“Exodus”. I encountered this field of sunflowers in Castilla and León. Sunflowers always seek the divine by following the sun on its route. These ones, although withered, stood up proudly. When I grabbed my camera to shoot, I no longer saw sunflowers but women walking the dry fields of Castilla, wearing ancestral garments. An army of spirits – the inexorable exodus of the Spanish rural. © Vicente Ansola, Spain, Winner, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Highland Cattle (Bos taurus taurus)”. Highland Cattle (Bos taurus taurus) covered with snow and ice in Deelerwoud, the Netherlands. © Albert Beukhof, Netherlands, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Ballos Storm Behind the Cliff”. Violent midnight storms over the Aegean Sea, captured from a cliff above Chora on Folegandros island, in October 2021. I was admiring the amazing powers of nature. © Anargyros Dekavallas, Greece, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Hide and Seek”. One of my lifelong dreams was to meet the famous mountain gorillas. I stayed in the Bwindi forest for three days, and trekked twice into the Bwindi rainforest in order to meet the Nkuringo family. Rwamutwe became the new upcoming Silverback of this family. To see them so close was a thrilling adventure – the social interactions between them, and the way they interact with visitors, was fascinating. © Brice Tribollet, Switzerland, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Puffin Portrait”. A monochrome portrait of an Atlantic Puffin, taken on Skomer Island in Wales, UK, in May 2021.
© Antonio Coelho, Portugal, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Blurred Vision”. Commotion, movement, fear and a means for survival. The slow shutter speed creates a motion blur and depicts the great migration that we were witnessing. © Amish Chhagan, Zambia, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Crowned Tree Frog”. On a night walk that I did in September, in Guapiles, Costa Rica, we came across this jewel of the rainforest: a crowned tree frog. It seemed as if it was made of chocolate – and if you look closer, it has a beautiful crown. The symmetry on its head is just perfect. © Dinorah Graue Obscura, Mexico, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“The Journey”. Elephants usually travel in large herds, protecting their youngest by keeping them hidden in the middle of the group. But kids are just kids, regardless of the species, and try to test their limits. This little elephant managed to escape from its mother for a short couple of seconds, proudly leading the family and making a lot of dust with its tiny legs. © Ewa Jermakowicz, Poland, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

This night eruption of the Etna volcano was taken from San Teodoro at 2 am. Three eruptive vents are seen, which simultaneously eject columns of lava up to 1000 metres high. The town in the foreground is Cesarò, and the lights at the bottom are from the municipality of Bronte. © Fernando Famiani, Italy, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Natural Patterns”. In February I visited Doradal, Colombia, to photograph Macaws in flight – to promote the conservation of this family and raise awareness of illegal trafficking. I sought to sensitise the community by showing the Macaws living and being active in nature. I went to an area that they used to visit and waited on a terrace, spending three days there to get the shot. © Memo Gómez, Colombia, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Stars and Northern Lights Over Chalets, Hatcher Pass, Alaska”.
Starry skies and a hint of northern lights blaze over a snowy peak and three little chalets in Hatcher Pass, Alaska. © Hal Gage, United States of America, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Unstoppable”. With this picture, I want to communicate a feeling of freedom and power, because that is exactly what I felt while capturing this moment. Ronaldo running wild through knee-high snow in February 2021, in my beloved hometown in Germany. We haven’t had so much snow in years, making it quite special to experience his zest for life in this magical season. © Jessica Mohn, Germany, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Murmuration”. A murmuration of starlings over Lough Ennell in County Westmeath, Ireland. © James Crombie, Ireland, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Land of Fire”. A sunrise at Vestrahorn, during my first trip to Iceland. The sky was burning on this November morning and the contrast with the black sand created this beautiful atmosphere. © Julien Visse, France, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Overflow”. Magma rises directly from the mantle, driven by gigantic gas bubbles 10-15 metres in diameter, which burst at the surface. As a squall blanketed the Reykjanes peninsula with clouds and heavy rain, I ascended to the base of Geldingadalir, Iceland’s youngest volcano. I flew my drone blindly through the clouds. When I reached the crater the lava was emerging with unusual force, scattering the incandescent rock like oil on a canvas. © Luis Manuel Vilariño Lopez, Spain, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Solar Sea”. I was overwhelmed by this new generation of solar panels. Immediately, I saw the association with a sea that now supplies us with energy, instead of food. © Manuel Schmidt, Germany, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Instant attack”. Shot in April 2021 at Ganshan Park in Sanmenxia, China. © Liqiang Ma, China, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Amazing view”. Winter in Naantali, Finland. © Marko From, Finland, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Winter sunset”. A winter sunset in Krkonoše National Park. © Martin Morávek, Czech Republic, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Salt Lake”. The view of the salt lake at sunset was very impressive – its muddy appearance was also magical. © Muzaffer Murat İlhan, Turkey, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“The Volcano’s Rest on a Living Island”. North of Iceland, in June, this felt like it was from another planet. The colour and the light was great, and I just tried to capture the moment with the emotion that I had. © Olivier Vauguin, France, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Foggy winter sunrise at St. Thomas Church”. A winter morning at St. Thomas Church, in Slovenia. I had already photographed the area the summer before, and decided to return here in the winter. I wanted to capture the white-clad landscape with the mountains lit by the first rays of sun in the background. © Peter Leyer, Hungary, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Eye Contact”. I spent several days going up to the mountains to look for this insect, libelloides hispanicus, and one day with a lot of wind, I got it. Our eyes stayed connected. © Raquel Inés Correa Chiesa, Spain, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Anger Management”. A wild mustang stallion kicks up a dust storm in northwestern Colorado. © Scott Wilson, United Kingdom, Winner, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Mangrove Swirl”. An aerial view taken from a helicopter of mangroves in an estuary at Yamba, New South Wales, Australia. © Stuart Chape, Australia, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“The frosty track”. Winter on a hillside near Pitlochry in Perthshire, Scotland. After several days of high pressure over the UK, and with constant mist and freezing temperatures, many trees were completely coated in hoar frost – magical conditions. © Tim Hodges, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“The Chimera”. My best friend saw it first. A single lion, lying under a bush, looking for shade. Not exactly an unfamiliar sight, as lions choose to save precious energy in the savanna heat. I needed something better. Lions should evoke respect with their image. We went to check it out and it turned out to be the last lion to leave, in a group of nine. Magnificent sight to behold. We were face to face with Sala’s pride. Sala means ‘prayer’ in Swahili, but is also a camp in the Maasai Mara. Often, prides bear the name of a close landmark. © Tiho Trichkov, United States of America, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

“Reaching for a Branch”. Herds of Red Deer live freely in Richmond Park, London. The fog on this September morning helped, as I took this image of a hind reaching up to eat some leaves. © Thomas Barry, Ireland, Shortlist, Open, Natural World & Wildlife, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards DM/ML