The 2014 UK National Photography Awards are now open for submissions. Entries are welcome in any genre, giving those in both wide and more niche sectors of the industry an opportunity to gain exposure and recognition for their work. Entries are judged each month and those achieving top marks will receive national award winning status, at bronze, silver, gold or diamond level. This year's categories include: Wedding, Portrait, Wildlife, Landscape, Sports, Newborn, Travel, Boudoir & Glamour, Fashion, Advertising, Equestrian and Astronomy. There is also a 'Young Photographer of the Year' category, for entrants aged between 12-17 and a 'Judges' Choice Award' for images that do not fall into any of the other categories. For more information, and to enter the competition, visit the website below.

World Press Photo (WPP) has issued a statement regarding the possible conflict of interest in awarding the World Press Photo of the Year 2013 to John Stanmeyer. Both Stanmeyer and general jury chair Gary Knight are founding members of VII Photo Agency - a fact that has sparked a debate in the global professional photographic community.."World Press Photo affirms that the two-week judging process culminating in the selection of Stanmeyer’s photo was conducted according to procedures established over a 57-year history that are specifically designed to ensure the integrity of the awards," WPP says. "World Press Photo has total confidence in its judging process and how it was applied this year. We trust absolutely in the integrity of our chairs and jurors and we honor the selections they have made."

York-based Dominic Wright Photography has been named The Societies’ Fashion Photographer of the Year. The winning image (above) was originally an idea created by both Dominic Wright Photography and Christine Wright from Horticouture, created for the TV programme A Great British Christmas at Rise Hall at Sarah Beenys House, which aired on Channel 4 on the 2nd December 2013. Dominic Wright Photography is run by Dominic and his wife Zoe. Upon receiving the honour, Dominic said: "I didn't think we had a chance against such strong competition so we were shocked when we won. we’re over the moon.” 

The Texas Beef Council has announced a a ‘Table for Two’ photo competition. Beef lovers aged 18 and older from around the USA are asked to participate in the contest by posting pictures of their favourite dishes and explaining who they are sharing their meal with on the Beef Loving Texans Facebook Page. Judges from sponsor, Texas Beef Council, will individually evaluate and score all eligible entries received and select one grand prize winner, who will receive four 16oz T-Bone steaks valued at $99. The competition runs until the end of this month, and the winner will be contacted on 10 March 2014.

The jury of the 57th annual World Press Photo competition has selected a picture by American photographer John Stanmeyer of the VII Photo Agency as the World Press Photo of the Year 2013. The image shows African migrants on the shore of Djibouti city at night, raising their phones in an attempt to capture an inexpensive signal from neighbouring Somalia in order to get in touch with relatives abroad. The picture also won 1st Prize in the Contemporary Issues category, and was shot for National Geographic using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera with a Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM lens. The image was taken at an aperture f/1.4 and 1/40th second exposure and ISO 10,000. Canon, the competition's worldwide sponsor, congratulated Stanmeyer on winning the contest.

The winners of the third annual Mobile Photography Awards have been announced. Photographers from nearly 75 countries submitted over 7,000 images, the highest in the three year history of the awards. The $3,000 Grand Prize has been awarded to Cedric Blanchon (France) for the image above. The MPA/DIPTICAPP Photo Essay 1st Place winner is Cesar Rodriguez-Becerra of Mexico.

Youframeit, a company specialising in in photographic canvas printing, is offering winter scenery and wildlife fans an opportunity to win over £500 worth of canvases, plus a Canon EOS M camera. To participate, simply email your winter wildlife & nature photographs to [email protected] The deadline for entries is 12 March 2014.

Update: Due to the popularity of the contest and demand for more time, the company has extended the competition by one week. The closing date is now the 19th of March with the winner being announced on the 22nd.

John Lewis are giving one lucky winner the chance to improve their photography skills with a Fujifilm FinePix S4800 camera, worth £129.

The lucky winner is Kay Doherty. Congratulations!

This 16 Megapixel camera boasts 30X optical zoom, superior image quality, 1.3 second start-up time and panorama setting. The S4800 also has 3D shooting capability with two exposures of the same scene being saved in Multi-Picture Format to create realistic 3D effects.

Automatic scene setting detection and the ability to upload photos straight to Facebook make for easy capture and photo sharing in seconds. The FinePix S4800 is perfect for any budding photographer looking to improve their skills, as well as for those simply looking for a good quality on-the-go camera.

The call for entries for this year's Renaissance Photography Prize has been issued. By entering, photographers get their work seen by some of the most highly regarded photography critics, and have the chance to win $10,000 worth of prizes in total, including cash, professional printing, portfolio reviews and valuable international exposure.  Sungle image categories include Belonging, Expression and Transition; and there is a Series category as well. The competition is open to everyone and welcomes entries from all countries. Do note that entry fees apply.

The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) have announced the winners of the "Faces" Photographic Competition. Olga Kuznyetsova from Kiev, Ukraine was chosen as the winner from over 700 images entered in to the competition, with the image entitled ‘Smoking Man” (above). Phil Jones, The Societies CEO says, “Its an imaginative and intriguing image which has been well captured, pleasingly lit and the smoke gives it atmosphere.” The photo was taken on a Canon EOS 7D and 50mm f1.4 lens.

The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers (SINWP) have announced the winners of the Nature’s Surprises Competition. Michel Hagege from France was chosen as the winner from over 590 images entered in to the competition, with the image entitled ‘Storm’ (above). Phil Jones, The Societies CEO says, “This image was chosen because of its strong composition with a clearly defined point of interest, and shows the emotion in this atmospherically captured moment.” Csaba Tóth from Hungary and Bridgena Barnard from South Africa have been announced as runners-up in the competition.

Communication Arts Magazine has issued a call for entries for its 55th annual photography competition. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors, photo editors and photographers including Catriona Ni Aolain, Henry Sene Yee, Jimmy Bonner, Laurie Frankel and Tim Hartford; the winning entries will be featured in the Communication Arts Photography Annual, in print and on the iPad, and on commarts.com. The deadline for submissions is 14 March 2014.

Talenthouse has teamed up with Autographer, billed as the world's first intelligent wearable camera, to offer aspiring photographers a chance to have their work featured in a major new advertising campaign. Developed by the team who designed the motion graphics for Oscar nominated film Gravity, Autographer is a new type of camera which enables spontaneous, hands-free image capture using a custom 136° eye view lens, an ultra-small GPS unit and 5 in-built sensors. To enter, creatives are invited to submit their best photos taken by accident. The photographs must be original work and taken on any device, but must represent that perfect moment of unposed 'autography.'The chosen finalists will all receive an Autographer. The selected artist will see their work featured in the next Autographer advert, plus $1,000 and full exposure on Talenthouse, Autographer and BBH's social channels. Submissions close on 19 February 2014.

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) invites student, amateur and professional photographers worldwide to submit their work to the 157th RPS International Competition. The Royal Photographic Society’s annual International Print Exhibition is the longest standing exhibition of its kind in the world, dating back to 1854. During its long history it has gained a reputation for showcasing a wide range of genres and styles of photography. Now in its 157th year, entry is open to everyone of any age or photographic level.. Initial entry is online, and you can submit up to 4 digital images before 18 March 2014. The selectors will make a shortlist from all uploaded entries and the shortlisted photographers will then supply prints for the final selection of 100 prints for the touring exhibition, including the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Under 30 Award winners.

The 2014 Kolor Panobook Contest, a major panoramic photography competition, is about to open. The entry period will begin on 3rd February, and photographers have until 3rd March 2014 to submit their best panoramic images to the competition. As in the previous years, the best entries will be published in a photobook called the Kolor Panobook 2014. For more information and to enter, visit the website below.

Lithuania wedding photographer, Lina Ruskyte Lukoseviciene was awarded the coveted Photographer of the Year by The Societies during the Awards Dinner at their annual Convention, for the photo shown above. Lina said, “The image was taken of a bride while she was preparing for ceremony, she was standing in another room and her brother was correcting her veil. I took the picture from the space in front of the open doors.” In addition to receiving her trophy Lina also walked away with a VIP trip to The Societies' 2015 Convention.

The winners of the 2013 ArtGemini Prize have been announced. The £1000 first prize was awarded to Chiara Gerevasi for her photo, UNO (see above). The second prize went to Orit Zuckerman. The finalists' images will be on display at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London from 24th January to 7th February. All 56 artworks (including paintings and photographs) are for sale, and 20% of the sale proceeds will be donated to Kids Company. Visitors to the exhibition may cast their vote for the winner of the £500 Public Choice Prize.

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) has issued a call for nominations for its annual Awards. Honouring individuals across all areas of photography, the RPS Annual Awards offers several categories ranging from ‘Outstanding Service to Photography’, to those honouring individuals in photographic education and science. Award winners will be announced at a special event to be be held in London in September 2014. Full details of each Award and a nomination form can be found on The Society’s website.

The winners of the Open and Amateur categories of the 2013 International Loupe Awards have been announced. The overall Open Award Winner is Mark Carter from New Zealand, who receives a prize pool that includes $15,000 in cash and a VIP trip to the 2014 Creative Asia Imaging Expo in Hong Kong. The Amateur Award went to Lori Cicchini from Australia, who has won photographic equipment from the likes of Canson, Kayell, Elinchrom, Drobo, Datacolor, Orbis and IOShutter. Entries for International Loupe Awards 2014 will open in October 2014.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced the results of its annual photographic competition. Heather Buckley's photograph of foxgloves in the gardens at Great Dixter House, East Sussex (above) was chosen from thousands of entries to win the grand prize of £1,000. Speaking about her victory, Heather said: "It's a great honour to be named RHS Photographer of the Year, as it's hard to get recognised as a photographer and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to show my work to a larger audience." The RHS Young Photographer of the Year award went to 17-year-old Mateusz Piesiak from Poland for his image of a starling, entitled ‘In pastels'.