Sony World Photography Awards 2020: Sandra Herber (Canada), Ice Fishing Huts, Lake Winnipeg

Copyright: Sandra Herber 2019

First place in the Architecture Category was awarded to Sandra Herber (Canada) for her "Ice Fishing Huts" in Lake Winnipeg of Canada.

Winters in Manitoba, Canada, are long and often bitterly cold. When the temperature drops, and thick ice forms, lakes and rivers in the province play host to some amazing folk architecture in the form of ice fishing huts.

These huts, shacks or permies (as they are called in Manitoba) are amazing folk architecture that rest upon thick ice that forms on lakes and rivers in Manitoba, Canada. They are transportable, protect their occupants from the elements and allow access to the ice below for fishing. The owners often express their personalities in the shape, structure and decoration of their huts. Some are large or small, decorated or plain, luxurious or utilitarian and everything in between.

Sandra captured these images on Lake Winnipeg in December 2019. Her hope for this series, which is a continuation of the work she started in 2018, is to showcase the quirky charm of these huts by presenting a select few in a typology. The typology - showing the huts framed in the same, minimalist style and in the same lighting - allows you, the viewer, to notice similarities in function and uniqueness in form, as well as to display these utilitarian structures as beautiful works of art.

The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across up to 180 countries, its aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet.