Architecture - David Watts, UK:
Persepolis
Persepolis
©David Watts courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Iranian tourists visiting Persepolis. Iran, May 2008

Conceptual and Constructed - Vladimir Melnik, Russia:
Surfing the Net in the middle of nowhere...
Surfing the Net in the middle of nowhere...
©Vladimir Melnik courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
The shot was taken in the internet cafe of small Moroccan village of Merzouga at the edge of Sahara desert...

Fashion - Christo Stankulov, France:
Hymn For Her
Hymn For Her
©Christo Stankulov courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009

Landscape - Giuseppe Parisi, Italy:
Out Of My Reach
Out Of My Reach
©Guiseppe Paisi courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
A branch pointing towards the sea conveying the concept of an impossible achievement of the goal. A HOYA ND400 was used to prolong the exposure and a monotone blue filter was added in digital

Music - Kushal Gangopadhyay, India:
Braille singers
Braille singers
©Kushal Gangopadhyay courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
With an enormous population in India and a large chunk of it yet to achieve literacy it is very heartening to see these blind people in Vrindavan singing while ‘reading’ the lines from a Braille book.

Natural History - Vincent Foong, Singapore:
Perfect Landing
Perfect Landing
©Vincent Foong courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
This Lesser Adjutant (endangered species ) is executing the perfect landing on a disused wooden pile. Because of its size, not all landing is perfect. Sometimes the bird may even fall into the river breaking its leg. There are about five breeding pairs in this river location in West Malaysia, and six of the birds have broken legs

Portraiture - Claire Martin, Austria:
Cream Pie
Cream Pie
©Claire Martin courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Tony has been addicted to heroin for 25 years. He contracted AIDS as a result of his addiction and his health is rapidly declining. Here he eats cream pie that I bought in an attempt to get him to eat

Sport - Lorenz Holder, Germany:
A lonley Monday morning
A lonley Monday morning
©Lorenz Holder courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
This shot was taken on a Monday morning on my local ski resort. Me and the rider Basti Rittig, were watching some skiers on the other side of the hill, who created some great powder clouds on the slopes, just by making easy turns. So we thought it could work, to do it on purpose but without any other person on the slope. Due to the fact that it was Monday we didn’t have to wait too long until all the people were in the lift-line. I also used a tilt&shift lens to get a little bit of the miniature feeling in the picture.