Outdoor Photography magazine has announced that its competition to find the next Outdoor Photographer of the Year is now open. Open to amateur and professional photographers from around the world, the competition covers all genres of outdoor photography – from landscape and adventure to wildlife and the underwater world – and this year the organisers have added a brand new category devoted to seeking out images that capture the spirit of travel. The fee to enter each of the eight adult categories is £8. There is also a free-to-enter category for photographers aged 18 or under. The magazine has once again teamed up with outdoor equipment experts Fjällräven to offer a unique prize: the overall winner will be off to the Arctic on the Fjällräven Polar dog sled expedition in spring 2016. All the winning images will be exhibited at the Telegraph Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show at ExCel, London (11-14 February 2016), and the overall winner will be announced live at the show on the Outdoor Photography PhotoBox stage on Saturday 13 February 2016. The closing date for entries is 2 November 2015.

A sea view photography competition, run by the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society (SMS), is still on the hunt for the UK’s ultimate sea view as the deadline looms. Having already seen a wave of entries, the competition, which is in its second year, will be judged by a panel of experts:  Matt Havercroft, editor of Discover Britain Magazine, Kate Westaway, a marine photographer and TV producer and Commodore Malcolm Williams, the Charity’s chief executive. The prize, donated by P&O Ferries, will be a five-day return crossing on their Dover to Calais route for a car or caravan and up to nine passengers. The deadline for entries to the competition is 7 August 2015.

Defrozo have just started a photography portfolio contest. Offering four winner spots, the Defrozo portfolio competition provides each winner with a prize bundle consisting of 5 premium photography resources. The deadline for entries is 31 July 2015. Click through for the details.

Canon have partnered with the British Red Cross for this year’s Humanitarian Citizenship Awards photography competition. “Our competition theme this year is ‘Celebrating your community’. Often, humanitarian action starts at the heart of communities, and we are asking young people to reflect this in their photography,” said Robin Wells, youth development co-ordinator at the British Red Cross. “Through this theme, we want to encourage young people to celebrate their own communities, and the contributions made by communities and individuals within them.” There are two age categories, 17 and under, and 18 to 25. The overall winners in both categories will each receive an EOS 760D plus lens. The British Red Cross is accepting entries at the website below.

The inaugural Calumet Photographic Student Photographer of the Year competition has received more than a thousand entries, attracting some of Britain’s best young photographers. Now, the winning and shortlisted images are going on a UK tour, exhibiting in Calumet Photographic shops across the United Kingdom. Edinburgh College student Oliver Henderson’s winning photo will take pride of place in the exhibition. His image of a woman in a red dress under a spotlight on a rooftop, set against an industrial background (above), scooped the title and the £11,000 prize bundle of photographic equipment. His photo will be accompanied by the nine finalist entries from Maria Karpova, University of the Arts London; Sioned Evans, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David; Joe Till, Walsall College; Monty Cholmeley, Oundle School, Katarzyna Janicka-Wojtowicz, Ieva Vaitkuviene, Jolanta Ziarnik, Thomas Craner-Buckley and Jack Visser. The tour has now started at the Bristol store; the exhibition will be in place until Friday 24th July, when it will move to other Calumet stores. Click through / read on for the exact dates and locations.

Pearson and Talenthouse are offering photographers around the world a rare opportunity to have their photography judged by British celebrity photographer Rankin. Photographers are being invited to capture the magic of learning and education through striking and memorable imagery. Selected entrants will be awarded a cash bursary for each photograph chosen for Pearson’s official photo library, and have their work credited and showcased across Pearson’s official channels. Additionally, a select number of photographers will be offered career opportunities with the potential to continue to work on paid projects for upcoming Pearson projects. Entrants have until 18 August at 6pm GMT to submit their ideas through the website below.

Nikon today revealed the winners of the Nikon Photo Contest 2014-2015. "Fukushima Flowers" by Katsuhiro Noguchi of Japan has won the Grand Prize in the photograph category and "One" by Chris Rudz of Poland has received the Grand Prize in the video category. “The winning images might have been overlooked as they speak so quietly about one of the colossal events of the last decade,” judge Stephen Mayes commented. “But their intricate beauty pulls the viewer closer, demanding deeper study. Using the descriptive detail of the photographic process, the images describe nothing, but instead offer a meditation, first visually and then intellectually and finally emotionally as their significance emerges. And the lasting emotion is of hope plucked from the very earth that betrayed its inhabitants in 2011.” A further 107 winners will be announced on the Nikon Photo Contest website and all award-winning works will be exhibited in Japan.

The theme of the 7th Edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award is Libya, a North African country that is experiencing an unprecedented political, military and humanitarian crisis. The Carmignac Photojournalism Award has resolved to support a photojournalist in the implementation, production and dissemination of an in-depth project on this country from which we now receive little to no images. The Jury of the 7th Edition of the Award, chaired by Brett Rogers, Director of The Photographers' Gallery (London), will meet on 13th November 2015 in Paris. The Panel comprises Reza, Patrick Baz, Janine di Giovanni, Thierry Grillet, Mikko Takkunen, plus the winner of the 6th Carmignac Photojournalism Award whose name will be revealed in September. Photographers must submit their applications before Sunday 11th October 2015 at 12am (GMT) via the online application process.

The Societies - including the Society of International Wildlife Photographers, the Society of International Commercial and Industrial Photographers, the Society of International Travel and Tourism Photographers, the Society of International Sport & Leisure Photographers and the Society of International Fashion and Glamour Photographers - have launched five photo competitions for the month of July. These include a panoramic photography contest, a "people watching" competition, a boudoir photography contest, an aerial photo competition and a sports photography contest looking for images that depict decisive moments in sports. Click through / scroll down for the complete list.

X-Rite have announced June’s winners of the global social competition 'Capture the Colour,' and also unveiled July’s theme colour. The winners are Carlos Robles, Tomasz Dzubia, Inga Linder-Kopiecka, Jarosław Godowski and Vito Netti. The theme colour for July is Pantone 14-0848 Mimosa. Best illustrated by the abundant flowers of the Mimosa tree and the sparkle of the brilliantly hued cocktail, Mimosa is a versatile shade that coordinates with any other colour and "translates to both fashion and interiors," the company remarks. Entrants can submit their photographs via X-Rite’s Facebook Competition page.

The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers have announced the winners of Discovering Wildlife Photography Competition. Marc Mol from Laufen, Switzerland was chosen as the winner from over 325 images entered in to the competition. Marc tells us ''What a nice and welcome surprise! A herd of elephants cast incredible shadows across the dry Luangwa River floodplain as they journey to the refreshing waters of this dwindling river. The looming shadows of the herd led by the matriarch are clearer than the animals themselves, who seamlessly blend in the textured patterns of the sand below them. Captured from a microlight at early light over the Luangwa River floodplain in Zambia's South Luangwa National park." Marc used a Nikon D3S camera and an AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens to capture the winning shot. The runners up are Mario Gustavo Fiorucci and Karin Horstman.

The Wandle Valley Forum (WVF), Wandle Valley Regional Park Trust (WVRPT) and Living Wandle Landscape Partnership (LWLP) are launching a photographic competition to capture all aspects of the Wandle Valley. There are four categories to enter, each representing a key aspect of the valley’s rich diversity: Natural Wandle, Urban Wandle, Wandle Folk and Working Wandle. The competition is open to amateur photographers of any age, living or working in the in the boroughs of Wandsworth, Sutton, Merton and Croydon. The closing date for entries is midnight on 16 October 2015. The winning images will be used on the new WVRP website and in its digital archive; the overall winner will be used on the website home page.

Shortlisted entries to the Hasselblad Masters 2016 competition are now awaiting votes from the Hasselblad Public Jury. The public vote provides photographers worldwide with the opportunity to influence the result of the competition, with the Public Jury carrying one vote on the main Masters Jury panel. Members of the public are invited to help select a winner from each of the ten categories. The Public Jury vote works by using a rating system that allows you to award 1, 2 or 3 stars to an image in each category. The images with the most stars in each category at the end of the voting period will then gain the public vote as part of the main Masters Jury panel. It is not possible to vote more than once on an image, and once the 6 allotted stars are used up, that image category is considered closed and you can move on to the next category. It is not mandatory to vote in all 10 categories. The voting period ends on 30 September 2015.

The British Life Photography Awards are open for entries from 1st July to 26th September. This photographic competition is a showcase for contemporary and imaginative images that capture the essence and spirit of British life. With an overall prize fund worth over £10,000 sponsored by Sony; the awards feature ten separate categories including Rural Life, Street Life, Work in the Community, Urban Life, Portraiture, Brits on Holiday, Documentary Series, British Fashion and Popular Culture, British Weather and Young British Life Photographer. The competition is open to both amateurs and professionals. Do note that images that have been entered into a major competition where the results are still pending are not eligible for entry.

EEF, the UK manufacturers’ organisation, and Lombard, the UK’s largest asset finance provider, are asking photographers to submit images that capture the essence of modern British manufacturing. Photographs can portray any stage of manufacturing, from design, process and technology in action through to the finished product, and can cover traditional or high-tech sectors. Companies are being encouraged to open their doors to photographers in their local area to demonstrate what makes manufacturing so great. Winners of the EEF/Lombard Manufacturing Photography Competition 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. The closing date for submissions is 30th September.As always, we recommend that you read the rules before entering your work.

The winnders of the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2015 contest have now been revealed. This year's Environmental Photographer of the Year award and £5,000 cash prize went to Uttam Kamati for his inspiring image ‘Watering Melon’ (above). Kamati’s winning image depicts a husband and wife watering watermelon saplings on the Teesta river bed, in West Bengal, India. The Atkins CIWEM Young Environmental Photographer of the Year 2015 prize of £1,000 has been awarded to Bhar Dipayan, whilst the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Film of the Year of £1,000 goes to environmental and wildlife film-maker Verity White. The Atkins Cityscape Prize of £1,000 went to Michael Theodoric, and Esme Allen has been awarded the Forestry Commission England Exhibition Award for her series entitled ‘Eden Restored - The Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq.' The award-winning works and over one hundred other high-quality entries can be seen at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 22 June - 10 July 2015

CyberLink have launched their fourth annual “I Love Travel” competition that challenges the creative and editing skills of video enthusiasts from all around the world. The contest invites everyone from novices to experienced editors to create a short film using CyberLink’s PowerDirector video editing software. The film can be about the contestant’s most memorable travel experience, a story deserving to be told, or even a vacation that holds personal significance to the creator. Contestants can download the free trial version of PowerDirector to create their submission. Prizes for the winners include a GoPro Hero 4 Silver camera, an Apple Watch, and an HTC RE camera. The deadline for submissions is 7th September. As with any competition, we recommend that you read the rules before entering your work.

The Shipwrecked Mariners' Society has announced an exhibition of unique maritime photographs and the launch of its third annual maritime photography competition. The exhibition, which brings a sea view to the landlocked Royal Alfred Seafarers Society care home in Surrey, features images of seven of last year’s competition entries, ranging from trawler races in Brixham to lighthouses in Porthcawl, displayed around the grounds of the home. The Society is encouraging budding photographers to get involved in this year’s competition, open to professional and amateur photographers across the UK, and to send in their pictures of the coast, seafarers and the sea. The deadline for entries to the competition is the 7 August 2015. As always, we suggest that you read the terms and conditions before entering your work.

Tiger Stores have launched a photo competition. Tiger Camera began in 2012 as a place for people from all over the world to share their visions in the form of photographs of the things they love – the things they find beautiful, meaningful and important. The competition is free to enter open to absolutely anyone who can pick upa camera and take a picture. This year, Tiger Camera is looking for personal, creative, and inspiring interpretations of the theme Borders. The competition is judged by an internationally acclaimed jury, and the main prize is a trip to Japan. The closing date is 1 July 2015.

The second international Felix Schoeller Photo Award, which kicked off on 1st January, has received 1200 entries from 65 countries around the world. The countries with the highest number of entrants are Germany, Austria, France, USA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, India, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. “We are particularly pleased about the high percentage of “repeat customers” from the last competition," says Dr Friederike Texter, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communication with the Felix Schoeller Group. "All the 2013 award winners – with the exception of the winner of the Emerging Photographer prize – submitted entries again this year, as did over 70% of those who were nominated for a prize. That demonstrates that we were able to secure the trust of professional photographers and get a lot of things right first time round. The jury is already looking forward to the thrill of viewing and selecting the entries and the Felix Schoeller Group is looking forward to a superb exhibition!" The jury will have selected the nominated and prize-winning work in the different categories by the end of August. The awards ceremony and exhibition opening will take place on 27 September 2015.