The World Photography Organisation announced the winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025. The prestigious title of Photographer of the Year 2025 was awarded to acclaimed British photographer Zed Nelson for his series The Anthropocene Illusion.
Nelson received a cash prize of US$25,000, a range of Sony digital imaging equipment, and the opportunity to present additional work at the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 exhibition.
The Anthropocene Illusion is a long-term documentary project spanning six years and four continents that examines the deeply fractured relationship between people and the natural world.
Taking the concept of the ‘Anthropocene’—a term for the current period in Earth’s history, characterized by humanity’s dominant influence on the environment—as its starting point, Nelson ’s series focuses on humanity’s response to its impact on the planet.
The project examines artificial spaces created by people to ‘experience’ and interact with nature, from safari parks, nature reserves, and resorts to natural history museums, zoos, and green cities. Nelson uses these constructs as a lens through which to explore the dissonance between humanity’s desire to remain connected to nature and the continued destruction of the environment through human activity.
Nelson was selected from the 10 winners of the Professional competition categories, announced at the ceremony along with each category’s finalists. The overall winners of the Open, Student, and Youth competitions were also honored during the gala. In addition, documentary photographer Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, documentary photographer Susan Meiselas, received the spotlight.
The Youth Photographer of the Year 2025, selected from a shortlist of 11 photographers, was Daniel Dian-Ji Wu of Taiwan, age 16, for his compelling photograph of a skateboarder performing a trick in silhouette against a sunset at Venice Beach, Los Angeles.
Among the ten winners of the competition’s Open categories, Olivier Unia of France was named Open Photographer of the Year 2025. She received a prize of US$5,000 plus Sony equipment for her photograph Tbourida La Chute.
Many photographs taken during a traditional Moroccan ‘tbourida’ show riders firing their rifles. With this image, the photographer wanted to show another side of the event and demonstrate how dangerous it can be when a rider is thrown from a horse.
The Sony World Photography Awards 2025 exhibition ran from April 17 through May 5 at Somerset House in London, featuring more than 300 prints and hundreds of images in digital displays, as well as a special presentation by Susan Meiselas.
More information: www.worldphoto.org.
