Image description
Taken in the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood of Cape Town, South Africa, this image centres on a parked car set against a sharply divided colourful facade. The composition balances geometry and saturation; everyday architecture becomes graphic and deliberate, reflecting how colour and place shape urban identity.
Shortlist
Hanhoon Lee
Flora
This photograph anthropomorphises the angelica flower, revealing its radiant symmetry against a stark black background. The delicate branching forms resemble a graceful being extending outward, evoking movement and life. Through monochrome tones and precise detail, the image transforms a simple botanical subject into a poetic figure.
© Hanhoon Lee, Korea, Republic Of, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Guglielmo Mangilli
Aphrodite and Cherries
Whilst experimenting with composition and lighting, the photographer was inspired to create this surrealist image with a pair of bookends and cherries.
© Guglielmo Mangilli, Italy, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Olivier Koestel
Proud Parsnips
With this image, the photographer wanted to let the form of the vegetables express itself without artifice. The minimal setup of this image benefits from careful lighting and a deliberately chosen textured table covering.
© Olivier Koestel, France, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Leonel Costa
Silent Witnesses
Photographed using natural light, in Luanda, Angola, this still life presents everyday objects that, in silence, accumulate marks of time, use and permanence. This ‘spontaneous composition,’ found by the photographer and captured by his camera, invites reflection on the traces left by life, where objects become silent witnesses to human experience.
© Leonel Costa, Angola, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Glen Serbin
Still Life Study
One evening, while out for a walk, the photographer’s friend pulled a dried plant from a vegetation bin and challenged him to photograph it. Although the branch is lifeless, it still reveals the intricate beauty and quiet strength of nature.
© Glen Serbin, United States, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
David Hoekje
Natural
This image is a part of an ongoing project examining the relationship between the natural and artificial worlds. Decaying leaves represent one end of the spectrum, stones a midpoint, and orange rubber bands the opposite end.
© David Hoekje, United States, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Yuliy Vasilev
To Pea or Not to Pea
This image is part of an ongoing series entitled Cabinet of Curiosities, which the photographer describes as the ‘X Files’ of his culinary photography.
© Yuliy Vasilev, Bulgaria, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Lesley Ormrod
Aquilegia Circle
To create this image, the artist separated parts of aquilegia flowers and plants gathered from her garden, where they seed annually in a variety of colours. The elements were pressed, arranged in a circle, as in the Japanese art of Oshibana, and photographed, preserving their ephemeral beauty.
© Lesley Ormrod, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Sarah Barlow
Red Balloon
Taken as part of the photographer’s series Red Balloon, this image explores ideas of potential and impermanence. The balloon reflected on the water invites contemplation on identity, reproduction and the tenuous line between autonomy and expectation; the stillness of the day suggests both peace and precarity.
© Sarah Barlow, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Jan Goeke
Chromatic Order
A modern building photographed in clear daylight, focusing on the relationship between the geometry of the facade, colour, and a single vertical element.
© Jan Goeke, Germany, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Soomin Park
The Unintended Gaze
Among the rows of drying fish, one eye appeared distinctly red, catching the light differently from the rest. This detail disrupts the visual order, introducing a moment of unease in an otherwise repetitive and static scene. This image was taken on a rainy spring afternoon at an empty market.
© Soomin Park, Korea, Republic Of, Shortlist, Open Competition, Object, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards