We live in an age in which many people seem to have distanced themselves from Mother Nature. However, I think that we all have some sort of deep-rooted connection with our natural world.

Such a diverse array of people; children learning to swim for the first time, older people needing to stretch their weary, sore bodies, tourists soaking up the sun...

Andrés Gallardo Albajar is a self taught amateur photographer from Spain, living in Estonia. He is shortlisted in the Open Still Life category of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

"In photography luck plays an important role, so I think I was very lucky to catch the right moment, when the baby expresses his fear and the family members their trepidation."

"Successful portraiture for me is the picture that goes beyond the image. It's the depth, warmth, feeling and story that it tells. It's all interconnected."

"I love to play with new ideas mentally and communicate them through experimental techniques in my photographs. It's an act of extensive freedom."

To celebrate International Women's Day, we asked 7 of our female staff members based in London to choose their favourite Open and Professional images by female photographers from the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist.

Belgian photographer Kevin Faingnaert has won the 2017 ZEISS Photography Award. Kevin's series 'Føroyar' depictslife on remote and sparsely populated villages on the Faroe Islands.

'Hackney Studios' is a long-termproject by East London resident and photographer, Jenny Lewis, now published by Hoxton Mini Press.

"The word 'snapshot' is usually used in a derogatory way, but it doesn't have to imply disposable or unthinking, it can be elevated beyond that."