The 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

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The Sony World Photography Awards, an annual competition hosted by the World Photography Organisation, has recently announced its shortlist of winners. This year's contest attracted more than 122,000 entries from 170 countries. The photographs are being judged in six different competition categories, including Professional, Open, and Student Focus. The organizers have been kind enough to share some of their shortlisted images with In Focus, gathered below. Winners are scheduled to be announced in March and April.

The calm of both human and animal. The things we miss as we are preparing. My partner was getting her flippers on and I was already prepared and ready to get in so I swam out to see if I could get this shot, I could have never imagined that in a million years I would have a turtle just cruising by at the moment I stuck my head under. How blessed. (© Nathan Wills, Australia, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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One Day in History. Portraits of children and youths who survived the massacre on the island of Utoeya outside Oslo, Norway on 22nd of July 2011. "I bear my scars with dignity, because I got them standing for something I believe in." Ylva Schwenke, age 15, from Tromso¸ hid by a path called "the love path". She was shot in the shoulder, her stomach and in both of her thighs. (© Andrea Gjestvang, Norway, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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I took this photo in spring 2012 in Rome, my hometown. It was taken with a monorail view camera (5x6 film) and manually developed, after it was scanned and post produced. I took care of the entire process and working on film, it took me quite many tries to have the perfect shadow and exposure; I had to go back to the location several times to and always hope it was sunny enough, once I spent the whole day in front of that wall, just to check at which time of the day the shadow was looking more geometrical, eventually I decided on 2pm. (© Martina Biccheri, Italy, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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A huge wasp measuring 2.5 inches in length, visiting the banana tree in my front yard. (© John Matzick, USA, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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Melissa Wu of Australia practices during a diving training session ahead of the London Olympic Games at the Aquatics Center in Olympic Park, on July 25, 2012 in London, England. (© Adam Pretty/Getty Images, Australia, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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"Love Grows" is an ongoing project that started in 2011, representing the two most important moments in a woman's life; pregnancy and maternity. These are moments of complete change, both physical and psychological, a change of identity that can take on different connotation for better or for worse. I think it's an experience that leads up to an ancestral connection with nature that accompanies the woman to a deeper understanding of herself. (© Michela Taeggi, Italy, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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A view from Szczeliniec to Owls Mountains and Klodzko valley, Poland. (© Pawel Uchorczak, Poland, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

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Photo from the Portraits category, Youth Competition. (© Berta Vicente, Spain, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)