X-Rite has announced the September theme for its Colour Perfectionists Unite Photo Contest. To enter, submit a photograph that represents the “Back to School” theme, follow @xritephoto on Twitter and “like” X-Rite Photo on Facebook, then invite friends and family to vote for your image. The top 20 photos with the most votes each month will be entered in the final round.  The finalist images will be featured in a monthly gallery on Facebook and added to the Colour Perfectionists group on Flickr. Finally, an X-Rite Coloratti will judge the 20 finalists to determine the winner of the best photograph that illustrates the theme of the month. Prizes to be won include a ColorChecker Passport (pictured) and an i1Display Pro.

Photography Blog and Cyberlink are giving away FIVE copies of Cyberlink PhotoDirector 2011, each worth £79.99!

CyberLink’s PhotoDirector 2011 is designed to smooth the flow from the time an image is imported to the PC to its final output by delivering powerful management and editing tools.

PhotoDirector 2011 features a wide array of dynamic adjustment tools that can be applied in a non-destructive editing environment, leaving your original images unaltered. Offering native rendering of RAW files from Canon and Nikon cameras provides photographers with a great feature to maintain the immaculate quality of each image. PhotoDirector 2011 is also the first photo software that lets users easily share their own presets and download an unlimited number of presets defined by others, directly from the application, through CyberLink’s online community DirectorZone.com.

The 5 winners are: James Golden, Michael Flowdy, David Lonsdale, Kurt Skeels and Paul Rose

The contest closed at 11.55PM GMT on Wednesday 31st August 2011.

The winners of the August 2011 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for July was “Street Portrait” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Out in the Cold by mortong

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

Blurb has announced the grand prize winner of this year’s Photography Book Now competition. The $25,000 prize goes to Valerio Spada, a professional photographer from Milan, Italy, for his book, “Gomorrah Girl.” Spada’s work, the story of adolescence, choices and chance in the land of the Camorrah (the name of the Mafia in Naples), was chosen by an international panel of judges, from more than 2,300 submissions. The photographer will be honoured along with 12 other category winners on 15th September at the Aperture Gallery in New York City.

Website: Valerio Spada

The British Isles edition of National Geographic Kids magazine has launched the National Geographic Kids International Photography Competition 2011. With four categories to enter – People, Scenery, Animals and Humour – children aged 14 and under are invited to submit their photographs for judging by a panel which includes National Geographic explorers-in-residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, and children’s TV presenter, Andy Akinwolere. The overall British Isles winner will scoop an 11-day family adventure holiday to India, where they’ll visit the Taj Mahal, camp out in the desert, explore Delhi by rickshaw and go on a tiger safari, courtesy of adventure travel experts Explore. They will also win a Nikon D3100 digital SLR camera, while the other category winners will each receive a Nikon Coolpix S3100. The competition closing date is 31 October 2011.

Breathing Color recently launched the “Go Lyve” international print competition with $10,000 worth of prizes. Entrants are required to purchase a roll, box or trial roll of of Breathing Color’s Lyve Canvas between 15 August through 31 December 2011, print their favourite image on it at a size of 16x20 inches or less, and send the print to Breathing Color, Att: “Go Lyve Print Contest”, 18552 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 100. Irvine, California, 92612. For contest rules and a detailed list of prizes, visit the website below.

The winner of Tamron’s My Travel Exhibit photo contest has been announced. Lois Settlemeyer’s images of the fabled Antelope Canyon in Arizona won her a Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD all-in-one zoom lens. The My Travel Exhibit photo contest kicked off the launch of Tamron’s MyPhotoExhibits website, a virtual destination that enables photographers to showcase their favorite images in a gallery setting.

The Garden Furniture Centre competition is open to photographers of all abilities. The winner will receive a Devon 6 Chair and Table set worth £999.99. The contest theme is Gardens/Wildlife/Flowers and the closing date is 17th September 2011.

UK based charity Sightsavers has just launched a new photo competition. The Sightsavers competition encourages people to submit a photo that they feel captures the essence of Diwali through family, fun, colour or light. The closing date for entries is 31st August and participants can submit as many entries as they like.

The Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year contest is free to enter for those aged 18 and under. The organisers want “visually arresting images of landscapes or wildlife that matter most to the young photographer”. The winner will be awarded with £500 worth of Lee Filters vouchers. For more information and to enter, visit the website below. The submission deadline is midnight on 25th September 2011.

International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) is reminding interested photographers that the deadline for submissions for the Summer edition of its 4Seasons competition is 31st August. The 4Seasons summer category theme for this year is ‘Weather Eye’ – a theme designed to encourage photographers to explore the different aspects of weather that are essential for plant growth.The winner of the 4Seasons category wins a cash prize of £500 and a copy of the latest IGPOTY book, ‘International Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 4’ (published in May 2011). Entries cost £10 for 4 images and can be made online at the website below.

The winner of the Nikon Photo Contest International (NPCI) 2010-2011 competition has been revealed. Billed as the biggest international photography competition in the world, NPCI 2011 saw more than 60,000 entries submitted by approximately 23,000 photographers from 153 countries. The winning image, “Learning to Fly” by Indian photographer Debarshi Duttagupta (above), was taken in Varanasi, India. Commenting on why the jury chose this photo as the overall winner, judge Hiromi Tsuchida said: “This image tells three stories in synchronicity, exhibiting the passage of time and the simultaneity of life.” A selection of the winning photographs will be on display at Getty Images Gallery, London, from 15 September until 13 October 2011.

Website: NPCI

Underwater Photography Guide has announced that the prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition 2011 is now open for submissions. The competition has 12 categories, including a Novice DSLR category and 3 compact camera categories, giving underwater photographers of all levels a chance to win a prize. Unique categories include SuperMacro, Cold/Temperate Water, Nudibranchs, and Divers/ Fashion. The more traditional categories include Wide-Angle, Macro, Marine Life Portraits, and Marine Life Behaviour. There are over $75,000 worth of prizes, including over 25 liveaboard and scuba diving resort packages, dive equipment, and more. For more information, visit the website below.

Burrard-Lucas Photography has launched a new “Wildlife” photo contest. They are looking for striking and original photographs taken anywhere in the world. The winner receives a Canon EOS 60D digital SLR camera and a $100 Amazon gift voucher, while two runners-up will be awarded with $25 gift vouchers. Entry to this contest is free and you will retain copyright over any pictures you submit. The submission deadline is 15th October.

Website: Burrard-Lucas Photography - Wildlife Photo Competition 2011

Canon has collaborated with one of Hollywood’s most influential directors, Ron Howard, to select the eight winners of the “Project Imagin8ion” contest from 96,362 submissions. Launched in May, the contest challenged photographers to submit their most imaginative images based on a series of eight separate movie themes, each one a core tenet of storytelling, to ultimately inspire a short film byRon Howard. The film, which will be shot using Canon DSLR products, goes into production in September and will premiere later this year in New York City..Click through / read on for more information including a full list of category winners.

Photography Blog and Manfrotto UK have given away TWO fantastic new Manfrotto Compact Series Photo Tripods, each worth £49.95!

The two winners are Paul Rose and Derek Jones.

The Compact Photo Kit is the most compact full size support in the market. The five section legs and the unique reversible column provide maximum compactness for storage and transportation, and yet, when fully extended it is a full size tripod with no compromise on height. The quick action intuitive ball head allows you to simply and quickly set the position of your camera in any situation so you don’t lose the right moment.

The contest closed at 11.59PM GMT on Sunday 31st July 2011.

For more information on Manfrotto products please visit: www.manfrotto.co.uk
Manfrotto – Imagine More

The winners of the July 2011 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for July was “Delicate” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
TORN by angela taylor

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

Inspired by the Epson Red Sea Competition that takes price each November in Eilat, the first Epson Underwater Photo Grand Prix, designed to highlight the Earth’s vast marine biodiversity, seeks to showcase the talent and skill of underwater photographers from all continents. Throughout this month, around 500 professional and amateur photographers will be shooting hidden aquatic treasures for a chance to win one of numerous prizes. All categories winners and nominees will be announced on 19 November 2011, as part of this year’s Epson Red Sea Eilat Competition.

Lomography has rolled out the limited-edition Lomo LC-A+ Russia Day film camera and announced a competition. The Lomo LC-A+ Russia Day, whose production run is limited to 2,000 units, is dressed in red leather and equipped with a Minitar 1 32mm f/2.8 lens. The camera comes packaged in a special velvet box with Lomo LC-A+ book, LC-A+ ‘toolkit’ instruction manual, cable release and batteries. Also included is a special Russia Day camera strap, a Russia Day emblem for the camera (5 designs available) and Russia Day emblem with the strap (5 designs available). Coinciding with the launch, Lomography has also announced the Car for A Baby contest - couples who take a romantic photo of themselves during September are in for a chance to win an original Russian scooter. And if on June 12th 2012 a baby comes into your world, Lomography will celebrate this with an additional prize: a Russian family van for your new family! As always, we suggest that you read the terms and conditions before entering the competition.

Lensbaby has announced two new portrait kits and a Senior Style Portrait Photo Contest. The standard Lensbaby Portrait Kit ($470, pictured) includes a Lensbaby Composer with a Double Glass Optic and a Soft Focus Optic, wide-angle and telephoto conversion lenses, Creative Aperture Kit 2 and a Lensbaby System Bag. The Ultimate Portrait Kit ($590) includes everything listed above, plus a Lensbaby Scout. The Lensbaby Senior Style Portrait Photo Contest, which opens for submissions on 1st September, challenges US photographers to enter their best high-school senior portraits shot with one of the seven creative optics in the Lensbaby Optic Swap System. The submissions gallery will be hosted by SmugMug.