20 Stunning Photos from Young Photographers Around the World

So many people ( us included) wish they could spend their time flying to destination after destination, gathering photos and stories along the way. But believe it or not, exploring the world is already so many of our full-time jobs—and we're not just talking the time you're actually visiting new (or favorite) places. There's so much more to exploring and discovering the nooks and crannies that Earth has to offer than seeing them in person. Photographers—whether they are Instagrammers, professionals, students, or brands—play such a large role in the discovery that happens on the grid. The magic that comes from taking five minutes out of your busy workday to peruse a favorite traveler's Instagram feed is inconceivable, both to productivity and wanderlust.

The Sony World Photography Awards are the perfect outlet for world photographers to share their favorite scenes. This year alone, the competition saw more than 230,000 entries from 186 countries around the world. With numbers like this, it's not hard to see how it has become the world's biggest photography competition. The contest itself is broken down into a set of categories: Professional, Open, Open Commended, Youth, and Youth Commended. While all of the photos are incredible in their own rite, it was the next generation of photographers that really caught our eye. The Youth photos are broken up into three sections: Culture, Environment, and Portraits. Each one entirely different than the next, the photos share powerful scenes from around the places we frequent every day.

If you're looking for the aforementioned daydream break, the full set of shortlisted photos is more than worth some time spent. If you're looking for a quick peek at the full portfolio, we've got you covered. Ahead: TK photos from the Sony World Photography Awards that are currently sending us into an incurable spiral of wanderlust.