Pick the Best Mobile Phone Photo of the Year

Surreal seagulls, bridges to nowhere, and other stunning images have been shortlisted for Sony's Mobile Phone Photography Award.

by Becky Chung

March 11, 2015, 1:50pm

Olga Nazarova, Russia, Shortlist, Mobile Phone, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Cell phone photography takes more than a working knowledge of Instagram filters, as the 20 shortlisted finalists for the Sony Mobile Phone Photography Awards can attest to. Selected from a pool of 10,293 submissions, this year's shortlist for the inaugural Mobile Phone category includes a peek inside the Imam Reza shrine, a bridge disappearing into fog, a shot of a boy playing with his goat in northeast Iran, and an Orthodox Jewish couple’s casual Saturday stroll, among many, many more.

A panel of expert judges, hailing from the Wall Street Journal, 500px, and other sources, began selecting the best images on February 1. Now through March 17, viewers can vote for the Mobile Phone Photography winner on the site. “With today’s incredible technology at our fingertips, we have the ability to capture the everyday events that actually form part of the unique fabric of our lives,” World Photography Organisation’s creative director Astrid Merget Motsenigos said at the launch of the awards in January. “This category allows us to look a little closer at those otherwise ordinary moments.”

Earlier today, the international jury announced the winners of the 5th Multimedia Contest, which selects a winner in the Interactive Documentary category and three winning productions in the Short Feature and Long Feature categories. First Prizes this year go to Paul Moakley for short feature, Behind the Video of Eric Garner's Deadly Confrontation With New York Police, and Tim Matsui for The Long Night. Click here to check out the winning multimedia pieces.

See a few selections from the Mobile Phone Photography competition below, and head over to the 2015 Mobile Phone Award gallery for the full list.