(Michaela Smidova / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards)

From eerie shots of abandoned places to vivid stills of lightning, this year’s highlights the best talent and inspiring images of last year.

The recently revealed shortlist includes over 350 stunning entries in the Professional, Open and Youth categories. This year’s competition received a over 230,000 entries from 186 different countries—the most in the awards’ history.

Across the immense number of entries, the judges noticed subtle themes: the delicate handling of private moments by photographers; major news stories covering conflict; and the use of new technology to create work.

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“Despite the increase in the number of photographers, and the amount of imagery that required judging, this year, above all others, we have witnessed a wealth of powerful imagery in the traditionally strong social documentary categories as well as the art and conceptual work,” said Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organization.

The final winners will be announced April 21. The winning and shortlisted images will be exhibited at Somerset House in London from April 22 to May 8.

Take a look at the above slideshow to see some of the shortlisted images in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards.