Sydney photographer Karl Grenet has won the Australian section of the Sony World Photography Awards.
Grenet’s winning image 'Escher's Market,' won the 2015 Australia National Award, chosen as the single best photograph taken by an Australian photographer in any of the ten Open categories of the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.
Grenet, a documentary and street photographer from Sydney who is currently based in Northern Thailand, has won a Sony Alpha A7 and FE 35mm f/2.8 lens. His image will also be shown as part of the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London from 24 April to 10 May 2015.
The winning image was taken in Mumbai, India. "I came across this scene one afternoon in November 2014 while exploring the maze-like Mirza Ghalib Municipal Market in the Null Bazar area of Mumbai," said Grenet.
"As this is a 24-hour market, the shopkeepers take any possible opportunity between sales to rest for a few minutes. I chatted with the shopkeepers at this stall for 20 minutes, all the while making images of the scene, with no two images being the same due to the constant movement of shopkeepers going to their own stalls to make a sale, then returning to this stall to rest."
Runners up in the Australian award are Melbourne-based photographer Mihai Florea, who finished second, and Wollongong native Ben McRae, who came third.
Judges for the 2015 Australia National Award were James Ostinga, Managing Editor, Australian Photography + digital, and Mark Galer, Sony Alpha Ambassador.
Escher's Market: "I came across this scene one afternoon in November 2014 while exploring the maze-like Mirza Ghalib Municipal Market in the Null Bazar area of Mumbai, India. As this is a 24-hour market, the shopkeepers take any possible opportunity between sales to rest for a few minutes. I chatted with the shopkeepers at this stall for 20 minutes, all the while making images of the scene, with no two images being the same due to the constant movement of shopkeepers going to their own stalls to make a sale, then returning to this stall to rest." – Karl Grenet, Winner, Australia National Award, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.
Tetris, by Mihai Florea, 2nd place, Australia National Award, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.
Evening fire with the Himba: "This image was taken at dusk in Otjimaza village, just outside Epupa, Namibia. The days are hot and dusk allows the women to rest and tend to their children. The women warm themselves around the evenings cooking fire as the coals burn, this waiting period allows their babies a chance to be fed before being put to bed for the evening." Ben McRae, 3rd place, Australia National Award, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards
