Winners announced for the 2025 Sony Alpha Awards
Announcement posted by Sony Australia 24 Sep 2025
Over the weekend Sony unveiled their tenth annual Sony Alpha Awards, celebrating the spectacular talents of Australian and New Zealand photographers captured on Sony Alpha cameras and lenses. The Alpha Awards aspire to drive creativity, reward professionals and enthusiasts alike, and showcase exceptional photography work.
Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Sony Alpha Awards, Penguin Pose by Mat Bell.
This image has been selected by Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organisation.
Over 3,000 images were submitted by professional and amateur photographers across the 13 categories for the chance to be recognised for their photographic talents.
The winners across each category were carefully selected by our board panel of judges who are all acclaimed for their body of work and experience. The overall Grand Prize winner was judged by Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organisation.
All the winning images can be found on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sony-anz/albums/72177720329241188/
JPEGS of the images can be downloaded here: https://we.tl/t-6ycPnNRN6y
Sony has given away $62,000 AUD worth of Sony camera gear with each category winner receiving AUD $4,000 and the Grand Prize Winner, Mat Bell, taking away AUD $10,000 worth Sony camera gear.
The winners for the 2025 Sony Alpha Awards include:
Astrophotography
Ollie Hudson | Leviathan
Bird Life
Mat Bell | Penguin Pose
City / Street
Henry Chow | Ghost in the City
Creative
Agatha Lambert | Deep Sea Plunder
Editorial
David Symonds | Dhaka Brickworks - The Dignity of Labour
Landscape
Andrew Hutchinson | Antarctic Mirage
Landscape - Partners & Affiliates
Meghan Maloney | Te Mata Fog
Open - Partners & Affiliates
Demas Rusli | A Street in Barcelona
Portrait
Benizi Santamaria | Woman by the Sea
Portrait - Partners & Affiliates
Joanne Stephan | Echoes in Motion
Sea Life
Ross Gudgeon | Fractal Forest
Seascape
Nicholas Nairn-Smith | MIRROR
Sports
Susan Church | Committed to the Catch
Wedding
Rachel Jordan | Generational Love
Wildlife
Lewis Burnett | Blossom
Wildlife - Partner & Affiliates
Craig Parry | A Leopard's Curiosity
Youth
Jarvis Smallman | Where the Land Meets the Sea, a Wild Place to Be
Sony extends their congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who participated.
The full gallery of finalist and winning entries of the tenth annual Sony Alpha Awards can be viewed HERE.
All the winning images can be found on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sony-anz/albums/72177720329241188/
JPEGS of the images can be downloaded here: https://we.tl/t-6ycPnNRN6y
CATEGORIES
Astrophotography
A photograph that prominently features the night sky, typically against a landscape. Judges in this category are looking for images that demonstrate exceptional mastery of this field's significant technical constraints, alongside the aesthetic considerations of the Landscape category.
Composite images that do not alter the explicit content of the image are allowed (i.e. exposure blending, colour compositing, dark frame subtraction).
Pure starfield images may be submitted, but judging will be based on aesthetic and pictorial criteria; astronomy work that lacks aesthetic impact may not be highly awarded, despite technical excellence.
Bird Life
Bird Life is a sub-category of Nature, open exclusively to photos that have one or more birds as their primary subject.
As in the broader category of Nature, judges are looking for unique or uniquely beautiful captures. Consideration may be given to difficulty of capture, effective use of equipment and technique, and above all, the impact of the image.
City / Street
This category covers any image that documents life in an urban centre. Both people and places will be considered. Judges in this category are looking for images that give insight into urban life or reveal unexpected or extraordinary aesthetics.
Creative
A category which rewards originality, experimentation, imagination and is the ideal place for photo-composite images, but single-exposure images are also encouraged. Any number of photos can be used and edited together to form an image of a subject, object, environment, idea, or concept. All key elements used in the creation of the image must be captured or created by the submitting photographer, and should the submission reach the final round of judging, entrants will be required to submit the original layered file and/or contributing images. Judges in this category are looking for a clear concept, executed with sensitivity to the subject matter and a high level of technical competence.
Editorial
Each entry in the Editorial category should consist of 3-5 images constituting a body of work. Judges in this category are looking for clear storytelling, executed both within the individual image and sustained throughout the series.
Landscape
A photo of a place and/or thing. Photo compositing in this category for technical purposes will not be penalised. Photographs that qualify for consideration in Astrophotography or Seascape are unlikely to receive an award in this category.
Portrait
A photo of a subject, usually human, who is aware of the photographer and participating in the creation of the photo. Judging in this category will reward photos that reveal more than just the surface of the subject.
Candid photography is not considered in this category.
Seascape
A landscape photograph that prominently features the sea, ocean, or a substantial body of water. Like the Landscape category, Seascape rewards compositions that balance subject, composition, atmosphere and lighting, and winning images will display consideration and mastery of all four.
Sea Life
Sea Life is a sub-category of Nature, open exclusively to photos of animals that spend most or all of their time in the water.
As in the broader category of Nature, judges are looking for unique or uniquely beautiful captures. Consideration may be given to difficulty of capture, effective use of equipment and technique, and above all, the impact of the image.
Sports
A photo of a sport being played or related to the culture of a sport. Judges in this category are looking for unique and sensitively chosen images that capture the essence of a sport. For images captured in the field, some consideration is given to the difficulty of capture.
Wedding
Photography documenting any kind of wedding or wedding-related event, and the surrounding activities. Work in the documentary, portrait or event vein will be considered here. Successful images in this category capture remarkable or candid moments with both sensitivity to the subject, and a clear aesthetic vision.
Wildlife
Wildlife is a sub-category of Nature; images should be of a living thing. Wildlife is open to images that are not caught in the more specific Bird Life and Sea Life Categories.
As in the more specific subcategories of Nature, judges are looking for unique or uniquely beautiful captures. Consideration may be given to difficulty of capture, effective use of equipment and technique, and above all, the impact of the image.
Youth
Open to students between the ages of 13 and 18. There is no specific genre for Youth, images of all shooting styles such as landscape, portrait, wildlife, and more are accepted. The Youth Category must feature the token theme, for 2025 the token theme is "Bridge". Let your imagination take over in finding a way to add "Bridge" into your images.
Ends
About Sony Australia: Sony Australia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sony Corporation of Japan, and a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Committed to producing innovative and quality electronic products, the range includes BRAVIA TVs, Alpha digital interchangeable lens cameras and Cyber-shot digital cameras, headphones, Walkman MP3 players and other audio products, and professional broadcast equipment. For more information on Sony Australia, visit www.sony.com.au.
About Sony mirrorless range: Sony is the leader in mirrorless technology with 9 Full-Frame and 4 APSC cameras. Complemented with over 60 native E-mount lenses available in Australia. The Alpha mirrorless system gives all creators an unmatched range of creative options.
About Sony Cinema Line: Cinema Line is series of professional cameras that have a filmic look, cultivated from Sony's long experience in digital cinema production, and enhanced operability and reliability that responds to the wide variety of creator's high demands. Cinema Line includes the digital cinema cameras VENICE 2 and VENICE, which are highly acclaimed in the feature and episodic production industry, the professional camera FX9, which is popular for documentary and drama production, the grab and shoot style FX6 for diverse content creation, and with the most compact FX3, Sony offers a true line-up of versatile creative tools to all types of visual storytellers.
About Sony Corporation: Sony Corporation is a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology. From game and network services to music, pictures, electronics, image sensors and financial services - Sony's purpose is to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology. For more information, visit: http://www.sony.net/.
Images: Product images can be downloaded from the Sony Australia & NZ Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sony-anz/. For assistance, please contact the Sony team at Adhesive PR at sony@adhesivepr.com.au
Social Media: Stay up-to-date with Sony Australia competitions, events, product reviews and videos via Facebook - www.facebook.com/sonyaustralia, Instagram www.instagram.com/sonyaustralia and YouTube www.youtube.com/sonyaustralia.