Darlings of Chelsea have announced a photography competition centred around the theme of “Environment”. They are looking for unique, original and beautiful photographs taken anywhere in the world that you believe portray your environment. This competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers. Open to novices and professionals of all ages, the competition runs until 9th June. The winner will be awarded a third-generation Apple iPad (16GB, Wi-Fi version). Click through / scroll down for the details.

EEF, the UK manufacturers’ organisation, is seeking images of modern manufacturing that capture British products, components or processes. Winners of the EEF Made in Britain Photography Awards will share a prize fund of £5000 worth of photographic equipment from headline sponsor Canon and gain national recognition at a Westminster awards reception in December 2012. Additionally, the government’s Make it in Great Britain campaign is also backing the awards. The closing date is 28 September 2012, with entries shortlisted by a national panel of photographic and industry experts in October and winners announced at a special ceremony in Westminster in December. As always, we recommend that you read the rules before entering your work.

Vanguard USA has launched a Facebook photo competition entitled, ‘Tripod Required.’ From now through May 23, visitors to Vanguard’s Facebook page can enter the contest by clicking on the Tripod Required Photo Contest tab and uploading the best image they have taken that couldn’t have been captured without the use of a tripod. Examples of “Tripod Required” photography include, but aren’t limited to, HDR, long exposure, panoramic, and macro photography. The winner will be awarded a grand prize package worth more than $500 in Vanguard gear, featuring an Alta Pro 263AGH tripod with pistol grip ball head, The Heralder 38 messenger camera bag, and other photo-video accessories.

The winners of the April 2012 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for April was “Black and Blue” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
The blue galaxy by czardases
Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

Renowned photographer Alison Jackson has created a short film, putting her own modern take on iconic British films to encourage entrants to Virgin Media Shorts 2012, the UK’s biggest short film competition. Alison drew inspiration from Hitchcock’s Psycho and The King’s Speech, directing a short film to tell the story behind the process. Commenting on her involvement, Alison Jackson said: “When asked to create a short film to inspire the next generation of film makers, I wanted to juxtapose the old with the new and suggest how they may be interpreted today, fusing my style of work with the techniques of the greats like Hitchcock.” Film makers wishing to take part should upload their films to the website below for the chance to win a Grand Prize of up to £30,000 film funding, as well as mentoring opportunities with some of the UK’s top film experts. The winning films will be announced at an exclusive red carpet awards ceremony in central London, later this year.

Hasselblad has issued the call for entries for the next Masters Awards competition. “We’ve made some adjustments to the 2014 Masters Awards competition, which will allow more photographers to participate,” says Paul Waterworth, Hasselblad Global Photographer Relations Manager. “Since many photographers are using both medium format and 35mm-type DSLRs, image entries may be captured with either format - as well as film,” explains Waterworth, adding that DSLRs must have a minimum resolution of 16 megapixels. Other modifications include the addition of an underwater category for images captured using a professional housing and the transition of the Up & Coming category to Project//21. The latter is open to amateurs, students, assistants and young professionals who are 21 years old or younger. The deadline for entries is 31st August 2012.

American photographer Mitch Dobrowner has been announced as the winner of the prestigious L’Iris d’Or - 2012 Sony WPO Photographer of the Year award. Dobrowner was presented with the award during the Sony World Photography Awards Gala ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in London’s Park Lane for his extraordinary series of images, Storms. Over 112,000 images were entered into the 2012 competition from 171 countries – the largest number of entries to date. The Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer of the Year title was awarded to Tobias Bräuning for his innovative and striking image Dancing Queen, in the split second category, a new category this year.

Fine Art America has announced a photo contest offering photographers around the world the opportunity to have their work featured in a 30-second Fine Art America television commercial. The submission deadline is 31st May but note that the open voting period also ends on that day so it is recommended that you enter your work as soon as possible. Photographs that have received at least 250 votes from the general public will become eligible for final selection by a jury of Fine Art America staff members and industry professionals such as Bob Riha, veteran USA TODAY photographer; and Craig T. Mathews of Mathew Imaging, among others. The panel of jurors will have until 15th June to cast their votes. Each of the five winners will have one of his or her images displayed on air for five seconds while a voiceover artist explains the Fine Art America business model and the virtues of buying artwork from living artists and photographers. Each image will fill the entire frame and will include the photographer’s headshot, name and hometown overlaid at the bottom left corner.

The winners of International Garden Photographer of the Year’s first Photo Projects category, Monochrome, have been announced. “Annemarie Farley was awarded first place for her beautiful and captivating photograph of a rose, titled ‘Lilac Rose’ [above],”.the organisers say. “Annemarie focused on the petals of the flower, concentrating on its unique shape and structure. The image was then softened post capture to emphasise the romantic and delicate essence of the rose.” The sixth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition is now calling for entries for its ‘Macro Art’ themed Photo Projects category. The deadline for entries is 31 May 2012.

Eleven of the best photography campaigns were recognised with In-Book awards and Nominations at the Fiftieth Annual D&AD Awards. Work included in the D&AD Annual came from around the world, with entries from Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, the US and the UK capturing the jury’s attention. David Stewart, Foreman of the Photography Jury at D&AD 2012 said, “The thing that makes D&AD interesting – and at the same time challenging – to judge, is seeing photography in the context of a finished piece of advertising or design work. The entries I’ve been particularly pleased by this year have been those images that add a new or different dimension to the piece of work they sit in the context of, demonstrating photography’s continued power to take a creative insight or thought and make it manifest.”

Watoto Canada has just launched the “It Takes a Village” photography competition. This creative contest will solicit photographic submissions illustrating what the African proverb “It Takes a Village…” means to Canadians. Three winning photographers will be given an all-expenses-paid opportunity to travel to Uganda in June 2012, where they will take photographs of Watoto’s community building work in action and blog about their experiences. The three winners will also receive tuition from award winning Canadian photojournalists while in Africa. The contest will run from 16 Aprik - 7 May 2012. For more information, visit the website below.

The winners of the March 2012 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for March was “Enemies” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
My Own Worse Enemy by phototoad

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

The winner of a fantastic HP Pavilion G6 laptop featuring AMD Vision Technology is Sudipto Das.

AMD offered you the chance to win a laptop based on its Vision technology which gives PCs more power to speed up applications like photo and video editing.

To enter the competition we asked readers to submit their best photo on the theme of Technology.

We then sent an AMD Vision chip to a shortlist of five readers to use as the subject for a photo for the final stage of the competition.

The Photography Blog editorial team has judged the finalists’ entries and the winner will receive a HP Pavilion G6 laptop featuring AMD Vision Technology.

Samsung is giving 10 lucky Photography Blog readers the chance to win an 8Gb SDHC memory card.

All of the cards in Samsung’s latest memory line-up provide incredible read speeds of 24MB/s and have been designed to meet the growing need for faster data transfer from a mobile device, such as smart phone or digital camera, to a PC.

The premium ‘Plus’ range of SDHC/SD and micro SDHC/SD memory cards have the highest available class 10 speed rating - for advanced data transfer speed and flawless transmission of full HD video – and also boast a class-leading write speed of up to 21MB/s. With data storage capacity of 8GB or 16GB, the cards are perfect for today’s memory-devouring devices and come with a 10 year limited warranty.

To enter the contest, just answer this question

To celebrate it’s sponsorship of the 2012 World Photography Awards Sony is giving 10 lucky Photography Blog readers the chance to win tickets to the winners exhibition that will take place at Somerset House from 27th April - 29th April 2012.

Marking the 5th Anniversary of the Sony World Photography Awards, the beautifully curated winners’ exhibitions will be on show inside the Embankment Galleries at Somerset House on The Strand in London.

In this vast photographic exhibition, visitors will find some of the best contemporary images taken by photographers from across the globe. Mixed media installations will include traditional print, video, moving image and 3D, with subjects spanning all genres, including fine art, fashion, portraiture, sport and photojournalism.

To enter the contest, just answer this question

Alongside the exhibition in Somerset House, World Photo London is returning for its annual weekend of exciting events from 27th – 29th April 2012.

The programme incorporates events for anyone who enjoys photography, whether a culture buff or a practicing enthusiast, including; City Project Workshops, Business of Photography Seminar, Blurb Drop-In Workshops, Critique Sessions and Winners Tours.

For further information about the seminars and workshops available during World Photo London please visit: http://www.worldphoto.org/festivals-and-events/programmes/world-photo-london/events/

Hearst Corporation has announced the 2013 international biennial competition to recognise and showcase the professional work of talented young photographers. Open to all U.S. and international freelance, amateur and professional photographers and students aged 18 to 35, third Hearst 8 X 10 competition will recognize eight winners and will feature their work in two exhibition spaces located in the atrium of Hearst Tower, the company’s acclaimed New York City headquarters. All entries must be submitted no longer than 1 August 2012. Additional information and submission guidelines can be found at the website below.

Entries are now open for the Marwell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012 competition. The charity is calling all budding photographers to enter images which celebrate a variety of wildlife and capture the essence of nature. This year, the competition has four categories including Native, Cute & Funny, Marwell residents and Marwell endangered. Up to five images can be submitted per person. A charge of £5 applies, although junior entries are free. The submission deadline is 14 September 2012. To enter visit the website below.

UKTV has announced a photography contest to celebrate the launch of its new Human Planet series on Eden and Eden HD. “This breathtaking eight-part series takes the viewer to meet the people who survive by building complex, exciting and often mutually beneficial relationships with their animal neighbours and the hostile elements of the natural world,” the company says. Photographer Timothy Allen has been shadowing the crew during the production of the series, documenting the lives of communities in the Arctic, tropical rainforest and remote desert locations. Those participating in Eden’s Living Portrait competition on Facebook by uploading a photo of what “their human planet” means to them are in for a chance to win a 2-day on-location photo-shoot with Timothy at La Merce Festival, Barcelona’s largest street party.

Congregational & General have launched a UK-wide photography competition which showcases the positive impact of faith in the community. The competition, now in its third year, has three categories including Community Spirit Against the Odds, A Year of Service and Moments of Faith. The winning photographer in each of the three categories will receive a prize pack valued at £1400, which includes a Nikon V1 camera. Winning photographers can also nominate a faith, charity or community group to receive £1000 of audio-visual or photography equipment of their choice. For further details of the competition, including prizes and entry requirements and to upload your images visit the website below.

The 17th annual Project Competition recognises gifted photographers working on documentary projects or fine-art series. The 2012 prize package offers a two-person exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art. The Project Competition and Project Launch winning work will be on view at the NM Museum of Art, June – August 2012 during Center’s flagship portfolio review event, Review Santa Fe, where many renowned curators, editors, publishers and collectors will be in attendance. This year, the award attracted hundreds of entries from 34 countries, with the first prize being awarded to Anastasia Taylor-Lind of the UK.