Sony Alpha Awards 2020 winners revealed

6 July 2020

The winners of the 5th annual Sony Alpha Awards have recently been announced. The competition celebrates striking imagery from Australia and New Zealand, captured on Sony Alpha cameras and lenses. A total of over 3,000 images were entered from both professional and amateur photographers for the 2020 competition.

A panel of 26 judges were called on to help select the winners across the 12 categories. Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organisation, judged the overall Grand Prize winner. The Alpha Awards offer a prize pool of over $30,000 of Sony camera gear, while the winner of the Grand Prize takes home Sony digital imaging gear to the value of $10,000. The Grand Prize Winner in 2020 was Oscar Hetherington from Otago, New Zealand.

Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organisation commented, “I was incredibly honoured to be asked to judge the overall winner in this year’s Sony Alpha Awards.  Each category has a strong judging panel that selected the finalists for that category and I was mindful to select an image that respected their judgements as well as looking for something that truly stood out as a strong and independent image. It is incredibly challenging selecting a single winning image that sees one comparing astrophotography with portrait, but I was looking for something that upheld the diversity of the awards but also reflected in the creativity of the photographers participating as well as the beauty of the medium itself."  

The 2020 Sony Alpha Award winners 

 Grand Prize: Oscar Hetherington, NZ

© Oscar Hetherington. Backwash.
© Oscar Hetherington. Backwash.

Astrophotography: Laurie Winter, NZ

© Laurie Winter. Mt Taranaki Eruption. The milky way rises behind Mt Taranaki on a freezing May evening. "The first photo I took after being in lock-down or restricted locally for over two months. Nothing like this display of nature to realise how lucky we are. 8 photos stacked."
© Laurie Winter. Mt Taranaki Eruption. The milky way rises behind Mt Taranaki on a freezing May evening. "The first photo I took after being in lock-down or restricted locally for over two months. Nothing like this display of nature to realise how lucky we are. 8 photos stacked."


City/Street: David Symonds, AU

© David Symonds. Meditation.
© David Symonds. Meditation.


Compact Camera: Gary White, AU

© Gary White. On the Street Vienna. Street scene in Vienna taken just before the dog breaks free and causing havoc.
© Gary White. On the Street Vienna. Street scene in Vienna taken just before the dog breaks free and causing havoc.


Creative: Grant Galbraith, AU

© Grant Galbraith. The Arrival.
© Grant Galbraith. The Arrival.

Editorial: Ilan Wittenberg, NZ

© Ilan Wittenberg. Timid. This portrait is part of the series: From here to Africa - The Maasai People.
© Ilan Wittenberg. Timid. This portrait is part of the series: From here to Africa - The Maasai People.


Landscape: Jesse Little, AU

© Jesse Little. Golden Glow - Annapurna South, Nepal. "Arriving at our final sunrise location we were disappointed to find morning fog had cut visibility to zero. As we were starting to joke about the anti-climatic end to our incredible 18 day journey, the clouds lifted allowing the gorgeous golden morning light through beaming onto Annapurna South."
© Jesse Little. Golden Glow - Annapurna South, Nepal. "Arriving at our final sunrise location we were disappointed to find morning fog had cut visibility to zero. As we were starting to joke about the anti-climatic end to our incredible 18 day journey, the clouds lifted allowing the gorgeous golden morning light through beaming onto Annapurna South."

Nature: Simon Runting, NZ

© Simon Runting. A red billed gull taking a bath. This young red billed gull was having a tremendous time bathing and throwing water all over the place. Thanks to enough light for a high shutter speed I was able to freeze the water so it's head was visible through the halo of water.
© Simon Runting. A red billed gull taking a bath. This young red billed gull was having a tremendous time bathing and throwing water all over the place. Thanks to enough light for a high shutter speed I was able to freeze the water so it's head was visible through the halo of water.

Portrait: Judi Thies, AU

© Judi Thies. Acheng. "I first saw Acheng walking towards me in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. She was tall and beautiful. I spoke to her, and without hesitation, she agreed to pose for me, then and there."
© Judi Thies. Acheng. "I first saw Acheng walking towards me in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. She was tall and beautiful. I spoke to her, and without hesitation, she agreed to pose for me, then and there."


Sport: Scott Barbour, AU

© Scott Barbour. Horse racing.
© Scott Barbour. Horse racing.


Seascape: Karl Dalyell, AU

© Karl Dalyell. Golden Twist.
© Karl Dalyell. Golden Twist.


Wedding: Benjamin Lane, NZ

© Benjamin Lane. Wild Love.
© Benjamin Lane. Wild Love.

Youth: Alex Marshall, NZ

© Alex Marshall. A Celebration of Solitude.
© Alex Marshall. A Celebration of Solitude.

To view last year’s winning photographs, click this link.

To view all the finalists for 2020, click this link.

 

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