I'm really proud to share this official press release from the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards. It is such a privilege to win the Architecture category of the open competition and also be announced as the UK National Award winner:

World’s largest photography competition announces Cornbill as winner of Open Architecture category and UK National Award
Photographer competing to win trip to London and $5,000 (USD) cash prize
Full list of Open category and National Award winners announced today
Images available for publication at press.worldphoto.org
Images exhibited at Somerset House, London, 21 April - 7 May

British photographer Tim Cornbill is today announced as the winner of the Open Architecture category of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world's largest photography competitionon. The perfectly captured image, "Oculus", also secured Tim 1st place in the UK National Award, a global program to find the best single photographs from more than 60 countries.

Tim’s winning photograph will be shown at the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition at Somerset House, London which opens April 21, the day after the overall winners are announced, and runs until May 7.

Tim (age 32), a part-time photographer and qualified architect based in Birmingham, was selected from over 105,000 entries to the Awards’ Open competition. He is one of the Awards’ ten Open category winners announced today. Each winning photographer receives a Sony α7 II with lens kit and will now compete to win the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards’ Open Photographer of the Year title, a trip to the winners' awards ceremony in London in April and $5,000 US dollars.

Chair of the Open competition, journalist and photographer Damien Demolder, said of the winning image: "This is a stunning piece of graphic architecture, and Tim has done brilliantly to show it off to full effect. I love the monochromatic colouration that emphasises the architect’s careful mix of shapes and lines, and the scale we get to understand immediately through Tim’s inclusion of the human figures at the bottom of the frame. It all works really very well."

For the full list of Open competition and National Awards winners announced today please go to www.worldphoto.org/winners-galleries

Tim impressed the judges with his image "Oculus", a perfectly captured architecture image shot by the River Spree in Berlin, Germany.

Talking about his success and passion for architecture photography, Tim says: "I was astonished when I received the news that I had won the Open Architecture category and the UK National Award. I am truly honoured and humbled to receive this accolade. I never thought one of my photographs could make such an impact, but it seems this one has! As an architect, I’m passionate about capturing buildings, and I’m always on the lookout for photogenic designs. I was really struck by the sheer scale of this façade and the visual impact of the circle, which I hope I’ve been able to convey in this everyday street scene. I am truly thrilled to have been recognised in the world’s largest photography competition; being shortlisted alone would have been incredible, but to win the category that means so much to me personally, and has to be pinnacle of my photographic achievements to date."

UK National Award

The Sony World Photography Awards’ National Awards competition runs across 65 countries and rewards the best single photograph taken by a local photographer. In addition to winning a category in the Open competition, judges also selected Tim’s work as the best single photograph taken by a British photographer and awarded him the UK National Award.

Sony World Photography Awards

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, 2017 sees the 10th anniversary of the Sony World Photography Awards and a decade-long partnership with its headline sponsor, Sony. The Awards recognize and reward the very best contemporary photography captured over the last year, and incorporate four competions - Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. The overall winners of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards will be announced on April 20.

I'm really proud to share this official press release from the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards. It is such a privilege to be shortlisted in the Architecture category of the open competition:

The judges of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards today honour the work of UK photographer Tim Cornbill, whose image “Oculus” is shortlisted as top ten in the world in the awards’ Open Architecture category.

Over 227,000 images from 183 countries were submitted to the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards. Tim, who is based in Birmingham, is recognised alongside the shortlisted photographers of the Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions, all of which are also announced today.

In the Open competition, judges were looking for the best single images across ten categories, representing the finest contemporary photography today.

Tim notes: “Having just arrived in Berlin on a bright summer's day, my wife and I decided to take a morning walk along the River Spree. We soon came across a large concrete building, and I was immediately struck by its geometry and scale. Across the river, I positioned myself for a single point perspective and waited for the right moment to capture it. A couple came into the viewfinder and I noticed the cyclist out of the corner of my eye. I waited for them to move into the frame and hit the shutter to try and balance the composition."

“I am a part-time photographer and qualified architect based in Birmingham, UK. Buildings are a huge passion of mine, and feature heavily in my photographs. I love nothing more than exploring a new city, wandering the streets and discovering its architecture through photography.”

“I first became interested in photography as a teenager, nearly 20 years ago. In recent years, my passion has been reinforced by social media, which I use to share my images, and connect with other photographers and artists. In 2015, I was honoured to become a ‘suggested user’ on Instagram, and it was around that time my photography really took off in the local community. I’ve used my social platforms to portray my home city, with its evolving urban fabric proving to be an excellent backdrop to explore my photographic style. I’m looking forward to developing my work further in the coming years, and I’m excited to see what opportunities the future holds.”

“I was astonished when I received the news that I had been shortlisted in the architecture category. I am truly honoured and humbled to receive this accolade. I never thought one of my photographs could make such an impact, but it seems this one has! As an architect, I’m passionate about capturing buildings, and I’m always on the lookout for photogenic designs. I was really struck by the sheer scale of this façade and the visual impact of the circle, which I hope I’ve been able to convey in this everyday street scene. I am truly thrilled to have been recognised in the world’s largest photography competition and it will be amazing to see the photo exhibited in London.”

Tim will now compete to win the Open Architecture category and the latest Sony digital imagery equipment – all ten Open category winners will be announced March 28. From the category winners, the Open Photographer of the Year and recipient of the $5,000 cash prize will be revealed on April 20.

The photographer’s work will also be shown alongside the awards’ other shortlisted and winning images at the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition in London from April 21-May 7.

Sony World Photography Awards

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, 2017 sees the 10th anniversary of the Sony World Photography Awards and a decade-long partnership with its headline sponsor, Sony.

Each year the awards recognise and reward the very best contemporary photography captured over the last year entered into any of the awards’ four competitions - Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. With 49 nationalities represented, the 2017 shortlists reinforce the awards’ international appeal and unique ability to present the greatest images taken by photographers from all corners of the world on a truly global scale.

Each of the four competitions are judged anonymously by internationally acclaimed industry professionals, carefully selected by the World Photography Organisation. For full list of 2017 judges, please click here.