The World Photography Organisation has revealed their 10 category winners and the prestigious Photographer of the Year, honouring professional photographers who have provided a snapshot from parts of the world, rarely seen.

The Sony World Photography Awards named Edgar Martins of Portugal as the Photographer of the year 2023 for this portfolio series Our War.

Martins documented an “emotional” personal journey through Libya as a tribute to a colleague, photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was killed in the civil war.

As a travelogue, the series contains portraits of those who experienced the 2011 war, from both sides. This included freedom fighters, Gadaffi body doubles and a haunting image of a female rebel, using a plastic shopping bag in place of a veil.

Gadaffi look-alike. Photo / Edgar Martins, Portugal, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Freedom fighter in DIY burka. Photo / Edgar Martins, Portugal, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Martins, accepting the award at gala ceremony in London on Thursday, said it was “very humbling” to be named Photographer of the Year in a field of 180,000 entries.

“In this case, it is also quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage and bring attention to the family’s plight to find his remains.”

Chair of the 2023 Professional competition, Mike Trow, praised Martins’ work saying it was a series that captured a very personal journey, while documenting recent Libyan history.

“His work highlights the lengths photographers will go to tell a story and create meaning; each image giving a sense of the journey Anton took without ever being explicit about how his life ended.”

Edgar Martins at the Sony World Photography Awards. Photo / Supplied, Creo

The prestigious Photographer of the Year award includes the prize of a lead place in the World Photography exhibition, imaging equipment and a $40,000 cash prize.

Other category winners included Alessandro Cinque of Italy, who took home the newly created Sustainability Prize of $8000 for his documentary series on water conservation in Peru.

The peak of an iceberg in Greenland. Photo / Tim Daniels, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Rinko Kawauchi of Japan was awarded for her Outstanding Contribution to Photography.

Ametsuchi. Photo / Rinko Kawauchi, Outstanding Contribution to Photography, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Winners of the Open Competition, which invited applications from around the world, were also honoured at the awards ceremony in London.

The Travel competition took welcome inspiration from around the world, with photographers invited to submit their best images.

A lone church tower of the flooded Italian village of Curon and the Ganpati festival in Mumbai, were among the vicarious images shortlisted. However, it was Max Vere-Hodge’s image of cattle farmers in South Sudan which won the Open Travel Photography competition.

Sunken Church Tower. Photo / Paweł Jagiełło, Poland, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Ghosts: The Mundari tribe of South Sudan among the fires they light to keep the tsetse flies away. Photo / Max Vere-Hodge, United Kingdom, Winner, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Milky Way from Chureito Pagoda. Photo / Yukihito Ono, Japan, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

In the open portraiture category, Louis Park of Christchurch was among the shortlisted entries for his badminton player, mid shot.

The Kiwi photographer thanked Badminton Wellington for their contribution to the photo and said he was “super honoured to be named on the list amongst so many talented image makers from all around the world”.

Also making the cut for 2023 was New Zealand photography student Nelly Farmiloe, whose documenting of her grandfather’s old radio station in the Cook Islands, which had been reclaimed by Rarotongan jungle.

“While the building may be lost to the tangled wilds, the remains indicate the significance of my father’s work in Rarotonga and a community history forgotten,” she said of the portfolio ZK1AA.

Now in its 16th year, the free-to-enter World Photography Awards are a global overview of contemporary photography and one of the most prestigious platforms for professional and amateur artists.

The hot springs at Güroymak, Turkey. Photo / Erhan Coral, Turkey, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

A young Ladakh woman wearing traditional wedding attire. Photo / Marios Forsos, Greece, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Festival Sacrifice in the Guizhou province. Photo / Yunhua Yu, China Mainland, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Mighty Pair. Photo / Dinorah Graue Obscura, Mexico, Open Photographer of the Year, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Muralla Roja. Photo / Andres Gallardo Albajar, Spain, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Architecture & Design, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Immersion of lord Ganesha on the final day of the Ganpati festival, Mumbai. Photo / Ankur Tambde, India, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Erin Daniela Moscote Silva, the future leader of Pesuapa. Photo / Marisol Mendez (Bolivia) & Federico Kaplan (Argentina), Winner, Professional competition, Environment, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Libyan fighter demonstrating being shot in the head. Photo / Edgar Martins, Portugal, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

Photo / Takahiro Gamou, Japan, Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Muralla Roja. Photo / Andres Gallardo Albajar, Spain, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Architecture & Design, Sony World Photography Awards 2023