Sony World Photography Awards 2011

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Sony World Photography Awards 2011
• 2011 competition open for entries
• London to host Sony World Photography Awards ceremony
• World Photography Festival expands to Mexico, San Francisco, Shanghai and London
• Student Focus programme partners with Young Tate Online
• World Photography Organisation website re-launched – www.worldphoto.org
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Re-create Rejlander and win £500!

The Royal Photographic Society has launched a competition to recreate a never-forgotten scandal of Victorian photography – and update it for the digital age.

The competition – Modern Virtues, Modern Vices: Restaging Rejlander’s ‘Two ways of life’ (1857) – celebrates The Society’s forthcoming lecture and workshop series: ‘The Real Thing: Staging Manipulation and Photographic Truth’.

Two ways of life’ – Oscar Gustav Rejlander 1857 – Image from the RPS Collection at the National Media Museum

Two ways of life’ – Oscar Gustav Rejlander 1857 – Image from the RPS Collection at the National Media Museum

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Welsh National Trust photo contest

Picturesque pastel coloured seaside cottages; cows lazing in summer haze; soaring mountains; a red kite gliding elegantly; weathered stone walls… just some striking images of the Welsh countryside that would be enough to inspire anyone to reach for the camera!

A new photographic competition is being launched by The National Trust in Wales on the theme “The Welsh Countryside” – on one of the following subjects: wildlife / landscape / farming / buildings. The photograph doesn’t have to be of a National Trust building or on Trust land (which is just as well as the NT does not allow photography for commercial reasons, including stock or editorial, on its property – Editor).

Entrants will compete in one of three categories – Open; Under 18; or National Trust Tenants – and will have the chance to win £1,000 worth of prizes, supplied by the UK’s leading photographic retailer, Jessops.
Entrants will also be able to take advantage of 30 free photo reprints at Jessops stores.

The photographs will be judged by Chris Lacey, Manager of the National Trust’s impressive photo library. He offers some hints on what makes a great photo: “By thinking creatively and looking at things in a different way, you can really bring things to life in a photo. I’ll be looking out for the correct exposure (so images which show details in the darkest and lightest areas); that the subject is of interest, which is eye-catching; that the focal point of the image is sharp; colour balance, and that the image provokes an emotion or feeling.”

The winners will be announced at the National Trust’s stand during the Royal Welsh Show (21 – 24 July), where a selection of the best photographs will be displayed.

Digital pictures need to be 7” x 5” at 300dpi

The closing date of the competition will be 9 July 2008, and entries can be sent digitally to: [email protected] or posted to: The National Trust, Trinity Square, Llandudno, LL30 2DE.

Epson 40th anniversary photo contest

Epson, the inventor of the first ever electronic micro-printer in 1968, has today launched a pan-European competition to celebrate its 40th birthday. Designed to spark the imagination of Europe’s image makers and mark four decades of innovation and inspiration, the competition is open to all, setting a challenge to design an image to be used on Epson’s birthday card. The overall winner will receive ‘the trip of a lifetime’ worth €5,000 (circa £4,000) whilst all entrants will have their work displayed within an impressive online gallery.

Barbara Kuhr, Head of Strategic Marketing at Epson Europe commented: “Over the past 40 years, we have witnessed a quantum leap in the quality and capabilities of digital printing. To mark the occasion, we’re asking imaging enthusiasts of all capabilities to exceed their vision and provide a lasting image that will help us to celebrate Epson’s 40th birthday in style.

“Entrants need to capture the essence of 40 years of innovation in a single image; it’s not an easy task but we are confident that the competition will provide some exceptional and powerful pictures. There are some great prizes on offer, and we will display 40 entries in a prominent position at the Photokina exhibition in Cologne this September – providing exciting and valuable exposure.”

Entrants to the competition must submit an original image, which can be a photograph, illustration, montage or any other image that encompasses the theme: ‘celebrating 40 years of innovation’. A gallery of entries will be displayed at www.epson-europe.com/40, which also contains an online entry form and an interactive timeline chronicling the significant technological advances pioneered by Epson over the past four decades.

All age groups and levels of ability can participate, giving everyone the chance to have their work displayed within an online exhibition and to gain inspiration from one another, unbound by geographical or social boundaries. Images will be judged on relevance to the theme, composition, technical quality and creativity. Winners will be chosen by an independent group of judges selected from Europe’s community of elite photographers.

Isabel Muñoz, a leading photographer and one of Epson’s bespoke judging panel commented: “Epson has set a tough challenge with this competition, and it will be fantastic to see how innovation and progression is translated artistically by image makers throughout Europe. It is a fantastic concept and I am looking forward to the exciting and eclectic entries.”

Aside from their image being used on Epson’s birthday card, the overall winner will receive a ‘trip of a lifetime’[2], whilst second place will receive €1,000 (circa £800) worth of Epson products. €500 (circa £400) worth of Epson products is on offer for third place. All three finalists will also receive a certified Digigraphie® print of their work – a large format, professional, authenticated quality print using Epson UltraChrome™ K3 inks with Vivid Magenta and printed on certified paper.

Entries must be submitted to Epson before 24.00 on July 31st 2008. Digital entries need to have a resolution of 360dpi and can be submitted via the dedicated website. Hard copy entries can be posted to Epson at: Epson, PO Box 49793, London WC2A 1WA, England. All entries must fit within 150mm x 215mm in either landscape or portrait format.

Sightsavers International photo contest

From waves crashing on a beach to freshly cut grass, or someone dancing to a tune on their ipod, students across the UK are being invited to take a photo that best evokes the senses. The i:click awards are a brand new national photography competition, aimed at students aged 11-18, being launched by leading blindness charity Sightsavers International.

By focusing on the theme of the senses, Sightsavers hopes that students will be encouraged to think about what it might mean to live without a sense such as sight. Sightsavers works in over 30 developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness and to also improve life for those who are irreversibly blind. 45 million people in the world are blind, yet a staggering 75% of all blindness can be prevented or cured.

Well-known photographer Mary McCartney is supporting the i:click awards and explains why sight is so precious to a photographer: “It’s a way of communicating ideas with other people. We all see things from different perspectives. If ten people took photos of the same vase of flowers, the chances are that the resulting images wouldn’t look anything like each other.”

Mary had this advice for students wishing to enter: “It helps to choose a subject you’re really interested in that you can explore and learn more about. Take some time to think through the end result so that you don’t waste time and have to reshoot.”

Three national winners, one from each category (11-14 years, 14-16 years and 16-18 years), will be selected from a list of regional winners. The three lucky winners will each receive an SLR camera and enjoy a day out at an awards ceremony in London in the autumn, where their winning image will be the focus of an exhibition showcasing the best photos. In addition, the winners’ schools will receive a visit from a professional photographer who will give a teaching session for aspiring snappers.

The judging panel is headed up by Graeme Le Saux, former England and Chelsea footballer and himself a keen photographer. According to Graeme: “I wouldn’t say I’m any good at photography, but I’ve always been interested in the story a picture can tell. I love the fact that you can be creative when taking pictures. From my point of view it’s the composition that’s important as well as the subject – it’s all about balance.”

Schools and colleges interested in participating in the awards can find more information at www.sightsavers.org/schools or by contacting the i:click awards helpline on 01444 446727 for a free entry pack. Entries can be sent in on disc, as prints or via email and must be submitted by 12th September 2008. Winning photos will be exhibited at the.gallery@oxo on London’s South Bank from 22-26 October 2008.

Win €3000 in South Tyrol photo contest

Following on from the success of last year, the second South Tyrol Young Photographers’ Award is back and is calling all up-and-coming photographers from all over Europe to show-off their work. Sponsored by the South Tyrol Marketing Corporation (SMG), the award offering a prize worth over £2000 together with a chance to shoot and travel in the area.

Interested? Here’s the lowdown on all you need to know….

Who’s eligible: Photo journalists from the print and on-line media, photographers (travel and photo journalism), photography students, trainee photographers and design students from the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Italy, the Benelux countries Poland and the Czech Republic. Entrants should be aged 30 or under.

What to do: Get clicking… a maximum of 8 photographs on ANY theme to be submitted by 30th April 2008

Entry: Log on to: www.suedtirol.info/press where you can find further information on the competition, register your details on the online entry form and email your photos (low resolution JPG format). In addition to your online entry and in order to be considered you MUST send postal prints to the following address (ensuring all your contact details are included).

Südtirol Marketing Gesellschaft (SMG)
South Tyrol Photography Competition 2008
FAO Ruth Torggler
Pfarrplatz 11
I-39100 Bolzano/Bozen
Italy

Format: A panel of international judges will make a preliminary selection from the pictures submitted. Six finalists will be chosen to travel to Italy’s beautiful and most northerly province, South Tyrol, from the 24th- 28th July 2008, to carry out research based on an overarching theme. The finalists will then have until the 16th August 2008 to submit their photo reports for assessment.

Prize: The six finalists will all be invited to South Tyrol in September 2008 where the overall winner will be announced and awarded a prize of 3000 Euros.