Russ O’Connell is Picture Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine and a judge for the Professional competition of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

"In Japan, the firefly season comes at the beginning of rainy season. These photos were captured on mountains in the Shikoku Island, the smallest of Japan's four main islands."

"I believe that nothing is more powerful than a well crafted story and use photography, video, multimedia, design, and the written word as tools to deliver the shared human experience."

"For me, I always try to get to know the person I am photographing so I can try to portray something about their character, something personal to them."

See the some of the best new entries to the Open competition of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, from the week commencing Dec 12.

With 2016 coming to a close, we lookback and presentsome of our favourite images from the Professional categories of 2016 Sony World Photography Awards.

"I'm a French photographer living in London and I started this project involving a Gameboy Camera.With it I try to show a world where the line between familiar and new is blurred."

Joni Sternbach is a native New Yorker. She uses both large format film and early photographic processes to create contemporary landscapes and environmental portraits.

7 days, 7 images on the World Photography Organisation Instagram feed:#WPOfavsfeature: @salvalopez.

Florian W. Mueller is a Cologne based photographer with 15+ years experience in photography. His work isexhibited and published internationally and has received numerous awards.