The Thomson Reuters Foundation and Nokia have launched a new international photography contest aimed at empowering women around the world through the power of images. Photo entries will be submitted to the public vote and judged by a distinguished line-up of experts from the world of photography, journalism and women’s rights, including: Reuters Photographer and World Press Photo Winner Finbarr O’Reilly; Journalist, Author and Chime for Change Managing Editor Mariane Pearl, Thomson Reuters Foundation Editor-in-Chief Tim Large, and Nokia Imaging Technology Marketing Manager Kristina Bjorknas. Ten finalists will be chosen from the pool of entries and asked to put the new Nokia Lumia 1020 to the test by using the smartphone to create a portfolio of photos that capture the empowerment of women..The winner will receive the first Thomson Reuters Foundation–Nokia Photography Award.

The winners of the EyeTime 2013 contest have been announced. EyeTime 2013 was assembled as a means to publicly promote the research, exploration and investigation currently happening amongst today's emerging talent. Winners include Dean West, Simon Chang, Edward Neumann, Tiberio Ventura, Michael Santiago and Nicholai Go. Jessica Lum Awards winners include Alessandro Falco and Tiberio Ventura. Public winners include Javier Corso and Rainer Weston.

The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers has launched its newest competition entitled ‘Celebrating Nature.’ The challenge this month is to enter stunning images that reflect the beauty of nature and capture the true essence of the world around us. The judges will be looking for  a strong and interesting narrative as well as the highest technical skills. The deadline for entries is 31st December.

The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) have announced the winners of their ‘Love’ photographic competition. Gilchrist Yeo from Johor, Malaysia was chosen as the overall winner from over 240 images entered, for his photo reproduced above. Phil Jones The Societies CEO says “The image portrays a beautiful feeling off togetherness and harmony between two people who are very much in love." The runners-up are Elizabeth Ann Roberts from Inverness, and Leighton Bainbridge from County Durham.

Manfrotto is giving away THREE fantastic new Pro Bags bags, each worth £150!

The 3 lucky winners are: Ian Clowes, A Rowlands and Natalie Merino.

MANFROTTO PROFESSIONAL BAGS COLLECTION

MANFROTTO LAUNCHES LATEST RANGE OF PROFESSIONAL CAMERA BAGS FOR TOP PHOTOGRAPHERS - The highest protection for professional camera equipment.

Manfrotto UK has launched its latest Professional bags collection aimed at top photographers. With this collection of 16 camera bags in five styles, Manfrotto provides professional camera equipment the best protection on the market.

For more information or to view or buy Manfrotto products online visit: www.manfrotto.co.uk

The Societies have announced that Bowens will be sponsoring their annual 20x16” Print Competition. Phil Jones, The Societies CEO says, "Bowens are great supporters of the 20x16” Print Competition and have sponsored the 1st prize for the last four years. We are delighted to say that the Mosaic Bi-Colour LED Panel will be awarded to the overall winner at our Awards Night on the Saturday 18 January during our Convention." For full details on The Societies 20x16” Print Competition visit the website below.

G-Technology has announced the grand prize winner and individual category winners of its 4th annual Driven Creativity competition. The overall winner is Stephen Murphy, who won the grand prize for his role as director of photography on the film “Coward”.  Entered in the Professional Short Film category, “Coward” tells a touching story of two Irish soldiers who leave their homes to fight in World War I.  It balances the truth and the hardships they endure, while delivering a compelling cinematic approach to storytelling. In the Photography category, the amateur and professional winners are Christian Meermann for his image Thinker (above) and Clair Anderson, respectively. You can view Stephen Murphy's winning video after the jump.

The Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year competition is now open for entries. Launched in 2007 by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the competition honours amateurs and professionals of all ages. Following a successful first-year partnership, Atkins, one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies, are once again sponsoring the competition, allowing for two significant improvements this year. 2014 sees the introduction of the Atkins Cityscape Prize of £1,000, and free entry for photographers. Selected from an open submission process, entries are judged on impact, composition, originality, creativity and technical ability. Photographers may submit up to ten works until 31 March 2014, by 5pm GMT.

We're giving away 10 copies of Zoner Photo Studio, which retails for $89!

The ten lucky winners are: andrew james chisholm, Jozsef Baksay, Vytautas Abraitis, Jacek Piwowarczyk, Ales Veluscek, KATHLEEN KERR, James Evans, Gemma Dale, CLARE ESCOTT, and Kiran Virk.

Manage, edit, and share images faster than ever. From one-click edits to creative 3D, HDR, Content-aware resizing and RAW.

Zoner Photo Studio is a great tool for downloading and organizing photos, correcting and enhancing them, and sharing your unique artistic sense. Zoner is also the first such Windows application in the world to fully support touch operation. Great job!

Registration is now open for this year's International Nature Photography Contest, organised by Oasis. There are ten categories for adults, including Landspaces, Mammals, Birds, Other Animals, Storyboard, Underwater, People, Plants, Pets, and Lights, shapes and techniques. The Boys category is divided into two sections; Baby (for children up to 14 years) and Junior (for kids aged 14 to 18 years). The deadline for submissions is 25 December 2013.

The 2014 Grant for Outstanding Personal Photography Project is open for submissions from photographers self-publishing on fotovisura.com. The grant aims to support personal photography projects and encourage the production and development of photography outside of the commercial realm, Members can submit a public or private album. The winner of the FotoVisura Grant will receive $2,000. The recipient of the Spotlight Student Grant will be awarded $1,000. The deadline for entries is 10 January 2014.

PicStop has launched a new photography competition. The theme of the contest is “Travel” and each entrant may submit up to three photos, complete with titles and descriptions. Images must be in JPEG format and must not exceed 300 kilobytes in size. The deadline for entries is 28 February 2014. The first prize is an Apple iPad mini 16GB Wi-Fi worth £299.99. As always we suggest that you read the terms and conditions before entering your work.

Website: PicStop

Leica has announced a partnership with Exclusive Resorts, a private destination club for luxury vacations. The German camera and optics manufacturer invites photographers to submit their best travel photos that capture the "exotic, exhilarating and emotional moments" that they encounter when on vacation. The photographer with the winning image will receive a new Leica X Vario camera (pictured) and three nights with Exclusive Resorts at the destination and villa of their choosing. To enter your best vacation photos, visit the website below

The finalists of the EyeTime 2013 competition have just been announced. Hosted by the Morpholio Project, EyeTime 2013 invited students and young professionals or enthusiasts to submit a collection of up to three digital images. There were two categories, Emerging Talent and Future Voices. The complete list of finalists, along with their entries, can be seen at the website below.

We've teamed up with camera bag specialists f-stop to give away a Kenti Mountain Series backpack worth $269!

The lucky winner is Jessica Lacourse. Congratulations!

Over the years, f-stop has built a reputation for making some of the most advanced camera bags designed for adventure seeking photographers. From the depths of Antarctica to the peaks of the Himalayas, our products have been battle tested in the most adverse conditions. We offer versatile carry systems for almost every type of user. The Kenti is f-stop’s most compact Mountain Series bag and our answer for shooters in need of a comfortable solution that provides instant camera access.

For run and gun access, dual suicide doors offer accessibility without having to set the bag down. When on the move, a full size hip belt and low profile design offers optimal weight distribution and mobility. The Kenti’s unique padded divider configuration allows users to decide how they organize their valuables. Whether using a pro-gripped body or micro 4/3rds, the Kenti accommodates countless configurations with additional space for miscellaneous items, and even a small laptop and/or tablet. Lastly, the weather resistant shell utilizes reverse YKK® zippers and DWR-treated, 330D Double Ripstop Nylon lined with polyurethane to shields inside contents from outside elements.

Website - fstopgear.com
Facebook - fstop.gear

We're giving away free downloads of Totally Rad! Inc.’s most wanted professional photo editing programs, plus more. The following prize package is valued at $250:

- One free download of Replichrome

- One free download of RadLab: Totally Rad! Inc.’s most well-known digital photo editing program, which includes 80 styles you can layer and combine to create the perfect combination for your images.

- One free download of PicTapGo: An iOS7 compatible version of our photo editing app PicTapGo was just released, offering iPhone users unlimited amounts of filters to edit their photos.

- A spot on our beta list, giving them the opportunity to try out Totally Rad’s next product before it’s even out to the public.

The lucky winner is Andrew Hollywood. Congratulations!

This contest has now ended.

Sandisk has announced Callum Morse from the UK as winner of its 2013 SanDisk Extreme Team photography competition. Callum’s winning image (above) depicts a tidal wave during a sunset. Brian Pridgeon, Product Marketing Management at SanDisk, commented: “Callum’s image shows great imagination, true creativity, a sense of adventure and courage in getting the right shot."

The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) has announced the winners of the Togetherness Photographic Competition. Donna Gray ASWPP from Huntly, Scotland was chosen as the winner from over 35 images entered in to the competition, with the image entitled ‘What you looking at’ (aböve). The photo was shot using a single flash head and softbox. Donna has won a 12-month SWPP membership. The runners-up are Martin Castein and Roy Hawkins.

The Society of Nature and Wildlife Photographers (SINWP) has announced the winners of its close-up photography competition. Mohamad Fahmi from Masai in Malaysia was chosen as the winner from over 480 images entered in to the competition, with the image entitled ‘What you looking at’ (above). Mohamad has won a 12-month SINWP membership.

The third annual Mobile Photography Awards (MPA) are open for entry to photographers and artists worldwide. The MPA is an international open call for photographs and images created on mobile devices (phones and tablets). The competition has twenty photo categories and an array of prizes valued at over $15,000. Entry fees remain the same as last year: $20 for 3 images, $30 for 5 images, $50 for 9 images and $100 for 20 images. The MPA/DIPTIC Photo Essay is a separate $25 entry with its own $500 prize and gallery exhibition. For more information and to enter, visit the website below.