Smithsonian 9th Annual Photography Contest

Photo © Kyaw Kyaw Winn-All Rights Reserved

I never participate in photography contests, but I know many of my readers do, or would like to. So here's one of the more popular contests featured by The Smithsonian magazine. 

Its editors have announced the 50 finalists in its 9th annual photo contest, which has five categories: Americana, The Natural World, People, Altered Images, and Travel.

In Focus, the photo blog of The Atlantic is featuring 25 large sized photographs from the final 50 finalists, which include some stunners from David Lazar, Nicholas Wiesnet, and Budi Prakasa. However, the one I liked the most was the photograph of soccer-playing Buddhist novices in Myanmar by Kyaw Kyaw Winn.

I ought to also highlight that The Smithsonian magazine’s 10th Annual Photo Contest begins March 1, 2012 and ends November 30, 2012.

Some may wonder why I am so empathetic about not participating in such contests. Here's why:

"By entering the contest, entrants grant the Smithsonian Institution a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any educational, promotional, publicity, exhibition, archival, scholarly and all other standard Smithsonian purposes."

POV: My Take On The World Press Photo Of 2012

Photo © Samuel Aranda-Courtesy World Press Photo

Well, the results were in from the World Press Photo 2012 contest, and it was Samuel Aranda who won the coveted title of World Press Photo of the Year 2012 award with his photograph of a veiled woman holding a wounded relative inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen.

Much has been said and written about whether this photograph deserved the award or didn't, and various opinions from respected photographers, editors and the like, literally flooded newspapers, websites and blogs...and on social network sites. Everyone has an opinion...and voiced it. NPR even compared the scene to the Pieta, writing "the image bears an uncanny resemblance to Michelangelo's iconic (and religious) Pieta. Along those lines, The New York Times describes it as having "the mood of a Renaissance painting."


Ah, well...is this perhaps too much artsy thinking?

Whatever.

But here's my take. I think the photograph is certainly powerful and compelling. Is it a great photograph? Maybe, maybe not...but it certainly hits home with its depiction of pain, anguish and upheaval arising from one of the countries least known in the Middle East...Yemen. This is not the often seen pictures of young protestors with painted faces or gas masks, civil war or brutal police or military violence. Just a profoundly sad image.

Another thing struck me. Here's a photograph of a scene of a badly injured protestor, lovingly cradled by a woman totally veiled, covered in a niqab and wearing gloves. While she is virtually faceless, I  sensed her pain, her suffering and agony by her body language...which no niqab can hide. Her being covered up so fully may even compound the poignancy of the scene.

And that's the power of this photograph.

And yes, niqab-wearing women are sentient human beings...they're mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and experience suffering, anguish. love and affection as we all do.

That's my take on it. And in my view, that's why it won.

Samuel Aranda was born in 1979 in Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Barcelona, Spain. When he was 19, he began working as a photojournalist for El Pais and El Periodico de Catalunya. A few years later, he traveled to the Middle East to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Spanish agency EFE. In 2004, he joined Agence France-Presse, covering multiple conflicts and social issues in Spain, Pakistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Morocco and Western Sahara.

National Geographic Photo Contest 2011

Photo © Tsolmon Naidandorj-All Rights Reseved

Despite my antipathy for photography contests, I always keep an eye on two; TPOTY (The Travel Photographer Of The Year) and The National Geographic.

The winners of The National Geographic Photo Contest were announced this week, with the grand prize awarded to Shikhei Goh for his capture of a dragonfly riding out a rainstorm in Indonesia. As usual, National Geographic has featured winning photos from this year's contest on its website. The contest judges this year were National Geographic magazine photographers Tim Laman, Amy Toensing, and Peter Essick.

I had a look at the submissions and the results, and (although not a nature photographer) agree that the photograph of the dragonfly is worthy of a recognition, but I do not agree with judges' choices for the finalists of the People category.

Had I been a judge, I would have chosen the Kazakh Hunter by Tsolomon Naidandorj as one of the finalists in the People category.  It's exotic, it's dynamic and it's powerful and well composed.

Winners of the National Geographic Photo Contest are also featured on In Focus, the photo blog of The Atlantic.

Travel Photographer Of The Year (TPOTY) 2011

Photo © Louis Montrose-All Rights Reserved

The annual (and impatiently awaited) Travel Photographer Of The Year competition results have been announced, with Louis Montrose being awarded the coveted title.

Louis was born in London, but grew up in New York City, and lived in the San Diego area of southern California for many years. Formerly an Elizabethan scholar and professor at The University of California, he now pursues his calling as a photographer full time.

Amongst the talented other entrants, I noted that Sergey Anisimov, Timothy Allen, David Lazar, GMB Akash, Matjaz Krivic, Richard Murai, and Larry Louie are all recognized for their work.

The winning images from the Travel Photographer of the Year competition 2011 will be exhibited at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London from 21st June to 19th August 2012.

A niggling thought about TPOTY: with a couple of exceptions, all the winners and runners-up (and judges) seem to be from Western countries. Having seen the quality of photographic work by Asian and Latin American photographers, I am surprised that none have won in a category. It may well be that TPOTY's 'reach' is limited to Europe and the USA and if so, I hope its founders will exert efforts to make it better known in Asia and South America to name but two continents.

Here's also a short movie of TPOTY's Exhibition Opening last year.

PLANET Magazine: Global Travel Photo Contest

PLANET Magazine has announced its 4th annual Global Travel Photo Contest, which is divided into two categories; General Travel and Portrait. Photographers are encouraged to submit traditional travel images, studies of the people and environs they encounter as they travel, and even explorations of their own local surroundings. 

The contest runs from September 1 until October 31, 2011. All entries must be received by midnight on 10/31/2011. Photographers may submit multiple entries. There is a fee of $20 per entry to cover administering the contest.


The prizes range from round-the-world ticket (or $1500 cash), to liveBooks pre-designed website or $500 toward a custom designed website, to Canon G12s, to coffee table photography books as well as the opportunity for all top 10 finalists to have their image shown in a special gallery exhibit and opening event at New York City's Clic Gallery in Soho. 


As I always suggest in my posts involving photo contests, make sure you read the terms and conditions very carefully to avoid any nasty surprises.

Fifth Annual FCCT Photo Contest 2011

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand and OnAsia, one of the leading photo agency in Asia, are soliciting participations in the Fifth Annual FCCT Photo Contest. All photos must be taken in the Asia-Pacific region, and photographic submissions in the following four categories will be accepted:

* Spot news: for the best single image photograph taken at a news event in the Asia-Pacific region. No more than five photographs per photographer may be submitted in this category.

* Feature photography - for the best single-image non-news "feature" photograph taken in the Asia-Pacific region. No more than five photographs per photographer may be submitted in this category.

* Photo essay - for the best collection of up to 12 photos on a single topic taken in the Asia-Pacific region. No more than three photo essays per photographer may be submitted in this category.

* Environmental Issues - A special category, sponsored by Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, for the best single photo or photo essay of up to 12 images focusing on environmental topics, including issues such as natural resources and waste; climate change; nature and biodiversity; and the environment and public health. No more than five single images and/or three photo essays per photographer may be submitted in this category.

* In addition, the judges will select one Photographer of the Year to recognize either the best single image, photo essay or the most impressive collection of work submitted by a single photographer in 2011.

Submissions can be published or unpublished work but MUST have been created between Sept 1st 2010 and the contest submission deadline, Sept 23rd 2011. First-place winners in Spot News, Feature Photography and Photo Essay will each receive: $1,000 cash and one round-trip ticket for economy-class air travel in Asia,

I'm generally not fond of photographic contests, but this one may be more interesting than the others I've seen. I will review its terms and conditions before committing to participate. I think I have a photo essay that would suit this contest perfectly.

Oskar Barnack Award 2011: The Winners

Leica announced the 2011 winners of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, and produced an 18 minute movie of their work. The movie was presented at the Arles Photo festival of 2011.

Jan Grarup received the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011 for his “Haiti Aftermath” series and Jing Huang won the Newcomer Award 2011 for his photo set titled “Pure of Sight.”

"Regular readers of The Travel Photographer's blog won't be surprised. I am not moved by most of the photo essays that won the Oskar Barnack Award 2011."

I've watched this movie three times, and readily confess that the majority of the photo essays left me indifferent, and even puzzled. I found that the exceptions were the two projects by Jan Garup; the Haiti Aftermath and Darfur (at the end of the clip) and a poignant photo essay by Carsten Stormer titled The Acid Survivors. I just wasn't moved by the remainder of the photo essays....largely because I just didn't understand what the photographs meant to convey.

That being said,  I generally liked the multimedia production of this movie. I found the varying sound tracks (although none were ambient) to be appropriate, slow and deliberate, and in keeping the theme of the photo essays. I also like the sobriety of the typography and the titles of each photo essay....with the technique of underlining the names of the photographers to accentuate their importance to the viewers.

The transitions were mostly simple, and the dissolves were kept to a minimum. The other effects kept to a minimum were the Ken Burns effect and the panning, but only for the first half of the movie. Subsequently, there was more reliance on the zoom in-zoom out effect, and it was unnecessarily  heavy handed. I also noted that the producer(s) used alternating of verticals on a single frame.

Cazenove+Loyd Leica Travel Photographer of The Year

Cazenove + Loyd is a bespoke (aka luxury) travel company based in the UK started almost 20 years ago by Susie Cazenove and Henrietta Loyd, which has teamed up with Leica to offer a photographic competition celebrating exploration and adventure.

The Cazenove+Loyd Leica travel photographer of the year competition 2011 is looking for photographs taken in one of the company's three areas of expertise, Africa+Indian Ocean, South+South East Asia, Central+South America.

The Travel Photographer of the Year 2011 will win a new Leica X1 and accessories, plus an X1 Akademie Workshop at the Leica Store Mayfair. From January to December 2011, an entrant can win a monthly prize of a new Leica camera, Leica sports optic or Leica Akademie workshop at the Leica Store Mayfair.

Images submitted don't have to be photographed with a Leica, and the copyright remains with the photographer...but the company and Leica have the right to use the winning images from the date of entry to 18 months after the closing date of the Competition.

Planet Magazine: 2011 Global Travel Contest

Photo © Terri Gold-All Rights Reserved

Planet magazine has announced the winners of its Global Travel Contest (General Category), and in which I was pleased to see that Terri Gold was named as one of the runners-up with its above infra-red images made during my Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, which took place in January 2010.

Terri Gold's distinctive infrared images can be seen on her website Terri Gold World Imagery.

I was also pleased to see that Claudia Wiens was recognized with her portrait of a Syrian woman in the contest's Portrait Category. Claudia is a terrific photojournalist based in Istanbul and Cairo, and an alum of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico City.

POV: Blurb's Photo Book Now 2011

Blurb has announced Photography Book Now 2011, an international juried competition which promises it'll celebrate the most creative, most innovative, and finest self-published photography books – and the people behind them, and recommends that all Blurb users submit their best photography books for a chance to win $25,000 and worldwide recognition.

I was tempted to enter my two photography books Bali: Island of Gods and Darshan, which I spent so much energy on, but frankly the submission fee of $35 per book put me off.

The sales of both books have surpassed my wildest (but modest in monetary terms) volume expectations...and I'm happy with the degree of recognition these still constantly receive.

The submission fee is probably to cover administrative costs etc, but Blurb is earning quite a nice margin and fees from its publishing business, and while I don't begrudge it its business model, I also think that charging a fee to enter such a competition is cheeky. Yes, I know...no free lunches anymore.

That's my take on it.

National Geographic 2011 Traveler Photo Contest

Photo © Robin Moore-Courtesy National Geographic Traveler

If you're the kind of photographer who likes participating in contests, then the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2011 could be of interest.

The submission period runs from April 5 to July 11.

The magazine tells us that 3,700 photographers entered nearly 11,000 images in last year's competition, which consisted of an assortment of places, wildlife, and people that make traveling memorable. This is the 23rd year that the Traveler is inviting readers to share their photos of the world around them.

The four categories are:

Travel Portraits. Outdoor Scenes. Sense of Place. Spontaneous Moments.

There's an entry fee, and winning images will be featured in the November/December 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. There are also a number of prizes.

As always, I counsel a careful reading (and wide-eyed acceptance) of the contest's applicable rules, especially those that relate to the License, which starts as follows:

By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide non-exclusive license to Authorized Parties, to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: ......

Gul Chotrani: Leica Oskar Barnack 2011 Contest

Photo © Gul Chotrani-All Rights Reserved

Gul Chotrani lives in Singapore, and joined my recent recently completed In Search of the Sufis of Gujarat Photo Expedition™. Originally an international corporate banker for most of his career, Gul also set up his own business consultancy, providing corporate financial advisory services to European and Asian firms seeking to do business in South East Asia.

Notwithstanding these achievements, he relinquished the fast-paced corporate life for a faster-paced life in photography, becoming a full-time photographer, and traveling to the four corners of the world to nurture his passion.

He just completed his entries in the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011 Contest which he titled "Faith Along The Way". His images wre made in Haridwar during the 2010 Kumbh Mela, in Ujjain, in Varanasi, and a couple from Gujarat made during the photo~expedition (as the one above of the woman in trance in one of the Sufi dargahs).

I know it sounds biased...but I hope he wins!!!

POYi: Adrees Latif: First Place Freelance

Photo © Adrees Latif/Reuters

I'm gratified that one of the photographs that I deemed to be outstanding last November , has just won its photographer first place in the 2011 POYi's Freelance category.

Adrees Latif, a Pakistani photographer with Reuters, has been awarded Photographer of the Year Freelance/Agency with his excellent photograph made during relief supplies being delivered to flooded villages in the Muzaffargarh district of Punjab in Pakistan.

I'm also really "chuffed" that the work of non-Western photojournalists/photographers are recognized in such a manner. Recognition has been long in coming for such professionals, but it's here now, and it was about time. As I've suggested in a previous blog post, I am still disappointed at the absence (or paucity) of imagery by local indigenous photographers being featured by the international press in the events such as the Egyptian uprising, the Tunisian revolt and the ongoing events in Bahrain. This has to change.

And while I'm am chagrined that photojournalists are blogging about being roughed up by thugs in Cairo and elsewhere, I'd remind them that it's not about them...so get a grip, fellas...and stop moaning about how you lost some hard drives, how someone stole your satellite phone or whether you had a black eye...you were in a "war" zone, where people were/are making history. Your images may too.

In Focus: The Atlantic's New Photo Blog

Photo © AP Photo/Altaf Qadri-All Rights Reserved

Another great addition to the stable of newspaper/magazine photo blogs is The Atlantic's In Focus whose editor is Alan Taylor (previously with Boston Globe's The Big Picture).

It recently featured the photographs which won recognition at the World Press Photo Contest 2011. The top honor went to Jodie Bieber for her image of Bibi Aisha, a disfigured Afghan woman, taken for Time magazine. However it being shown on the magazine's cover spoiled its impact insofar as I'm concerned...it was a blatant use of photography as propaganda since it was accompanied by the title of ‘What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan’. A hypocritical and cynical misuse of Aisha's misfortune. And by the way, her name is not Aisha Bibi...Bibi is just a title of respect given to South Asian women.

Don't get me wrong...it's a powerful image which highlights the plight of tribal women in Afghanistan and deserves recognition for doing so. What spoiled it for me was its appearance on the magazine pushing a political agenda.

Having said that, my top favorite of the lot is by Kashmiri photographer Altaf Qadri of a funeral in Pattan, Kashmir. It was awarded the 1st prize in the the People in the News singles category at the 2011 World Press Photo awards. To me, this powerful photograph is what photojournalism is all about.

The photograph shows the sister of Feroz Ahmad (who was killed by Indian forces) wailing in grief as she clings to the platform carrying the body of her brother during his funeral in Pattan, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Srinagar, India.

National Geographic Photo Contest 2010

Photo © Chan Kwok Hung- Courtesy National Geographic

The National Geographic 2010 Photo Contest winners were announced. More than 16,000 photographs were submitted from around the globe, and 3 earned top honors in the people, places, and nature categories.

The winner in the People category is photographer Chan Kwok Hung of Hong Kong, who captured the photograph of an Indonesian farmer and his buffalo charging through the mud in a buffalo race called "makepung".

I also liked the photograph of a Xhosa boy crying during a circumcision ceremony by Robin Utrecht which garnered the Honorable Mention in the People category.

Travel Photographer Of The Year 2010

Photo © Larry Louie/Courtesy TPoTY

 The Travel Photographer Of The Year Competition has named its winner for 2010, and it's Larry Louie with his wonderful black & white photographs of Djenne in Mali.

Larry Louie is a Canadian optometrist and a photographer, who is using his photography as a platform to highlight the work of an eye care charity, as well as other issues and challenges in a world facing rapid urbanization and globalization.

I'm glad that black & white photographs have won this contest...as I think color imagery is seen as a "sexier" form for travel photography contests. Readers of this blog will know that I'm going through my own black & white phase, so I'm indeed glad.

Having also seen the remaining entrants, I have to say another photographer considerably impressed me (and certainly the competition's judges) with his lovely work...and that is Richard Murai of the United States who won the World In Motion category.

Photo © Richard Murai-Courtesy TPOTY

Richard Murai teaches creative photography in Northern California, and is interested in documenting sacred sites of the world. He traveled to locations within India, Peru, Turkey, Egypt, Russia and across Asia and Western Europe. His sepia-like images of Bhuddist tsechu dancers are just ethereal.

I suggest you drop by the TPOTY website...there's quite a number of excellent work by travel photographers.

The Big Picture: National Geo Contest 2010

Photo © Ario Wibisono-All Rights Reserved

The Boston Globe's photo blog The Big Picture is showing off some of the submissions to The National Geographic annual  photo contest. The deadline for the submissions is November 30. The Big Picture editor chose 47 images from the three categories of People, Places and Nature.

No one asked me for my opinion, but I'll give it anyway. My favorite of those shown is the one of the two Indonesian boys playing with roosters in the village of Suradita, near Serpong in West Java. The photographer is Ario Wibisono who's based in Jakarta.

Ario's caption informs us that this was not a real cockfight. I'm confused by their dress as I took them to be Balinese children, but they're not...they're Javanese.

I also liked another one (#5) also by Ario Wibisono of the musician in Tenganan Village in Bali, playing the bamboo flute to a disabled child. I spent a couple of hours with this man during my Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™, photographing him playing his various instruments (including a sort of didgeridoo) and recording some of the pieces he played.

Lonely Planet's 100 Million Competition

Photo LP's 100 Million Competition/Sreesailam Pasupula -All Rights Reserved
Lonely Planet's competition celebrating its 100 millionth guidebook has ended, and the winning entry was this lovely photograph by Sreesailam Pasupula which features five women on a performance stage at the famous Pushkar Mela.

The competition received over 130,000 photos from around the world, and some of the editors' favorites are featured here.

The Telegraph newspaper in the UK also published results of the competition.

Many of the photographs featured by LP are really very well chosen, and I couldn't help noticing that 13 of the 55 photographs that are featured are of India. About 17% of the total. This is remarkable but I'm not surprised...India is India.

Best Of Photojournalism: Dhiraj Singh

It gives me singular pleasure to learn that Dhiraj Singh was awarded Honorable Mention (Feature Audio Slideshow) in the NPPA's Best of Photojournalism 2010 for his My Name Is Dechen.

Dhiraj attended my MultiMedia class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali last summer, and not only received a standing ovation on showing his audio slideshow (Soundslides), but was also awarded Top Award For Photography by the workshop's instructors.

A well-deserved honor to this immensely talented photographer and photojournalist...and he's a very nice guy as well.

I don't think Dhiraj will mind me plugging the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in this post...so if you are still on the fence about your participation in the Istanbul workshop, you may want to take into account that if you do attend it, you may produce a similarly powerful project or photo essay that could earn you prestigious awards!

The Foundry offers the best instructors there is...real working professionals who will show you the ropes, and either change or reinforce your mindset. All you have to do is to leave your ego at the door...that's all.

Frommer's Rights Grab

Bob Krist is mad...fighting mad.

It sems that Frommer's have launched a photography contest calling for photographers to submit images to win the chance of seeing their work gracing the cover of a Frommer's future guide book. The winner will receive $5,000 while 4 runners up will receive Frommer's Prize pack containing three Frommer's Day by Day travel guides and a selection of Frommer's Lug travel accessories.

I've always advocated potential contestants or individuals considering such contests to really read the fine print with care, whether the organizers are well-known in the world of photography or travel or not, in an effort to highlight that most (if not all) of photography contests are rights grabs.

The Frommer's contest rules contain this:

License: Participant retains ownership of the copyright in any submitted photographs. However, by entering photograph(s) in this Contest, participant grants Sponsor the irrevocable, perpetual right to edit, adapt, use and publish in any media now known or hereafter discovered any or all of the photographs without compensation to the participant, his or her successors or assigns, or any other entity. ENTERING A SUBMISSION IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES PARTICIPANT'S IRREVOCABLE ASSIGNMENT, CONVEYANCE, AND TRANSFERENCE TO SPONSOR OF THE FOREGOING RIGHTS. Photograph(s) shall be given attribution credit based on the name supplied with submission. The winner shall work with Sponsor to change the file in any way deemed necessary for publication of the photograph(s). The participants shall supply, upon request, original, unmodified digital files.

As a photographer, I would never ever grant anyone an "irrevocable, perpetual right..." to any of my work, no matter what. Not even a "throw-away" frame.

Bob Krist calls this another rights grab in sheep’s clothing. I don't know about the sheep's clothing, but I can clearly see the wolf's fangs. I also realize that a number of non-professional photographers will be tempted by the prospect of seeing one of their images in print, and perhaps that's what Frommer's target market is. However, I urge working photographers to boycott this contest and to spread the word.

I'm also shocked to see Rick Sammon, a preeminent travel photographer and educator, listed as a judge in this contest.

Update: I learned from Bob Krist's blog that Rick Sammon has now withdrawn from the panel of judges. It was the right and appropriate action to take.