A Win for the Philippines and Argentina in Sony Ericsson’s World View 2008

Sony Ericsson today announced the winners from its global mobile camera phone photography competition, World View 2008. Now in its third successful year, World View has once again brought together the global mobile imaging community by enabling anyone with a camera phone, to capture and submit their best images – with the chance to win one of two holidays of a lifetime.

The Expert’s Choice Award
The camera phone photo entitled “Peace” has won the ‘Expert’s Choice Award’ for Sony Ericsson’s World View 2008 competition. Taken by Marriane Nill from the Philippines, her photo impressed the international panel of photography experts, and was chosen as the winner from over 64,905 photos submitted from 27 countries.

The world-renowned judging panel felt the photo demonstrated success on all levels and that it captured the essence of mobile photography as it was spontaneous, humorous, memorable and communicated to a universal audience. The judges also thought the use of natural light was excellent and they believed people from all over the world would be able to relate to this photo because it taps into people’s emotions.

Marriane will receive a once in a life time photography trip for two, worth £10,000, to really test out her camera phone skills.

David Viggers, leading UK based press photographer and  World View judge, commented: “This year, the best was even better. World View shows what camera phones are made for; they have the unique capability to capture spur-of-the-moment situations.”

The two experts’ runners-up photos include: “Switching a Bulb” by Minghui Li from China and “Going Upstairs” by Riemer Dekker from the Netherlands. They will both receive the latest stunning Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot 8.1 mega-pixel front sliding mobile phone, enabling them to continue capturing spontaneous moments in life.

The judges thought that “Switching a Bulb” resembled an intricate design, or company logo, and that this image of a light bulb has been transformed from something ordinary into something spectacular.  The panel was drawn in by the form and brilliant artistry of the shot, which can only have been created on a camera phone. Martin Wezowski, senior designer at Sony Ericsson and World View judge, said: “It is the every day things that can become art. This bulb has gone from nothing to something.”

The judges felt the other runner-up image, “Going Upstairs”, had the texture, rhythm and composition to make it a beautiful photo with a classic feel. Liu Heung Shing, international photographer based in Beijing and World View judge, commented: “It would be difficult to achieve a result like this if the photographer tried too hard to compose the photo. It is an excellent image taken in one frame, at an unplanned moment.”

Runner-up Minghui Li comments: “The reason it is better to take photos with a mobile handset is that it is convenient. You can take a photo no matter where you are. Also, the megapixel quality has become better and better, and by using a mobile camera phone I can record my life – it is something that has became part of my life."

Tony Briggs, a UK based photographer and World View judge, commented on the overall World View entries by adding: “No one takes pictures of things they want to forget. This is the essence of mobile phone photography.”

The People’s Choice Award
This year Sony Ericsson introduced a new award, “The People’s Choice Award”, which enabled the public to vote for their favourite camera phone image entered into World View 2008. Gisela Cañete from Argentina received the most votes with “My best memories”, and has won a once in a life time photography trip worth £5,000.

Gisela Cañete comments: “This is absolutely fantastic that people from across the world took the time to look at my photo and then vote for it. It is such a great privilege to have won such a phenomenal prize and I would like to encourage everyone to pick up a camera phone and take pictures; it ensures you never miss an opportunity.”

The two runner-ups will also receive Sony Ericsson’s newest C905 Cyber-shot 8.1 mega-pixel camera phone. The runners-up are:

• Fan Lin’s submitted “the scent of Wuzhizhou island” to showcase the beauty of this island.
• Fredy Aguilar’s submitted “Colombian Butterfly” because he thought the transparent wings on this butterfly were extremely beautiful and unique.

Merran Wrigley, VP, Head of External Communications at Sony Ericsson, said: “We expected a high level of participation for World View 2008 and have been extremely pleased with the calibre and number of outstanding photos that were entered. The age of instant content sharing has arrived and Sony Ericsson, with its Cyber-shot range of camera phones, has been at the forefront of this camera phone photography evolution. It is fantastic that people around the world can use high-quality camera phones to spontaneously capture and share their life experiences. Not only that, World View offers an exciting prize incentive to encourage people to test out their camera phones and show-off their best images to the world.”

World View Background

• The competition was first launched in 2006 with 15 countries taking part and a total 30,837 entries
• Now in its third year, the 2008 competition has seen more than double the entries since its first year with 27 countries activating the competition and over 64,905 entries received
• Seven markets also partnered with local media publications and online websites to raise awareness of the competition
  

World View Judging Panel
The panel consists of four international judges, including:

• David Viggers – UK based Press Photographer
• Tony Briggs – UK based Photographer/Director
• Martin Wezowski – Senior Designer, Sony Ericsson, Sweden
• Liu Heung Shing– International photographer based in Beijing
  

Winning Images – World View 2008
To see the two winning images along with the four runners up and winning pictures from each of the participating countries, and for further information about World View, log on to www.sonyericsson.com/worldview