Want Fame & Glory? Try Your Luck In These 6 Annual Photo Contests
March 12, 2009
By DeeDee Dobson
It's not always easy to come up with new, creative ideas for your photos. Sometimes you need to give yourself an assignment to snap out of the old way of doing things. Submitting your photos to contests not only gives you a specific goal to work towards, you also get feedback on your work from the pros. And if you're lucky, a prize or two to boot.
These yearly contests will give you plenty of inspiration:
Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award In celebration of its 30th year, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (for professional photographers only) has added a Newcomer Award category, open to prospective professional photographers, 25 years or younger. They are looking for a series of photos (up to 12) showing the interaction between man and the environment, and the deadline is March 1st, 2009. The winner will receive $2,500 Euros (presented at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie festival in Arles, France) and their work on display in an online gallery at Leica's website.
The International Photography Awards The Lucie Foundation's annual juried competition welcomes professionals, amateurs and students to enter their work in any or all of their many categories (8 professional, 7 non-professional and one called The Deeper Perspective where the story behind the photo is as important as the image itself). It's $25/single photo, $50/series (2-5 photos) and $15 per additional category to enter. The jury chooses one winner per category, and three grand prize winners: The International Photographer of the Year, The Discovery of the Year and the Deeper Perspective International Photographer of the Year. The grand prize winners receive cash prizes ($10,000 and $5,000), Lucie statues, tickets to the Lucie awards, and a solo show at a gallery in New York (Discovery of the Year only). The Photographer of the Year also gets the opportunity to shoot a portion of (and feature in) a Pilsner Urquell documercial on site in the Czech Republic. The 2009 deadline is March 27.
Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition The 12th Annual Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition is obviously limited to photos taken underwater, but these prizes will probably make you want to go out and invest in a waterproof housing if you don't already own an underwater camera. Winners are awarded dive trips to Papua New Guinea, Honduras, the Solomon Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Hawaii, and Indonesia. Other prizes include a 7 night all inclusive dive package in Roatan, a five day stay (for 2) in Borneo, dive equipment, gift certificates and more. The contest is open to amateurs only, and it's $10/image to enter (as many images as you want). All prizes are donated by the dive operators and resorts, and the proceeds from the contest go to marine conservation, education, and scholarships. The deadline for 2009 is April 1st.
2009 National Wildlife Contest This is the 39th annual photo contest held by National Wildlife Magazine, and they welcome pros, amateurs and youths (13-17). The categories are: Mammals, Birds, Other Wildlife, Backyard Habitats, Connecting People and Nature, Landscapes and Plant Life, and, new for 2009, Global Warming and Wildlife. It's $15 to enter, and you may submit up to 20 photos before the July 20 deadline. The fee also includes a one-year membership to National Wildlife Federation AND six issues of the magazine, so it's quite a bargain! Prizes include cash ($1,000 and $5,000), field guides, calendars, and your photo(s) online and in print.
National Geographic What's National Geographic famous for? That's right, great photography. It goes without saying that competition is fierce at "World in Focus", their annual photo contest, but give it a shot (no pun intended) anyway, you never know! Amateurs and Professionals compete separately, and the jury selects 11 winners from the amateur group and 6 from the pros. The 2009 contest has not started yet, but it usually runs April - September. Last year's categories were "Spontaneous Moments", "Travel Portraits", "Sense of Place", "Outdoor Scenes" and "Photo Essay" (up to 6 photos), and prizes included trips to Patagonia, Chile and Maine, photography workshops and camera gear.
Islands Magazine Islands' annual photo contest is on its 20th year, and if you like travel, this is one to enter for sure. They are looking for island-based travel photos, and the entry fee is only $3/photo. Prizes this year include trips to Fiji, Oahu, Iceland and Aruba. The 2009 deadline was January 31st, so set your sights on entering next year (something to keep in mind while vacationing this year).
These yearly contests will give you plenty of inspiration:
Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award In celebration of its 30th year, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (for professional photographers only) has added a Newcomer Award category, open to prospective professional photographers, 25 years or younger. They are looking for a series of photos (up to 12) showing the interaction between man and the environment, and the deadline is March 1st, 2009. The winner will receive $2,500 Euros (presented at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie festival in Arles, France) and their work on display in an online gallery at Leica's website.
The International Photography Awards The Lucie Foundation's annual juried competition welcomes professionals, amateurs and students to enter their work in any or all of their many categories (8 professional, 7 non-professional and one called The Deeper Perspective where the story behind the photo is as important as the image itself). It's $25/single photo, $50/series (2-5 photos) and $15 per additional category to enter. The jury chooses one winner per category, and three grand prize winners: The International Photographer of the Year, The Discovery of the Year and the Deeper Perspective International Photographer of the Year. The grand prize winners receive cash prizes ($10,000 and $5,000), Lucie statues, tickets to the Lucie awards, and a solo show at a gallery in New York (Discovery of the Year only). The Photographer of the Year also gets the opportunity to shoot a portion of (and feature in) a Pilsner Urquell documercial on site in the Czech Republic. The 2009 deadline is March 27.
Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition The 12th Annual Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition is obviously limited to photos taken underwater, but these prizes will probably make you want to go out and invest in a waterproof housing if you don't already own an underwater camera. Winners are awarded dive trips to Papua New Guinea, Honduras, the Solomon Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Hawaii, and Indonesia. Other prizes include a 7 night all inclusive dive package in Roatan, a five day stay (for 2) in Borneo, dive equipment, gift certificates and more. The contest is open to amateurs only, and it's $10/image to enter (as many images as you want). All prizes are donated by the dive operators and resorts, and the proceeds from the contest go to marine conservation, education, and scholarships. The deadline for 2009 is April 1st.
2009 National Wildlife Contest This is the 39th annual photo contest held by National Wildlife Magazine, and they welcome pros, amateurs and youths (13-17). The categories are: Mammals, Birds, Other Wildlife, Backyard Habitats, Connecting People and Nature, Landscapes and Plant Life, and, new for 2009, Global Warming and Wildlife. It's $15 to enter, and you may submit up to 20 photos before the July 20 deadline. The fee also includes a one-year membership to National Wildlife Federation AND six issues of the magazine, so it's quite a bargain! Prizes include cash ($1,000 and $5,000), field guides, calendars, and your photo(s) online and in print.
National Geographic What's National Geographic famous for? That's right, great photography. It goes without saying that competition is fierce at "World in Focus", their annual photo contest, but give it a shot (no pun intended) anyway, you never know! Amateurs and Professionals compete separately, and the jury selects 11 winners from the amateur group and 6 from the pros. The 2009 contest has not started yet, but it usually runs April - September. Last year's categories were "Spontaneous Moments", "Travel Portraits", "Sense of Place", "Outdoor Scenes" and "Photo Essay" (up to 6 photos), and prizes included trips to Patagonia, Chile and Maine, photography workshops and camera gear.
Islands Magazine Islands' annual photo contest is on its 20th year, and if you like travel, this is one to enter for sure. They are looking for island-based travel photos, and the entry fee is only $3/photo. Prizes this year include trips to Fiji, Oahu, Iceland and Aruba. The 2009 deadline was January 31st, so set your sights on entering next year (something to keep in mind while vacationing this year).
About the Author:
DeeDee Dobson encourages everyone to enter their photos in competitions. On her blog, she writes about compact pink digital cameras and lists the different brands.
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