Two Indian winners at 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Company Brief

National, March 21, 2014

Two Indian photographers are today announced as winners of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s leading photography competitions. Selected from over 70,000 entries from across the world, the winning Indian photographers are:

- Arup Ghosh, Open People winner

- Bisheswar Choudhury, India National Award winner

The achievement of the Indian photographers is extraordinary - both in terms of the number of photographs they have been chosen from but also that the photographers themselves are not professionals, but individuals who are passionate about photography, enthusiasts and amateurs.

The photographers have won the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony and will have their work shown at the annual Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London from 1-18 May. Ghosh’s image will also be published in the 2014 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book

Open People winner – Arup Ghosh

Arup Ghosh, from Bhadreswar, West Bengal, has won the Open People category with an image titled “Poor God”. It was taken while Ghosh was on vacation during the Durga Puja Festival and travelling on a local train. The young boy in the photograph was singing devotional songs and begging for alms and dressed as the Hindu God, Lord Shiva.

Talking about the boy Ghosh comments: “This is a common view on Indian trains but this boy was charming, bright and had a melodious voice. He could not earn money from the train’s compartment and was sad. He was singing along, standing by the door of the train, and I took three shots of the boy before I got off. Before leaving my daughter gave him an apple and I gave him some money, the boy then moved to the next compartment happily.”

Ghosh, who also won an Open category in the 2008 Sony World Photography Awards, has been presented with a Sony a6000 camera and, along with the winners of the other nine Open categories, will now compete for the Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer Year title and $5,000 (USD) prize to be announced on 30 April.

Talking about his success Ghosh comments: “This is my second win at the Sony World Photography Awards - first in 2008 and now in 2014. I am so happy and feel honoured – winning a prize at the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the most prestigious photography awards on the planet, and two times, is a huge achievement. Every photographer wishes to win such an award. I am an amateur photographer and I am very serious about my photography. Winning such as great competition will encourage me to pursue my passion in photography and in a better way. I would like to thank the organisers for holding such as grand competition and also thank the jury, the most honoured members of the photography world, that my work is liked by them. I would like to dedicate this success to my beloved wife, my sweet daughter, my dear mother and my cheerful friends. Without their support and enthusiasm I could not have reached this level.”

The Open competition is for photography enthusiasts of all levels and is judged on a single image.

India National Award winner – Bisheswar Choudhury

Open to photographers of all abilities, the National Award seeks to uncover and honour the single best image taken by an Indian photographer entered into any of the ten Open categories of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards.

Selected from over 4,100 entries by a panel of Indian photography experts including Dheeraj Paul, Creative Photographer and Hari Mahidhar, Industrial and Fine Art Photographer, the winner and runners up are:

1st place – Bisheswar Choudhury

2nd place – Bibek Smaran Paul

3rd place – Santu Mondal

Bisheswar Choudhury’s winning image, “Colourful India” was taken on the bank of Yamuna River, just opposite the Taj Mahal at Agra, and shows the colourful dhobi ghaat (washermen's den).It was taken on a winter morning from a train and the dhobi ghat was almost in the centre of the river as the water had shrunk back due to poor rainfall.

Choudhury is a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force, heading the Bomb Disposal Squad and has won a Sony digital imaging equipment.

Talking about his win Choudhury comments: “I can go on giving an Oscar speech. But, very modestly, I will cut it short, just to say that it always catalyses one's efficiency and pushes boundaries. To me, the object of my photography is to bring out the beauty of the world around which normally goes unnoticed. This award will surely make the photo immortal.”

Sony World Photography Awards

The World Photography Organisation also announced today the winners of the Open and Youth categories of the Sony World Photography Awards plus the winners of the 37 other National Awards across the world. To see all the winning images please go to www.worldphoto.org

Winning images are available to download at press.worldphoto.org

If you require press membership please register at press.worldphoto.org/register

For further information, please contact:

Fleishman

Sarmistha Paul

Mobile: +91-8130893406

Email: sarmistha.paul@fleishman.com|