12 Breathtaking Images From the Sony World Photography Awards

From stunning images of icebergs and the Arctic to up-close-and-personal shots of wildlife, the shortlisted photographers for the Sony World Photography Awards offer an array of stellar artistic work. More than 227,000 images from 183 countries were submitted to the world's largest photography competition. There are awe-inspiring landscapes, striking portraits, compelling snapshots from nature, photojournalistic images and contemporary travel moments.

Here's a selection of some of the shortlisted images from categories in the Professional and Open competitions. The winners will be announced on April 20, 2017.

'Inhabitants of the Empty'

Nine-year-old Syuzanna sits in a makeshift shelter made of an old rusty car in front of her abandoned building in Gyumri, Armenia, writes photographer Yulia Grigoryants of Armenia. Gyumri bore much of the damage after an earthquake in 1988, followed by war, an energy shortage, and other social and economic problems. The city has the country's highest poverty rate with a few thousand families still living in shelters, waiting for help.

"Many of them are not eligible for new housing, since they are not considered to be direct victims of the earthquake," Grigoryants writes. "Twenty-five years later, they are still waiting for urgently needed improvements to their dwellings."

Just 10 days after this photo was taken, Syuzanna's father committed suicide because of his family's debts.

'Lady in Red'

"I shot this picture with my drone, during a summer vacation," explains photographer Placido Faranda of Italy. "My wife and I spent several days in Montenegro, on the Adriatic Coast, and this shot is from the cove Veslo, located at the eastern part of Luštica peninsula. This is a perfect spot where you get the feelings of coziness, privacy and relaxation, and this is what I wanted to be reflected in my work. Unspoilt and rugged at the same time, but also a beautiful and authentic landscape is what I found here, and I hope this is what transcends through this image."

'Jacks at Cabu Pulmo'

A large school of jack fish form a ceiling at the protected marine area of Cabo Pulmo in Baja California, Mexico.

"Ever since I was a kid, as far back as I can remember, I was attracted to the sea. I dreamt about what lay beneath the waves, and how would it look if suddenly all the water vanished, leaving all the animals and living creatures in stasis. In this way, I could walk within the ocean and see them all, suspended for a moment in time and space," writes photographer Christian Vizl of Mexico. "To this day I carry within me that dream; and very gratefully realise it through my photography."

'Full Speed'

Schoolchildren from central Copenhagen meet Danish therapist Carl-Mar Møller and are encouraged to "play freely without rules" in the muddy wilderness of Kokkedal, Denmark, says photographer Asger Ladefoged of Denmark. They take off in an old Volvo mounted with tractor tires and soaked mattresses on the exciting outdoor trek.

'Eye to eye'

Taken along the coast of Scotland, this photo gets up close with a Northern gannet, the largest seabird in the North Atlantic.

"Whilst shooting these birds I noticed one of them looking straight at me and managed to get the shot. I cropped the photo to end up with this portrait of a majestic gannet looking straight at the viewer," says photographer Eugene Kitsios of the Netherlands.

'Tabular iceberg'

"On our way to the 66 parallel south — in Antarctica — we are discovering a recent iceberg graveyard," explains French photographer Josselin Cornou. "A massive part (as large as a U.S. state) of the ice shelf broke down few years ago due to global warming, displaying a splendid but scary visual. Those icebergs are about 100 feet tall from the sea level, transporting big amount of fresh water, waiting to be dissolved in the ocean. The scene was magnificent, but also incredibly scary."

'Phan Rang Fishing Net Making'

Photographer Danny Yen Sin Wong of Malaysia captured the traditional manner of making fishing nets in Phan Rang in Vietnam during a trip in 2016.

'Untitled'

Photographer Toshiyasu Morita of the United States photographed an Anna's hummingbird and bees as they drink from a water fountain on a hot California day.

'Arctic living room'

"The Auyuittuq National on Baffin Island is a complete wilderness. The only refuge I found on my two-week trek was this ice cave at the foot of the Turner Glacier," writes photographer Andrew Robertson of the United Kingdom.

'Mom's baby'

Fan Chen of China captures swallows waiting for their mother to come back to feed them.

'TRosbsiD3_kuheylan'

Oktay Subasi of Turkey photographed a rider sharing a fiery silhouette with a herd of horses.