'Turtle Dream' by Vietnamese wins Sony World Photography award

The photo "Turtle Dream" taken by Nguyen Ngoc Thien has won the National Award Winner of Sony World Photography Awards 2023.

The photo was taken by Thien in early September 2022, during a scuba diving trip in the Perhentian Sea, Malaysia.

Located to the northeast of Malaysia, the Perhentian is a protected area featuring a ban on fishing as well as on marine species. Thanks to that, the ecosystem here is extremely rich and lively, not to mention that this place is also home to sea turtles and small black-fin sharks.

With beautiful coral reefs and many colorful and vibrant marine fishes, plus clear and blue sea water, the Perhentian is an ideal spot for scuba diving and snorkeling, etc.

In 2022, the photo “Bike With Flowers”, taken on Hanoi’s “ceramic street” by Nguyen Phuc Thanh, won the Travel category of Sony World Photography Awards 2022.

“The bike was shot just as it passed a wall bursting with flower decorations, giving the appearance that they are spilling from the rider’s baskets,” the World Photography Organization said in a release as it announced the 10 category winners and over 100 shortlisted.

The Sony World Photography Awards is the leading competition for photographers and artists working in photography. Made up of four competitions (Professional, Open, Student and Youth), all entries are free and the top prize is $25,000.

The Awards are regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions by elevating photographers’ careers, from established to emerging, since it started 16 years ago.