contemporary Issues – Sara Naomi Lewkowicz, US • Current Affairs – Guy Martin, UK • Landscape – Roei Greenberg, Israel • Lifestyle – Myriam Meloni, Italy • Nature & Wildlife – Michael Nichols, US • People – Mario Wezel, Germany • Portraiture – Sophie Gamand, France • Sport – Salvatore Di Gregorio, Italy • Still Life – Amanda Harman, UK • Travel – Ricardo Teles, Brazil

The full list of winning, 2nd and 3rd place photographers are in the notes to editors.

Outstanding Contribution to Photography – Mary Ellen Mark Iconic American photographer Mary Ellen Mark was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award.

Mary Ellen Mark is recognised as one of the world’s most influential photographers, and her work has become the benchmark for excellence in the field of documentary photography. Starting off as a freelance photographer, often working on film sets, Mark’s career has spanned four decades and seen her travel extensively. Her work is characterised by a constant vision to make pictures that reflect a high degree of humanism and to capture and acknowledge people on the edges of society.

To mark the award, a special retrospective of Mark’s work will be shown at Somerset House from 1-18 May as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition. A further selection of images will be published in the 2014 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards winners’ book. The Outstanding Contribution Award has previously been awarded to William Eggleston, William Klein, Eve Arnold, Bruce Davidson, Marc Riboud and Phil Stern.

Student Focus Photographer of the Year – Scarlet Evans, UK British photographer Scarlet Evans, who competed for the Student Focus Photographer of the Year title on behalf of her university, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, UK, was announced as the winner and presented with €35,000 worth of Sony digital imaging equipment for her university. The Student Focus Award is one of the largest international programmes for photography students. Involving 230 educational institutions worldwide, its aim is to support and inspire the future generation of photographers.

Youth Photographer of the Year – Paulina Metzscher, Germany A stunning image of a young girl on a night train in China secured nineteen year-old Paulina Metzscher the title of Youth Photographer of the Year. Metzscher’s image was chosen as the single best photograph taken by a photographer under the age of 20.

2014 Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards winners The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards are a proud partner of the Sony World Photography Awards. Two stunning books share the awards’ £10,000 prize for the best photography and best moving image books of the year. This year’s winners are:

• Best Photography Book Award: Sergio Larrain: Vagabond Photographer by Agnès Sire and Gonzalo Leiva Quijada (Thames and Hudson) • Best Moving Image Book Award: Charles Urban: Pioneering the Non-Fiction Film in Britain and America, 1897 - 1925 by Luke McKernan (University of Exeter Press)

The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation also presented Philippa Brewster, Senior Editor, Visual Culture at I.B. Tauris, with the Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Award in recognition of her long-standing dedication to, and impact on, the visual publishing industry.

2014 Sony world Photography Exhibition All the winning series, together with work by shortlisted photographers of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, will be on display at Somerset House in London from 1 – 18 May as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition. The exhibition also includes a special curation of work by iconic American Photographer Mary Ellen Mark, recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award.

Sony’s Global Imaging Ambassadors programme – William Klein and Panos Pictures Produced in collaboration with the World Photography Organisation, Sony’s Global Imaging Ambassadors programme is a new initiative from Sony uniting some of the best photographers around the world. Legendary photographer William Klein, along with a select group of Panos Pictures photographers, are amongst the first "Master" photographers to join Sony’s ambassadors programme and their special commissions are shown as part of this exhibition.

Galleries of all the winning and finalist images can be seen at www.worldphoto.org

For tickets to the exhibition, further information and images please contact: Kristine Bjørge, PR Manager, World Photography Organisation +44 (0) 20 7886 3146/ + 44 (0) 7557 261 537 / [email protected]

Winning images are available to download via press.worldphoto.org and via Image.net. To register for a press account please go to press.worldphoto.org/register

Notes to editors:

• 139,554 images were entered in total to the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards – 69,114 Professional entries, 65,512 Open entries and 4,928 Youth entries images.

• 2014 Honorary Jury: Chair; W.M. Hunt (US) a New York-based collector, curator and consultant, Ruth Eichhorn (Germany) Director of Photography GEO, Isabella Icoz (Turkey) Art Advisor, Johanna Neurath (UK) Design Director for Thames & Hudson Publishing, Poorna Bell (UK) Lifestyle Editor, The Huffington Post, Hannah Brenchley (UK) Picture Editor, Tatler, Guy Harrington (UK) Director, Soho Management, Simon Barnett (US) Director of Photography, CNN Digital, Harry Hardie Candlestar (UK) Panos Pictures/ HERE Press, Matthew Pillsbury (US) Photographer.

• Professional competition results

Architecture 1st Ludovic Maillard / Babel Photo, France 2nd Herman Van Den Boom, Belgium 3rd Sungseok Ahn, Republic of Korea

Arts & Culture 1st Viviana Peretti, Italy 2nd Elisa Sturaro, Italy 3rd Chloe Bartram, Australia

Campaign 1st Spencer Murphy, UK 2nd Morten Germund, Denmark

Conceptual 1st Thomas Brummett, US 2nd Hao Li, Taiwan 3rd Frauke Thielking, Germany

Current Affairs 1st Guy Martin / Panos, UK 2nd Salvatore Esposito / Contrasto, Italy 3rd Dan Kitwood / Getty Images, UK

Contemporary Issues 1st Sara Naomi Lewkowicz / Getty Reportage, US 2nd Stanislav Krupar / LAIF, Czech Republic 3rd Alejandro Cegarra, Venezuela

Landscape 1st Roei Greenberg, Israel 2nd Kacper Kowalski / Panos, Poland 3rd Matthew Baum, UK

Lifestyle 1st Myriam Meloni, Italy 2nd Salvatore Esposito / Contrasto, Italy 3rd Mikhail Petrov, Russia

Nature & Wildlife 1st Michael Nichols / National Geographic, US 2nd Christian Ziegler, Panama 3rd Tony Hertz, US

People 1st Mario Wezel, Germany 2nd Stacy Kranitz, US 3rd Vinicio Drappo, Italy

Portraiture 1st Sophie Gamand, France 2nd Anna Di Prospero, Italy 3rd Ken Hermann, Denmark

Sport 1st Salvatore Di Gregorio, Italy 2nd John Quintero, Colombia 3rd YongSheing Zheng, China

Still Life 1st Amanda Harman, UK 2nd Matteo Mezzadri, Italy 3rd Kei-Uwe Gundlach, Germany

Travel 1st Ricardo Teles, Brazil 2nd Wilfred Berthelsen, Norway 3rd Christian Vizl, Mexico

• The Honorary Jury were required to choose a minimum of three and a maximum of 10 photographers per category. Photographers entering the Professional competitions entered a minimum of three and maximum of 10 images per category and were judged on a body of work. All images must have been taken in 2013 or first published in 2013.

• About World Photography Organisation (WPO) WPO supports professional, amateur and young photographers, lending a global platform for the photographic industry to communicate, converge and showcase current trends across all genres of photography. Delivering various initiatives to this global community, these programmes involve the photographer in commercial, cultural and educational activities within the many industry sectors, whilst also creating events for the public to participate in. Currently included within the WPO portfolio are: the Sony World Photography Awards; the World Photography Student Focus Competition and Youth on Assignment. In addition the WPO have recently launched Photo Shanghai, Asia-Pacific’s premiere international Art Fair focused on photography and The Magazine, a monthly online publication where photography is explored, debated and discussed. WPO also has a thriving online presence via its website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and engages its online audience via regular PhotoTALK discussions. For more information please visit worldphoto.org

• About Sony Corporation Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $72 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. Sony Global Web Site: www.sony.net. For more information on Sony Europe, please visit presscentre.sony.eu.

“Sony”, “WALKMAN”, “VAIO”, “Cyber-shot”, “Handycam”, “α”, “BRAVIA” and “XDCAM” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

• Sony’s Global Imaging Ambassadors programme Sony’s Global Imaging Ambassadors programme is about storytelling, through amazing still and moving imagery. Our photographers span the globe and together have documented fame, fashion, culture, sportsmanship, war, celebration, human devastation and environmental shifts. Collectively they have captured our fast-changing world from every angle. Ultimately, these photographers communicate a vast collection of stories that move us. Making this all possible and providing the tools with which to tell these stories is Sony. Through this Global Imaging Ambassadors programme, we at Sony make it our priority to support great storytellers and provide them with infinite ways to create beautiful imagery. For more on the programme, visit ImagingAmbassadors.sony.net

• The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards celebrate excellence in photography and moving image publishing. They were founded in 1985 by the prolific Hungarian publisher and founder of Focal Press, Andor Kraszna-Krausz. Two separate prizes are awarded for photography books and for moving image books (including film and television) published in the UK between 1 January and 31 December. All eligible submissions join the Kraszna- Krausz collection of photography and moving image books in the library of the National Media Museum in Bradford. For more information, please visit: kraszna-krausz.org.uk

The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation was established in 1985 by Andor Kraszna-Krausz, founder of the influential publishing house Focal Press. The charitable organisation presents the annual book awards for photography and the moving image and supports the National Media Museum First Book Award, in partnership with MACK.