International honour for Indian photographers

The judges of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, honour the work of four Indian photographers by short listing their work as top 10 in the world in the awards’ Professional, Open and Student Focus competitions. Judges were looking for images representing the finest contemporary photography today.

Jayanta Roy from Calcutta, India was shortlisted in the Landscape category of the Professional competition and Mahesh Shantaram from Bangalore, India was shortlisted in the Portraiture category of the Professional competition, both judged upon strong bodies of work between 5-10 images. Swapnil Deshpande from Alibag, Maharashtra, India was shortlisted for a single image in the Open competition’s Travel category and Shravya Kag from Vijayawada, India was shortlisted for a single image answering the brief ‘Memories’ in the Student Focus competition.

Over 227,000 images from 183 countries were submitted to the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, and the shortlists across the awards’ Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions are all announced today. Jayanta Roy, Professional Landscape category Roy’s shortlisted series, ‘Himalayan Odyssey’ is an impressive black-and-white series, revealing the beauty and magnificence of Himalayas and expressing his ongoing love for the planets largest and most diverse mountain range.

Based in Calcutta, India, Jayanta Roy is especially interested in black-and-white landscape and nature photography. Working around the Indian Himalayas, he is deeply preoccupied with the climate change, which is a major threat for the venerable and fragile landscape. His photography aims to give food for thought and raise awareness of environmental issues.

Talking about being shortlisted, Roy comments: “It’s really a great moment of my life; I feel extremely honoured. Thanks a lot to the respected members of the jury and the Sony World Photography Awards for the selection.”

Mahesh Shantaram, Professional Portraiture category Shantaram’s shortlisted series ‘Racism in India: The African Portraits’ is an intriguing series of portraits investigating the theme of racism. Preoccupied with the life of Africans in India, the photographer has created an exciting series reflecting the stories of different characters in India.

Swapnil Deshpande, Open Travel category Deshpande’s shortlisted image ‘Autumnal impressions’is a stunning image of the beautiful cascades in the Kaldalon Glacier valley in the west fjords of Iceland.The autumn colors in combination with the soft light of the sunset give a brilliant hue to the photograph, highlighting the uniqueness of the landscape.

Based in Alibag, Maharashtra, India, Swapnil Deshpande is an engineer and a photography enthusiast. Passionate about nature, travel and wildlife, he strives to create fine art and minimalist images. Talking about being shortlisted, Deshpande comments: “It is the first time that my work has been recognized at an international level. I have always been impressed by the excellent art and the level of the photographers at the Sony World Photography Awards and I feel very happy about this.”

Shravya Kag, Student Focus Kag’s shortlisted image ‘Pages of Memories’ is a brilliant self-portrait revealing the photographer’s love for reading and exploration. While the background is a small alcove in the Strand bookstore in New York City, the remaining elements were shot separately and composited over the background to create this surreal image.

Shravya Kag, aged 27, is currently studying at the School of Visual Arts of New York. She is a documentary photographer and guerilla filmmaker with a particular interest in stories that create a social impact and spread awareness about the current state of the society. Her photographic projects and video essays allow her to explore the concept of home, identity and personal space.

Talking about being shortlisted, Kag comments: “I am equally elated, nervous and honoured to represent School of Visual Arts at the Sony Student Focus Awards. This recognition is deeply encouraging, as the awarded image is of great personal value and I am thrilled to share it with the international photographic community.” The photographers will now compete to win their categories and the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards’ Photographer of the Year title.

The Open category winners will be announced March 28, and the Professional category winners and the Student Focus winner revealed at an awards ceremony in London on April 20. Prizes include the latest Sony digital imagery equipment, a trip to the awards ceremony in London and $30,000 US dollars in cash prizes. The Student Focus winner will receive €30,000 (Euros) of Sony equipment for their university.