One shot at perfection: Winners of the Sony World Photography Awards named

16:38 • 26.02.19

Talented photographers from across the world have been named as winners of diverse open categories at the Sony World Photography Awards - and the champions were judged on just a single image.

Winners were named in ten categories including architecture, portraiture, still life, creative, culture, natural world and wildlife, street photography, travel, landscape and motion.

The photographers were judged on a single exceptional image - with winners in each group chosen from a record-breaking number of entries submitted from 195 countries and territories.

The champion photographers came from a broad range of backgrounds and include full-time professional photographers, hobbyists who have recently converted from other careers, and enthusiasts alike.

The winners of the Sony World Photography Awards' National Awards have also been revealed today - celebrating local photographic talent across 62 countries.

But the ten open category winners will now go on to compete for the title of Open Photographer of the Year.

This photographer, along with the winners of the Sony's professional categories, will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on April 17.

Shadow Puppetry by Pan Jianhua, from China, was named the winner in the culture Open category. Shadow Puppetry is an ancient folk art with a history of more than 2000 years in China. In the winning image, the village shadow Puppet performers put on a show for the local villagers in the courtyard of a stone house

Woman Wearing a Wedding Dress by Nicolas Boyer, from France, was named the winner in the travel Open category. The image depicts a young woman wearing a shiromuku dress ahead of a traditional Shinto wedding in Tokyo, Japan

Stumps by Hal Gage, from America, was named the winner in the landscape Open category. The image shows tree stumpsÂ exposed in a spring when water levels on the man-made Alder lake on the Nisqually River Dam, Washington are low

Peony and Leaves by Rachel Yee Laam Lai, from Hong Kong, was named the winner in the still life Open category. The photographer said: 'This is a photograph of my resin artwork. Using self-made paint mixed with resin to capture colours in liquefaction and also in petrifaction form. It looks like an abstract flower garden.'

Harmony by Christy Lee Rogers, from America, was named the winner in the motion Open category. The image, shot underwater in Hawaii, was part of a bigger collection called 'Muses'. It usesÂ colors, cascading bodies and contrasts of light and darkness to create movement and purpose within the scene

Heatwave by Philippe Sarfati, from France, was named the winner of the architecture Open category. The image, taken in Kanazawa, Japan in July 2018 depites staff at the 21st Century Contemporary Art Museum as they water the lawn on a summer afternoon

Grayson Perry - Birth by Richard Ansett, from Britain, was named the winner in the portraiture Open category

Vasile by Alex Robciuc was named the winner of the National Awards in Romania. The image also features on the shortlist for the culture Open category. Of the image, the photographer said: 'His whole life lived here. In a traditional wooden house from Maramures county, Romania, in the picturesque village of Breb. He chose a different life than the other people from his community.'