Photography Comps & Opps - December/Early Jan Deadlines

As the temperature drops in London , snow starts to fall and shop windows turn into lit-up twinkling cupcakes – we can now expect our Twitter and Instagram feeds to start filling up with those atmospheric ‘city in winter’ shots. Roll on January. Or next summer even.

As ever there are plenty of photography opportunities and competitions to get stuck into. Point 102 gives you the roundup and also sprinkles a few very early Jan ones into the mix so if family gets a bit too much over the holiday season you can slink off ‘because you have a deadline coming up’. You’re welcome.

Fog Clissold Park London December 11 2013 by David Holt. Via Flickr. View the original image here.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE 2015

Deadline: 1 December

An annual competition and exhibition opportunity open to all professional and amateur photographers (over the age of 18) worldwide. Six artists will be selected and their work will be featured online in the winners' gallery, on Lenscratch.com and their work exhibited at the 2731 Prospect gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. Three entries allowed per person.

www.foreignexchangephoto.com/submit.html

Aperture Portfolio Prize

Deadline: 2 December (12 noon EST)

Identifying trends in contemporary photography, the Aperture Portfolio Prize highlights artists whose work deserves greater recognition. Judged by Aperture’s editorial and curatorial staff, the aim of this prize is to look for innovative bodies of work that haven’t been widely seen in major publications or exhibition venues. You have to join Aperture to enter (membership costs about $75 for individual/$50 for students) but you can then access their extensive network and (if in the US) get invited to all sorts of photography events. The main perk, if you’re based outside the US, will be access to the magazine and online resources.

http://aperture.org/portfolio-prize

Celeste Prize: Taboo

Deadline: 5 December

Taboo is an open call for works which spark thoughtful investigation on taboos. The prize is open to any medium including photography. There is an entry fee (20 € for a single work/70 € for one project which can comprise up to 10 works) but there is 5,000 € in prizes and an exhibition opportunity in two gallery spaces in Florence, Italy, 15-30 March 2016.

www.celesteprize.com/Taboo2015/#page-1835

Taboo by elPadawan [CC-BY SA 2.0], via Flickr. View the original image here

Sky Arts Photography Competition

Deadline: 10 December (midnight)

This one is slightly more involved an application process but sounds like a great opportunity. Sky Arts are looking for Europe’s most talented amateur and professional photographers. Send between 5 and 10 of your best photos, along with a short video about yourself (maximum length 2 minutes). Your entry will be judged by photography experts from across Europe and then, if you make it through to the next round, there will be an eight week selection process for 12 finalists with guidance from world-class photographers and experts. The winning photographer will receive €150,000, an exhibition and catalogue.

http://masterofphotography.tv/en

Sony World Photography Award

Advertised as the 'World's biggest photography competition' the Sony World Photography Award has over $30,000 in cash prizes and opportunities to win photography equipment. The competition is free to enter and is for photographers of all abilities. 

Deadlines:

Student Focus Competition: 6th December 2015 11.59:59pm (GMT)

Open and Youth Competitions: Monday 5th January 2016 11.59:59pm (GMT)

Professional Competition: Thursday 12th January 2016 11.59:59pm (GMT)

www.worldphoto.org/about-the-sony-world-photography-awards

CRU 2015 Photography Contest

 Deadline: 15 December

 This annual photography contest invites entries from professionals, passionate amateurs, and students alike. There are three categories you can apply for:

PEOPLE. Capture the portraits that demonstrate the breadth of expression and emotion the human spirit can evoke.

PLACE. Show us where you live and where you’ve been. Give us insight into what makes these places special.

NATURE. Mountainscapes, gardens, waterways, weather, the sky-choose your best shots to illustrate the grandeur of nature.

Prizes are a range of high quality professional storage devices.

www.cru-inc.com/2015-cru-photo-contest

Guardian Travel’s Annual Photography Competition

Deadline: 25 Dec

This competition runs every year and offers UK residents the chance to apply in a different category every month. This last December theme is ‘Food’  and gives the opportunity to showcase your work on The Guardian site, take part in an exhibition at Guardian HQ and receive a special print of your work from yours truly Point 101! For the overall winnerout of the twelve finalists there is a prize of a four night trip to Sörbyn Lodge and the Aurora Safari Camp situated in the Lassbyn Råne River Valley near Luleå hosted by nature photographer Fredrik Broman. The trip will take place in March 2016 and will include winter light photography workshops, a Sámi and reindeer experience, an image editing workshop, night photography course, ice fishing, snowshoeing, an action photography workshop and a husky safari.

https://witness.theguardian.com

Food cooked by me by pallavil_damera [CC by 2.0], via Flickr. View the original image here 

Px3 Photography Competition: Red

Deadline: 15 Jan 2016

This theme for this French photography prize is both inspired by and is tribute to Polish Filmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski’s 1990’s ‘Three Colours’ Trilogy. 2014’s colour and theme was blue, then white in 2015 and now in 2016 the colour is red. The theme can be interpreted in any way, literally and non-literally and there are multiple categories: Advertising, Documentary, Fine Art, Nature and the ubiquitous ‘Other’. Some decent prizes, One overall 1st place winner will receive $1,000 and the first place winner in each category will get $500. There is, however, some entry fees for this one. $25 for a single entry and $30 for a series of images.

http://px3.fr/en/index.html

Red Panda by Mathlas Appel [Public Domain], via Flickr. View the original image here

Hamdan International Photography Award

Deadline: 31 December

Now in its fifth season, the Hamdan International Photography Award invites entries from photographers over the age of 18 from all over the world. There are four categories – Happiness, Wildlife, Father and Son and, a rather strange one, ‘General’ which one can assume covers everything in between. There are five winners for each category, plus an impressive Grand Prize of 120,000 USD. There will be also two special awards:

• Photography Appreciation Award: 20,000 USD
• Photographic Research/Report Award: 25,000 USD

You can submit up to four entries (one in each category). You do have to register but the competition is free to enter.

www.hipa.ae/en

Somerset Wildlife Trust Photo Competition

Deadline: 31 December (12 noon GMT)

Somerset Wildlife Trust are looking for 12 stunning images for this years competition which closes in December. Photographs can be of plants, animals, insects, landscapes or coastlines but must be taken within Somerset. They are also looking for photographs with a strong seasonal flavour and a landscape format is preferable. You can submit up to four images and you need to supply a couple of words is required to explain the context of each image. Free to enter and open to international entries as long as the image was taken in Somerset. The prize seems to be a featured image in the Trust’s annual calendar.

www.somersetwildlife.org/photo2016

Flower and Fungus at Cheddar Gorge by Les Haines [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr. View the orginal image here

Embracing Our Differences

Deadline: 4 January 2016

This is an odd one. Embracing Our Differences is a sort of festival, gathering and outdoor juried international art exhibit featuring 45 billboard size images created by local, national and international artists, writers and students reflecting their interpretations of the theme "enriching lives through diversity." They are inviting submissions for their 12th annual exhibit in 2016 from all mediums including photography. There are cash prizes of up to $3,000.

http://embracingourdifferences.org/submit-art

Snap A Sunset – Olympic Holidays Competition

 Deadline: 11 January 2016

Again pretty random. This competition seeks photographs of Meditteranean sunsets from anywhere from the Baleric Islands to Rhodes to Santorini to Ibiza. A bit sneeky though as you have to publish your sunset photograph on your own blog with a couple of lines about where it was taken and the story behind it and then email your blog to the competition. So essentially a marketing exercise rather than a serious photography competition BUT the prize is a week long luxury holiday in Greece so that’s a bit good.

www.olympicholidays.com/about-us/olympic-holiday-blog-articles/competition-snapasunset-to-win-a-vip-holiday

Sunset, Kefalonia by Berlt Watkln [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr. View the image here

National Geographic Monthly Assignment

Deadline: End of every month. Next round submissions start on 15 January

No cash or exhibition prizes here but getting exposure on Nat Geo’s site (and the potential to go into print) might be prize enough. National Geographic invites submissions on a monthly basis. There is a different theme very month (Novembers was ‘Urban Wildlife’) and you can submit from the 15th of every month. Don’t know what the December brief will be but this is one of those opportunities to just keep an eye on and check back to the site every now and then

http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com