From prayers on astro turf to snow-capped trees, a hopeful long-tailed macaque and a mesmeric car park configuration, the National winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 have been crowned.

This portion of the awards (overall winners across all categories will be announced in April) celebrates a project set up by the World Photography Organisation to encourage and champion the work of local photographic communities globally.

These are just some of the winning images to enjoy…

1. Astroturf by Mehmet Aslan

“The pandemic has affected everyone. Since places of worship are closed, these men pray on the Astroturf pitch, while adhering to social distancing.”

2. Moving Portrait by Astrid Susanna Schulz

“This image is part of my series, ‘Moving Portraits’, in which I experiment with long exposures of between one and two seconds, and flash. I love these surreal portraits that capture different emotions. They are lightly edited in post-production.”

3. Street Workout by Krisztina Kovács

“A well deserved rest on a colourful street workout field, after a couple of active hours, taken from the air.”

4. Fluorescent Tiger by Hui Pin Lai

“The tiger is an important symbol in Taiwanese culture. Here, I used fluorescent paint to depict its essence.”

5. Long-tailed Macaque by Yoganathan Yoke

“This photograph of a long-tailed macaque, also known as the crab-eating macaque, was taken in the mangrove forest of Kuala Gula, Perak. I went there one evening, hoping to photograph birds or snakes, when I saw a group of macaques foraging in the mud for their last meal of the day. A ray of light from the sunset fell on this macaque just as it looked up. I felt it looked like a gesture of hope for the future.”

6. Turn 1 2 3 4 5 by Wong Chek Poh

“A panoramic view of unused taxis parked on the rooftop of this building reveals something of the dire economic situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the success of several vaccine programmes, it will take a long time for lives to return to pre-Covid days.”

7. Driving Through The Ice Forest by Tomislav Veic

“After the first snowfall towards the end of 2020, I took my camera to the largest old-growth forest in Croatia. This road runs through it.”

8. Hustle for Survival by Isira Sooriyaarachchi

“On a weekday in August, while I was wandering along Main Street, Colombo, this man caught my attention among the crowds of people and busy traffic. I crossed to the middle of the road and pulled out my phone to capture the life of a worker doing his best to survive during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

9. The Last Winter by Yukihito Ono

“Photographed in Fukushima, Japan, this train – known as Ki-Ha 40 – was retired from the Tadami Line on 11 March, 2020.”

10. Autumn Snake by Hiroki Nose

“This is an aerial photograph of a mountain road in Hakone, Japan. The path, when seen from the sky, looked like a snake. Photographed in autumn, the leaves of the coloured trees were extremely beautiful.”