From leopards staring into the camera lens to bolts of lightning flashing over the Ecuadorian Amazon, these are the incredible winners of the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards.
They are the top shots in the ‘open’ competition and ‘national awards’ and come from photographers in Australia, Argentina, Cambodia, China, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Subject matter across the photographs could also not have been more diverse, with entrants choosing a variety of stunning landscapes, personal portraits, touching encounters and sporting moments as their inspiration.
One particularly striking shot, taken by Japanese photographer Zhaoting Wu, shows Tokyo bathing in rays of light after being hit by a typhoon.
A more colourful image, taken by Ingrid Vekemans from Belgium, shows a chimpanzee looking very human as it scratches its chin and looks up to the forest canopy in Uganda.
All award winners received a range of cutting-edge photography equipment from Sony. In addition, the winning work will be published in the 2018 Awards’ book and shown at the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London from April 20 to May 6. In the meantime, here is a selection of the winning works…