After 9 months of competition and more than +130,000 submissions from photographers all over the world, the Top 50 finalists for the #AGORAawards2019 have been revealed!
The World's 50 Best Photos of the Year:
"The Agora Awards 2019 is an international show that anyone, anywhere, can join in. We're proposing something completely new and unseen; we want everyone to participate in this creative revolution because we believe everyone's point of view is important. Watching, participating, voting: together we can change the course of photography."
Octavi Royo, Agora's CEO and Founder
Discover the 50 finalists and their stories below:
'Under the light making batik crafts' by @_bimo_ (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
Batik making in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Batik is technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth. The lady pictured has been mastering this art for the past 35 years. With this picture the photographer hopes to keep this tradition alive. (Bimo Pradityo/Agora)
'Out at sea - MSC Orchestra' by @above_and_beyond_visuals (UK 🇬🇧)
Entry from the contest's youngest finalist, a 18-year-old photographer from the Jersey Channel islands. The cruise boat was visiting the harbour close to his hometown. (Cameron Aird/Agora)
'Blue eye' by @ajuriaguerra (Spain 🇪🇸)
The photographer pictured his son running through the City of Arts and Science, in Valencia (Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz/Agora)
'Ant balancing the earth' by @anadgphotography (Philippines 🇵🇭)
It took the photographer 4 hours to take this shot of an ant carrying water drops spreaded on a piece of thread (Analiza De Guzman/Agora)
'The Best Friends' by @andihalil (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
A lizard and a snail sharing a cute moment (Andi Halil / Agora)
'Reitdiephaven' by @anskar (Germany 🇩🇪)
Long exposure sunset shot in the District in the city of Groningen, Netherlands (Anskar Lenzen/Agora)
'Expressions' by @asimijaz (Pakistan 🇵🇰)
Saint met in a shrine by Portrait photographer (Asim Ijaz/Agora)
'Among the white umbrellas' by @aungthuya (Myanmar 🇲🇲)
A woman makes traditional umbrellas at a factory in Mandalay, Myanmar. The production of a traditional umbrella cannot be done by a single person or within a day: there is a division of labor in the making of a single umbrella. Each worker is responsible for different parts to finish one umbrella. (Aung ThuYa/Agora)
'Eid prayer' by @azimronnie (Bangladesh 🇧🇩)
The Eid prayer is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal, after the fasting during the holy month of Ramadan (Azim Ronnie/Agora)
'Striving' by @bastian_as (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
The shot was taken near the Nias islands, an internationally famous surfing destination (Bastian AS/Agora)
'Alone in the desert' by @carlesalonsophotography (Spain 🇪🇸)
The shot was taken from a high dune in Morocco, where Nomads are moving through the Sahara desert.(Carles Alonso/Agora)
'Nature always wins' by @charliieb (Monaco 🇲🇨)
Shipwreck graves in Brittany, France. Some boats have been there for more than 100 years. (Charlie Berthaume/Agora)
'Six feet under' by @davidedziegler (Spain 🇪🇸)
Foggy morning in Ukraine, where the photographer spotted a man digging a grave with his bare hands in a little cemetery (David Carbonell/Agora)
'Preparing for 1000 Takjil Iftar Ramadan Kareem' by @dharmaku (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
Three volunteers serve 1000 plates of chicken and rice prepared for the Iftar, an evening meal in which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. (Dharma Kurniawan/Agora)
'Boys' by @diegocampomar (Uruguay 🇺🇾)
The photographer wanted to portray the equality between two human beings (Diego Campomar/Agora)
'Farming' by @diepvan (Vietnam 🇻🇳)
Shot of the rice fields in northern Vietnam, where workers plant the rice seedlings for the upcoming harvest (Diep Van/Agora)
'The lights of life' by @dikyedarling (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
Early morning shot of the Cirahong Bridge, located on the border of Tasikmalaya Regency and Ciamis Regency. The bridge was built in 1893 by the Dutch colons. (Dikye Ariani/Agora)
'Diamond Ring Total Solar Eclipse' by @edoindo (USA 🇺🇸)
Snapshot of the 2017 total solar eclipse, seen from Nebraska (Edward Panjaitan/Agora)
'Songs Of Freedom' by @eighthman (Ghana 🇬🇭)
More than a photo - an unspoken struggle for freedom and belonging. (Michael Aboya/Agora)
'Sea of Ice' by @florianledoux (France 🇫🇷)
The professional wildlife photographer took this photo in Antarctica, where crabeater seals use the ice to rest after their meals. (Florian Ledoux/Agora)
'Water is life' by @froirivera (Philippines 🇵🇭)
Although typhoons are pretty common in The Philippines, the citizens still worship the life giving element of water. (Froi Rivera/Agora)
'Throwing Nets' by @g13nnn (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
Fisherman in action at the Situ Patenggang lake (Glenn Valentino/Agora)
'Rainy day' by @hendymp (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
Red-Eyed Tree Frog in West Java (Hendy MP/Agora)
'The most beautiful roundabout in the world!' by @henrydo (USA 🇺🇸)
Vertical panorama of Paris' Arc de Triomphe, where 12 avenues come together (Henry Do/Agora)
'When the buffalo comes back' by @hoangquocvinh (Vietnam 🇻🇳)
Buffalos bathing in Pleiku, central vietnam (Hoang Quocvinh/Agora)
'Veins of earth' by @hugohealy (UK 🇬🇧)
The Amazon-like shot was taken in East Sussex, where the Cuckmere river divides the grasslands (Hugo Healy/Agora)
'Undefined' by @jordisark
Snapshot taken during a road trip in California,Todos Santos. The photographer was lucky to snorkel with the animals afterwards! (Jordi Sark/Agora)
'East Java' by @jprphotos (UK 🇬🇧)
Taking this shot without getting his lenses soaked was a hard exercise for this photographer in Tumpak Sewu Waterfall, East Java (Jonathan Rogers/Agora)
'Strawberry greenhouses' by @leylaemektar (Turkey 🇹🇷)
Young women working in a strawberry field located in the Aegean region (Leyla Emektar/Agora)
'Run and fun' by @lingling25 (Myanmar 🇲🇲)
Young monks having fun in Hsinbyume Pagoda (Ling Ling/Agora)
'Dancer' by @markellos (Greece 🇬🇷)
Taken at the Peace and Friendship stadium in Athens (Markellos Plakitsis/Agora)
'The road and the farm have been flooded' by @mohammadmoheimany (Iran 🇮🇷)
Floods in Gorgan city, northern Iran (Mohammad Moheimani/Agora)
'In retrospect' by @patriciasoon (Malaysia 🇲🇾)
Lonely man looking at the horizon in Kobe, Japan (Patricia Soon/Agora)
'La mujer que espera' by @paulaaranoa (Argentina 🇦🇷)
Pictured in a salami shop in Rome, Piazza de la Rotonda. (Paula Aranoa /Agora)
'Hearts on the sea' by @phannguyen5285 (Vietnam 🇻🇳)
Aerial photos of fishing nets in Vietnam (Nguyen Phan Xuan/Agora)
'Mother's goodness' by @phyomoe (Myanmar 🇲🇲)
Perfect timing for this shot of an Hoopoe bird feeding its chicks (Phyo Moe/Agora)
'Sand wasp with prey' by @pokokemoto (Indonesia 🇮🇩)
This wasp is on a mission to bring its prey home! (Imam Primahardy/Agora)
'Colors of life' by @pranab_basak (India 🇮🇳)
Women fishing in West Bengal before heading to the market (Pranab Basak/Agora)
'Incense work' by @ptkhanhhvnh (Vietnam 🇻🇳)
In Vietnam, incense is known to connect living people with ancestors and gods. When you burn incense, you're communicating with the gods. (Khánh Phan/Agora)
'Oeil de zèbre' by @s.p.marin (Spain 🇪🇸)
Shot taken at the Madrid safari. (Sara Pinto Marin/Agora)
'Wild look' by @saavedraphotography (Spain 🇪🇸)
Lynx spotted in the Cábarceno Natural Park (Sergio Saavedra/Agora)
'Motherly love' by @santiagolopezfotografia (Spain 🇪🇸)
More than 2-hour wait for this photographer to capture this photo at the Tenerife zoo (Santiago López/Agora)
'Fire Fighter' by @tanveer.rohan (Bangladesh 🇧🇩)
Locals and firemen work as a team to fight a fire caused by a power incident in Bangladesh (Tanveer Rohan/Agora)
'Reaching for Heaven' by @thedronelad (UK 🇬🇧)
The Mont Saint Michel, France, lost in the middle of the fog (Konrad Paruch/Agora)
'Echoes of the Unknown' by @theeastwoodexperience (Ghana 🇬🇭)
The photographer wanted to display the cordial relationship between a man and a beast (Clement Eastwood/Agora)
'Dark Disneyland' by @tommimatz (Germany 🇩🇪)
Vertical panorama of the Neuschwanstein Castle (Tommi Matz/Agora)
'Rainbow Reine' by @uglefisk (Norway 🇳🇴)
Double rainbow spotted as the photographer was crossing a bridge in the Lofoten islands (Paal Lund/Agora)
'Rain' by @wunderbilder (Germany 🇩🇪)
Beautiful portrait of the photographer's father under the rain (Perry Wunderlich/Agora)
'L’espurna que fa que tot comenci' by @xopet1969 (Spain 🇪🇸)
Correfocs during traditional Catalan festival, where groups dressed as devils light firework in the crowd (Albert Castañe/Agora)
'Snow Horseman' by @zayyarlin (Myanmar 🇲🇲)
Winter shot from Mongolia (Zay Yar Lin/Agora)
