2019 Sony World Photography Awards celebrates South African photographic talent

Supporting the local photographic communities in 62 countries across the globe, the World Photography Organisation and Sony today announce the winners of the 2019 National Awards. Included in the list is Alfred Mahlangu as recipient of the 2019 South Africa National Award.

Part of the prestigious and internationally renowned Sony World Photography Awards, the National Awards program demonstrates Sony’s commitment to supporting local photographic talent by recognising the work of local photographers and promoting it on a global scale.

Alfred Mahlangu’s image Inner Township Blues, Mapaseka Tembe was selected as the single best image taken by any South African photographer, entered to the Open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards.

Mahlangu is a photographer from Tsakane, a small township from the far east of Johannesburg. His winning work was shot in 2018 in Rockville, Tsakane and is a stunning portrait that combines contrasting colours using only natural light.

As a National Award winner, Mahlangu receives the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony. The winning work will be shown at the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London from April 18 – May 6 and published in the 2019 Awards’ book.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards are one of the most important fixtures on the global photographic calendar. The Awards are now in their 12th year of partnership with headline sponsor Sony and consist of four competitions in total: Professional (for a body of works), Open (for a single image), Student (for academic institutions) and Youth (for 12-19 year olds).

The success is announced today alongside the winners all 62 National Awards, and the 10 categories of the Awards’ Open competition. The shortlist for the Awards’ Professional and Student competitions will be revealed March 26.  The overall and Professional category winners of the Awards will be announced April 17.  For more details visit www.worldphoto.org