Cypriot photographer Yiorgos Doukanaris has been shortlisted for the world’s biggest photography competition, the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards, it was announced on Tuesday.

The shortlisted image was selected from 230,103 photographs from 186 countries, the highest number of entries in the nine year history of the awards and 33 per cent increase on 2015.

Doukanaris’ shortlisted image, New House, is a haunting image of a young Eritrean woman sitting inside her tent in the infamous refugee camp in Calais, France.

Taken in November 2015, the image is part of larger on-going project about refugees and their interaction with their surroundings.

“Being shortlisted in this major competition is a true honour. The picture is part of an on-going project about refugees and when the project finishes in mid 2016 I will create a photo book of the images,” Doukanaris said.

Doukanaris will now compete to win the Open Low Light category against nine other shortlisted photographers from around the world and the Open Photographer of the Year for a $5,000 (€4530) prize, which will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on April 21.

In addition, he will have his work shown in London as part of the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in April and May and be published in the 2016 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.

Doukanaris, originally from Larnaca, is a freelance photographer focusing his work on social and political issues. While studying in Athens, Doukanaris covered the economic crisis in Greece from 2010 to 2014, and the following year went on to document the aftermath of the war in Cyprus and the missing soldiers of 1974.

Since 2015 Doukanaris has focused his work on the refugee crisis. He is currently studying for a Masters degree in Photography at University of Brighton and splits his time between Cyprus, Greece and the UK.

The Sony World Photography Awards rewards and recognises the world’s best contemporary photography from the last year.  Attracting photographers of all abilities, the awards incorporate four competitions: Professional, Open, Youth and Student.

The total number of entries received by the Sony World Photography Awards since its launch in 2007 has now surpassed 1 million images, reinforcing the awards’ position as one of the most respected and influential photography competitions in the world.

More information about the awards can be found at www.worldphoto.org