Three Pakistani photographers have been shortlisted for the 2016 edition of the biggest ever photography competition: The Sony World Photography Awards.
Kumail Rizvi, Shahzad Khan and Zohaib Tariq have been recognised in the awards’ youth competition for photographers aged 19 and under. Rizvi was shortlisted in the ‘youth environment’ category for an aerial image called “human made environment” showing a car park in Malaysia from the sky. While Shahzad Khan was shortlisted in the ‘youth portraits’ category for “Awal Gul”, a stunning close-up photograph of a child taken in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Zohaib Tariq was nominated in the youth culture category for his image titled “Pakistan”, showing local farmers at work. Based in Islamabad Tariq is a keen sportsman and currently studying at HITEC University Taxila.
This year saw a record-breaking number of participants — 230,103 entries that have come in from 186 countries. A statement released by the awards committee also mentioned that there was an astounding 137% increase in the entries that came in from Pakistan.
The list of winners will be announced on April 21 at a gala ceremony in London. The winning photographers stand to win a share of a $30,000 prize, and their photos will be showcased at the World Photography Awards exhibition (April–May), and featured in the 2016 edition of the Awards book.
