The shortlist for the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards has been announced, recognising some of the most exciting talent in the world of contemporary photography

Image: ‘Samsara’ © Wolfgang Weinhardt, Germany, Shortlist: Open, Travel, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

The shortlist for the Sony World Photography Awards has been announced, including 25 British photographers across the Professional, Open and Youth competitions.

Five British photographers have been nominated in various categories in the Professional competition, including Getty photojournalist Dan Kitwood, recent Taylor Wessing prize recipient Spencer Murphy and war photographer Guy Martin.

An enormous amount of terrific photography has been assembled from a diverse range of categories and topics.We’ve selected just a few of our personal favourites to whet your appetite for the winners’ announcement on April 30:

Image: ‘Lightsnake’ © Holger Schmidtke, Germany, Shortlist: Open, LowLight, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Be Cheerful Even in the Darkest of Times’ © Samantha Fortenberry, United States, Shortlist: Open, Low Light, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Beer festival in Munich’ © Li Hao, China, Shortlist: Open, Arts&Culture, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Capture Kenya’ © Allan Gichigi, Kenya, Shortlist: Open, Split Second, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Lion Grooming’ © George Logan, UK, Shortlist: Professiona, Campaign, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Two phase’ © Sung Seok, AHN Republic of Korea, Finalist: Professional, Architecture, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Untitled’ © Hairul Azizi Harun, Malaysia, Shortlist: Open, Split Second, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Demilitarised Zone’ © Roei Greenberg, Israel, Finalist: Professional, Landscape, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Jorge 05’ © Nikolai Linares, Denmark, Shortlist: Professional, Sport, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘Untitled’ © Wilfred Berthelsen, Norway, Finalist: Professional, Travel, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘The Depth of Winter 0’ © Kacper Kowalski, Poland, Finalist: Professional, Landscape, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

Image: ‘The Depth of Winter 05’ © Kacper Kowalski, Poland, Finalist: Professional, Landscape, 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

All the UK shortlisted and finalist images will go on show at Somerset House, London, from 1-18 May as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition. Tickets are now available at www.worldphoto.org/2014exhibition.