The Travel Photographer of the Year 2009 competition is now open for entries. Any photographer, amateur and professional, aged 17 years and over from any country can enter the three Portfolio categories and the One Shot category. The New Talent, First Shot and Young travel Photographer of the Year categories all have restrictions on entry as follows: New Talent is for photographic students, amateur or semi-professional photographers only. First Shot category is for amateur photographers only. Young Travel Photographer of the Year is for photographers aged 16 and under. Entries close on 22nd September 2009. The entry fee is £15 for each portfolio category, £20 for New Talent, £10 for One Shot and First Shot and free for Young Travel Photographer of the Year.

Press Release

The 2009 Travel Photographer of the Year competition opens for entries

Entries are now open for the 2009 international Travel Photographer of the Year competition (TPOTY). This year’s competition has more categories and awards than ever, giving amateur and professional photographers worldwide even more chances to win great prizes, and the prestige of winning a TPOTY title.

With a new sponsor line-up, the TPOTY prize package is impressive. TPOTY 2009 winners will go to some highly photogenic locations, traveling to China, Costa Rica and Morocco with Intrepid Travel and to Slovakia’s Tatra Mountains with Mountain Paradise.

They’ll also receive some great equipment prizes. These include a 26” NEC Spectra View monitor, an Apple MacBook Pro with Aperture 2 software, Wacom Cintiq 12WX interactive pen display and new Intuos4 pen tablets, Adobe CS4 Web Premium, Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom software, a total of £1,000 to spend with Jacobs Digital Photo & Video, Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio books, HARMAN PHOTO and ILFORD PHOTO paper, prints and darkroom products, LEE filters, Lexar CF cards and card readers, Photo Iconic photo courses, and £300 to spend with Linhof Studio.

TPOTY 2009 features three portfolio categories - Homeland, Natural Wonders and People of the World, and a One Shot category, on the theme Festival, Fiesta and Celebration. In addition, it features New Talent, the award for those who want to start a photographic career, the First Shot beginners’ single image category, and Young TPOTY (for kids with cameras)

Entry is via print submission or online image upload through www.tpoty.com, and entries close on September 22nd, 2009. Entry fees start at £10, and entry to Young TPOTY is free. Winning images from previous years can be seen in the Winners’ Galleries on the competition website.

About Travel Photographer of the Year

Founded in 2003, Travel Photographer of the Year is run by photographers for photographers. In 2008 alone, entries were received from amateur, semi-professional and professional photographers in over 60 countries. To date, the youngest entrant in the awards was aged 5, the oldest aged 88.

TPOTY winning and highly-placed images have been exhibited at the London Eye, at Focus on Imaging at the NEC, at the Exposure Gallery in London and at the Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel and Cruise shows, and are published in the ‘Journey’ series of books.

Awards, categories and prizes in detail

Overall winner - the Travel Photographer of the Year 2009

To be eligible for the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2009, entrants need to submit images in two of the three portfolio categories. The winner will receive an Apple MacBook Pro with Aperture 2 software, and travel to the Tatra Mountains of Slovakia with Mountain Paradise, where they’ll be able to photograph unspoiled landscapes, majestic waterfalls and emerald-coloured lakes set against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Their prize also includes the latest Adobe CS4 Web Premium software suite, a beautiful, personalised, Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book to showcase their images, the latest Wacom Intuos4 S pen tablet, a 16GB Lexar Professional UDMA 300x CF card and Professional UDMA Dual Slot Card Reader, plus a 40” x 30” ILFORD Lightjet silver gelatin print of one of their winning images.

Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2009

Open to photographers aged 16 and under, Young TPOTY challenges youngsters to put together a portfolio of four images on the theme ‘A Place I Love’. The winner will receive private photo tuition with Photo Iconic, Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom, an 8GB Lexar Professional CF card and reader, and a Wacom Bamboo Fun pen tablet. Four runners-up will each receive a 4GB Lexar Professional CF card plus Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 & Premiere Elements 7.

New Talent: A Traveller’s Tale

This is the category for amateur or semi-professional photographers who are looking to start a career in photography - and winning it could also give a great boost to a photographic student. They need to construct their own Traveller’s Tale, on any subject they choose, in four images. The winner travels to the Tatra Mountains Photography Centre for a photography course in Slovakia with Mountain Paradise and Photo Iconic, receives Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom plus a £300 spend with Linhof Studio, Plastic Sandwich personalised leather portfolio book, and an 8GB Lexar Professional CF card and reader. And they’ll have their images showcased in the Travel Shooters Photographers’ Showcase on www.tpoty.com.

The runner-up, Highly Commended and Commended entrant in this category each win a 4GB Lexar Professional CF card.

Portfolio category: Homeland

To prove that you don’t have to clock up the air miles to take great travel images, this category requires entrants to shoot a portfolio of four images that captures the essence of the country they live in. The winner will take in the grand cities, archaeological wonders, lush riverside scenery and beauty of China with Intrepid Travel, and receive a Wacom Intuos4 M pen tablet, plus an 8GB Lexar Professional CF card and reader.

The second-placed entrant will win a 4GB Lexar CF card, plus £250 worth of LEE filters, while Highly Commended and Commended entrants receive a 4GB Professional Lexar CF card.

Best Single Image, Homeland portfolio category

Every year the TPOTY judges spot some outstanding individual images within the portfolio categories. The photographer whose image is chosen as the best Homeland shot will win Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom, £200 to spend at Jacobs Digital Photo & Video, plus a 40” x 30” ILFORD Lightjet silver gelatin print of their image.

Portfolio category: Natural Wonders

This is the category for the wildlife and landscape photographers, requiring them to submit four stunning images that portray the natural wonders of this planet. The winner will explore the colonial streets, lush cloud forests and white sand, Pacific coastline of Costa Rica with Intrepid Travel. They’ll be able to review their images on a 26” NEC SpectraView® high-end professional widescreen LCD monitor, and also receive an 8GB Lexar Professional CF card and reader.

The second-placed entrant will win a 4GB Lexar Professional CF card, plus £250 worth of LEE filters, while Highly Commended and Commended entrants receive a 4GB Lexar Professional CF card.

Best Single Image, Natural Wonders portfolio category

The photographer whose image is chosen as the best Natural Wonders shot will win Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom, £200 to spend at Jacobs Digital Photo & Video, plus a 40” x 30” ILFORD Lightjet silver gelatin print of their image.

Portfolio category: People of the World

Wherever we travel, it’s often the people we see that fascinate us the most, so in this category entrants need to produce a portfolio of four images that shows some of the people they’ve encountered on their travels. The winner will travel to Morocco with Intrepid Travel, where they can enjoy the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, the sands of the Sahara, the medieval old town of Fes and the spice markets of Marrakech. And they’ll receive a versatile Wacom Cintiq 12WX interactive pen display and an 8GB Lexar Professional CF card and reader.

The second-placed entrant will win a 4GB Professional Lexar CF card, plus £250 worth of LEE filters, while Highly Commended and Commended entrants receive a 4GB Lexar Professional CF card.

Best Single Image, People of the World portfolio category

The photographer whose image is chosen as the best People of the World shot will win Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom, £200 to spend at Jacobs Digital Photo & Video, plus a 40” x 30” ILFORD Lightjet silver gelatin print of their image.

One Shot category: Festival, Fiesta & Celebration

Capturing the colour and spectacle of a festival or fiesta in just one incredible image isn’t an easy task. The successful photographer will receive Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom software, £400 to spend with Jacobs Digital Photo & Video, £200 worth of HARMAN PHOTO and ILFORD PHOTO products, and an 8GB Lexar Professional CF card and reader.

The runner-up, Highly Commended and Commended entrant in this category each win a 4GB Lexar Professional CF card.

First Shot: Postcards from Anywhere

This is for adults who are new to photography and for images taken on a mobile phone, compact camera or basic SLR or DSLR. They need to take a shot that they’d choose to send as a postcard to a friend - one single image which sums up a place or an occasion. Five winners will receive a Photo Iconic course or image critique session and also win Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7. Five runners-up in this category receive Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7.

Full information can be found on www.tpoty.com.

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