William Eggleston awarded 2013 Sony World Photography prize

Photographer William Eggleston will receive a special honor for his illustrious career at the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards.

William Eggleston is one of the most popular contemporary photographers in the world. His work will be recognized during the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards, where he will receive an important award for his “Outstanding Contribution to Photography”.

William Eggleston to be honored at the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards gala

The photographer will be celebrated at a special gala which will take place in London, United Kingdom. Sony’s exhibition will also be used for announcing the overall winner of the “Open” category, as well as the winner of L’Iris D’Or, one of the most prestigious prizes in photography.

Sony has also confirmed that rare photos taken by William Eggleston will be displayed during the ceremony, while many others will reclaim their rightful place in the 2013 World Photography Awards’ book. The 2013 edition will continue the tradition of showing inspiring photos, just like in the book’s previous versions.

The photographer is widely regarded as the pioneer of color photography

William Eggleston is said to have picked up a camera back in 1957. Sony wants to thank the photographer for doing so, as he has become a color photography pioneer, delivering great and colorful imagery for more than 50 years.

Many of his photos consist of the “ordinary world”, but Eggleston’s idea of composition has allowed him to stand out from the crowd. Many people say that the color photography revolution is largely attributed to one of the photographer’s special shows, which took place at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976.

Commenting on the award, the photographer said that “the world is in color” and this is how photography should look like.

A judge has recently dismissed a lawsuit against Eggleston

On a side note, William Eggleston has been the subject of a controversy over the past year. The photographer organized an auction, which allowed him to raise $5.9 million by selling digitally reprinted film images.

Normally, this would not be such a big deal, but collector Jonathan Sobel filed suit against him because he had bought the original artwork for a large sum.

However, Sobel lost the suit due to the fact that the originals were printed using dye-transfer process technology, while the photos sold at the auction were digital prints and, thus different.

The photographer received two great news in such a short amount of time and the rest of the world can only congratulate him for his outstanding work in photography.