Deadline July End

CIWEM’s Environmental Photographer of the Year honours amateur and professional photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. The competition encourages entries that are contemporary, creative, resonant, challenging, original and beautiful. But most of all, we want your pictures to inspire people around the world to start taking care of our environment.


ELIGIBILITY

The exhibition is open to all professional and amateur, national and international photographers of all ages working with digital and film photography. However, you must ensure that the image quality meets the competition’s criteria as stated below.


CATEGORIES

There will be a winner for each category, with one overall winner who will become the Environmental Photographer of the Year. Each picture must be assigned to only one of the categories below but you may enter more than one picture into a category. There is a maximum of seven images per entrant.


•Mott MacDonald's Changing Climates

These photographs should illustrate the impacts that global warming is having on our world. This may include places and people that are benefitting from a changing climate, or vulnerable ecosystems and communities which are struggling with the affects. You may wish to examine the interaction between economic development, environmental degradation and social inequity, treating climate change as a human rights issue.


See the 2009 and 2008 category winners

•Innovation in the Environment (New Category for 2010)

Environmental innovation tends to conjure up technological solutions that help us pollute less or use fewer resources. But, whilst technological change is vital to overcoming many of the environmental hurdles we face, innovation can also come from an inspirational person or organisation making a difference to a community by encouraging a healthier social or physical environment. Therefore images should try to capture the different ways contributions are being made to the pursuit of sustainable development.


•The Natural World

These images should celebrate the incredible variety and beauty that exists within our natural environment, serving to remind us what we need to protect.



See the 2009 and 2008 category winners


•The Underwater World (New Category for 2010)

Three-quarters of the world’s surface is water and almost half of the world’s population lives on or close to a coastline, but to many the wonders of the underwater world are virtually unknown. This category allows you to share the incredible secrets the oceans, lakes and even ponds hold, as well as highlight the vital role they play in our world’s survival.


•Quality of Life

Photographs might illustrate a particular way of life in various rural, urban or social environments all over the world. They may examine individual or community lifestyles, working conditions, leisure activities, cultural traditions, spiritual activities, social inequities, racial prejudices or access to natural resources that impact on people’s quality of life, both positively and negatively.

See the 2009 and 2008 category winners




•A View From the Western World (New Category for 2010)

Many of those living in the Western World prosper through political and personal freedom, good health and education but the developed world is also associated with excess and waste, stress, over development and environmental degradation. So this is an opportunity to explore all that is good and bad in Western society, perhaps looking to your local communities, politicians, friends or businesses for inspiration or condemnation. Remember, climate change will affect all of us, not just those in seemingly far off places.


CIWEM’s Young Environmental Photographer of the Year

This year we are separating the Young Environmental Photographer of the Year into two groups. This will allow budding photographers a greater chance to compete with their contemporaries. Each group will have a winner, with the overall winner of these two categories gaining the title of CIWEM’s Young Environmental Photographer of the Year.


•Young Environmental Photographer of the Year - Under 16

You are free to take pictures of anything that excites or interests you about our environment. We would love to see your pictures of wildlife, parks, buildings, your garden or your holidays. But remember - the more creative, the better.

This category is open to anyone under 16 as of the 31st July.



•Young Environmental Photographer of the Year - Under 21

Although this section has no thematic boundaries, we encourage entries that highlight issues important to you and your generation. This might include things you’ve seen on your travels, inspirational people, places and events, or environmental deterioration in your local area.

This category is open to anyone under 21, including photography students.

See the 2009 and 2008 category winners


N.B. Entrants of any age are eligible to enter the other categories.

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD ENTER THE ENVIRONMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

• Receive international recognition as the Environmental Photographer of the Year

• Receive a share of the £3,500 prize fund

• Receive excellent media coverage in international print and online publications

• Have your winning work take part in a roving exhibition throughout the year

• Earn money from sales of limited edition prints during launch exhibition, with your permission*

*20 limited edition prints of each of the winning and runner up images will be sold. Photographers will be asked their permission for their prints to be sold, entering a contract to receive 50% of sales revenues. Photographers can refuse to enter this agreement when contacted by CIWEM. Price per print TBC.


JUDGES

• Anthony Epes, professional photographer, www.anthonyepes.com

• Gary Braasch, professional photographer and winner of the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography and author of Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World www.earthunderfire.com



• Ronnie Israel, professional photographer, www.ronnieisrael.com

• Representative from Mott MacDonald, an environmental consultancy fighting the causes and effects of climate change throughout its business: from renewable energy projects in the UK, to helping communities develop resilience to climate change in Bangladesh and China, www.mottmac.com


• Nick Reeves, Executive Director of CIWEM, (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) is an independent professional body and a registered charity, advancing the science and practice of water and environmental management for a clean, green and sustainable world, www.ciwem.org


• Lord Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency, the leading public organisation for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales, www.environment-agency.gov.uk



INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF WORK WILL BE JUDGED ON FIVE QUALITIES


• Impact – does it illustrate immediate, subtle or resonant messages?

• Creativity - is it unusual, thoughtful, beautiful, subversive or ironic?

• Originality – is the subject treated differently, and is the subject matter new?

• Composition - consider the perspective, balance, clarity of meaning and focus of statement

• Technical Quality - consider clarity, focus, lighting, exposure, and colour


DIMENSIONS

All entries should be jpegs over 2MB. Your image must be of good enough resolution that it can be printed at the minimum size of approximately A3 (or the equivalent ratio of your image), meaning we require an image to be at 300dpi.

Do not increase the file resolution to 300dpi after the photograph has been taken as this will result in a loss of quality.



TERMS &CONDITIONS:


• The photographer must be the sole author and owner of the copyright for all photos entered. Please retain the original digital file for reference; it may be necessary to prove ownership. Photographers retain the copyright of any image entered into the Environmental Photographer of the Year


• Any images submitted must be supplied as jpegs

• Do not send images in zip files or embedded into your email as we cannot process these.


No email should exceed 10MB, although you are welcome to send multiple emails for each image. Please indicate if a larger file will be available at a later stage if your image is selected to appear in the exhibition


• All jpgs submitted must be named clearly with the photographer’s name and the title of the image

• Please ensure that they are entered into the correct category. Entries will not be accepted if the category is not stated. The judges reserve the right to move images to a different category


• You may only enter seven photographs in total, although you are welcome to enter different pictures across the categories, or within the same category. No photograph can be entered into more than one category

• Images may be digitally enhanced for creative effect, but you must not add or remove significant elements of the image. Entries will not be accepted if they have borders or locks on them. Do not add a signature to the image – judging is done anonymously so we will not accept these entries!

• It is the entrant's responsibility to ensure that all the necessary permissions are obtained from people featured in a photograph

• Judges appointed by CIWEM will choose the winners. The judges' decision on all matters relating to the competition is final

• By entering the competition, you accept that your photograph(s) may be exhibited by CIWEM or other exhibitions organised or attended by CIWEM as part of the Environmental Photographer of the Year. CIWEM reserves the right to mount and frame shortlisted entries for exhibition purposes


• CIWEM and the sponsors reserve the right to reproduce any entry free of charge in relation to the competition and exhibition. This includes the right to publish entries in articles, EPOTY book, calendar, posters, postcards or any other EPOTY promotional materials. We will ensure that all photographers receive full credit


• CIWEM reserves the right to pass on any entry to online and print publications to be used either for editorial or image based promotion relating to the Environmental Photographer of the Year, with full credit given to the photographer


• CIWEM will ask permission of all winning and runner up photographers to include their images in a limited edition print run. Each image will have 20 limited edition prints sold during the exhibition and photographers will sign a contract to receive 50% of sales revenue. Photographers will receive their share via cheque once all orders have been processed. CIWEM will not reproduce prints to be sold at any other time and photographers have the right to refuse the agreement

• CIWEM reserves the right to cancel this competition at any stage



ENTRANTS WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE ABOVE RULES AND ACCEPTED THEM AND AGREE TO BE BOUND TO THEM WHEN ENTERING THE COMPETITION


TO ENTER

EPOTY 2010 is now open and will close at midnight 31st July 2010.

Email your entry to epoty@ciwem.org and include the following information:

Full Name:

Address:

Postcode:

Country:

Tel:

Email:

Age if entering the Under 16 or Under 21 categories:

Camera make and model:

ISO:

Aperture:


Where, when and what: (you are encouraged to submit as much information as you wish as this may later be used in press releases and during the exhibition):


Any other information that you think is relevant to the competition and will enhance your entry

The winners will be announced publicly only after all winners have been contacted throughout September 2010. If you have not been contacted by the end of September, unfortunately it will mean that you have not won, so please do not email CIWEM to check if you are a winner.

GOOD LUCK!