The World Photography Organisation (WPO) has announced the winners of the Open, Youth and 3D categories in the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. Judged on a single image taken by an amateur photographer, the winning Open category photographers were selected from nearly 55,000 entries. The winners include Martina Biccheri, Gilbert Yu, Hoang Hiep Nguyen, Elmar Akhmetov, Krasimir Matarov, Yeow Kwang Yeo, Hisatomi Tadahiko, Mac Kwan, Matías Gálvez and Manny Fajutag. Open to photographers aged 19 and under, the Youth competition looks to uncover the next-generation of photography talent. The category winners include Alecsandra Dragoi, Xu Wei Shou and Berta Vicente. The winner of the 3D category is Matjaž Tan?i?.

The Red Bull Illume Image Quest, billed as the world’s greatest photography contest for action and adventure sports, is open for entries. Photographers can submit images to 10 categories: lifestyle, playground, energy, spirit, close up, wings, sequence, new creativity, experimental and illumination. Submissions are accepted through 30th April.

CyberLink today announced the “Goodbye Plain Shots” Photo Challenge. Intended to be a fun contest that will “bring out the creative side of photography enthusiasts worldwide,” the “Goodbye Plain Shots” photo challenge invites photo enthusiasts to submit a photo for others to edit, edit a photo submitted by another contestant, or simply “Like” their favourite edited photos. The company is providing a free trial download of its award-winning PhotoDirector 4 software for contest participants to use as a part of the contest. Do note that photos edited using other software will be excluded from the contest. Up for grabs are the latest professional grade dSLR and compact system cameras and the full version of CyberLink’s PhotoDirector 4 software. The “Goodbye Plain Shots” Photo Challenge will run from March 7, 2013 to May 17, 2013.

The Association of Photographers (AOP) has just announced this year’s Awards programme. “The Photographers Awards will be a more focused format, with a range of categories in single and series but with no distinction between commissioned and non-commissioned,” Awards Manager Charlie Thomas said. “One exciting addition for this year is a special 30th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award, voted for by the AOP membership.” The submission period will open at 10am, Monday 2 April and closes on 6pm, Friday 10 May (Photographers’ Awards) and 6pm, Friday 31 May (Open Awards). During the first two weeks, there will be an Early Bird discount on entry prices.  After 6pm Friday 12 April, the regular prices will apply for non-members, however there will be a continual discount for AOP members.

500px and Wave have launched a new photo contest. Wave is a smart online application for invoicing, accounting and payroll that helps small businesses (such as photography studios). The winner of this week’s photo contest will receive a $500 gift card and exposure on Wave’s social media channels. The theme is “Storefronts” and photographers have until Sunday 17th March to submit their work. Note that you need to have a 500px profile in order to enter the competition.

Epson has announced a continuation of its “Finish Strong” advertising campaign with a new photography contest. “Photographers have an uncanny ability to pre-visualize amazing photographs,” said Richard Day, group product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc. “This contest provides the chance for anyone to see their concept of a Finish Strong ad come to life.” The winner will receive either an opportunity to attend an actual photo shoot with world-renowned photographer Joe McNally or a $5,000 cash prize. More information, including the submission form and previous “Finish Strong” print advertisements, can be found at the website below.

The finalists for the 3D category of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards have been announced. Selected by judges from the World Photography Organisation (WPO), the three finalists are Michele Abramo Puricelli, Matjaž Tan?i? and Nick Saglimbeni.

HP is holding an exclusive Ellie Goulding gig as part of its collaboration with Universal Music Group, and they have teamed up with Talenthouse to find the official gig photographer for the night. Interested photographers have until 7th March to submit an artistic and energetic shot taken at a festival, party or any environment where people and friends are connecting with music. The judging panel are looking for artistic and powerful shots that show them you have what it takes to capture the energy of the show. The winning photographer will be chosen by Ellie and HP and will also receive £1,000, an HP Envy notebook and promotion of their photography across Ellie’s and HP’s official online channels. For further details on how to enter, visit the website below.

The winners of BergHind Joseph’s International Photographic Competition have just been announced. The overall winner is Erkan Kalenderli of Turkey. His winning entry called ‘The former type of leader’ (above) pictures a shepherd with his flock. Anna Marriage from the UK came in second with her photo, ‘Leading by example, the ballerina,’’ and in third place was Doron Talmi with the image ‘Female Leadership’. The winning images were selected by a prestigious judging panel including Margaret Clarke, picture editor of The Times, Professor Paddy Professor Paddy Miller, one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership, BergHind Joseph’s Director of Design Excellence, Smith Joseph and Director of Creative Delivery, Michael Hirschl. As well as a cash prize of £500, Erkan will be offered a year of portfolio mentoring sessions with BergHind Joseph’s creative team. Last year’s winner, Zoltán Balogh from Hungary, took up the mentoring sessions last year and as a result is building his reputation,  portfolio, and establishing himself as a professional photographer.

The 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition closes for entries on 25th February. Amateur and professional photographers alike can submit images into18 categories, with three categories specifically for those aged 17 and under. To be in with a chance of seizing one of the coveted titles and a share in the £30,000 prize pot, photographers should submit imagery that shows creativity, artistry and technical excellence. Photographers looking for inspiration can check out this year’s stunning collection of imagery at the exhibition which is closing at the Natural History Museum in London on 3rd March, whilst continuing its global and UK tour. To enter the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition or for tickets to the 2012 exhibition, visit the website below.

Photography education and entertainment site PhoozL has announced its first paid-entry photo contest: ‘Show the Song: Spirit of the ‘60s.’ The competition challenges entrants to interpret 1960s classic rock song titles through their photography.  The contest is open for submissions now until 24 March 2013 to all logged-in members of Phoozl.com, amateur to pro, 18+, worldwide. The entry fee is $5 and you may submit up to five photographs. Entries will be judged by Elliott Landy, the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. For more information, visit the website below.

Chromasia has announced a new architectural photography competition. Sponsored by Goodman Business Parks, the competition runs until 25th February, with the main prize being a Sony NEX-5R compact system camera. To enter, upload your picture to any Web server, making sure it’s publicly viewable, and tweet the direct URL via Twitter including @chromasia and #GoodmanComp. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Chromasia

The winners of the 2012 World Press Photo awards have been announced. The overall winner is Paul Hansen for his image of a group of Palestinian men carrying the bodies of two children killed in an Israeli missile strike (above). The photograph was taken on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City and appeared in the Swedish newspaper Dages Nyheter. The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, the Palestinian Territories, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam. You can view the winning photographs at the website below.

Nikon has issued the final call for entries for the 2012-2013 Nikon Photo Contest, open until 28th February 2013. Held since 1969, the Nikon Photo Contest (NPC), formally known as the Nikon Photo Contest International (NPCI), was created with the goal of “contributing to the development of photographic culture by providing a venue of communication among photographers from around the world, be they professionals or amateurs.” For this year’s contest, Nikon is seeking entries in four categories including single photo, composite photo, video and Motion Snapshot. To submit your work, visit the Nikon Photo Contest 2012-2013 website and complete the entry form.

The winners of the 2012 Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition have been revealed. David Baker has been announced as the overall winner for his stunning image of his local beach in Southbourne, Dorset (above). David was presented with his award and £1000 prize on the PhotoBox stage at The Outdoors Show, while the category winners (Robert McBride, Scott Grubb, Björn Billing, Joshua Holko and Gergory van den Top) each received a £250 voucher from Wex Photographic.

The Guild of Photographers (GoP) - the fastest-growing photographic association in the UK - has announced the recipients of its Photographer of the Year awards. Tracy Willis has been awarded the Guild’s overall ‘Photographer of the Year’ 2012 title in addition to winning the ‘Photographer of the Year’ in the ‘People’ category. The ‘Wedding’ category winner is Beverley Foster, while Mark Tomlinson has been declared the best photographer in the ‘Open’ category. The Guild’s ‘All-Round Photographer of the Year’ title (ie the person with the highest combined score from any two categories) was won by Charlotte Bellamy.

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) has issued a call for submissions of photographs portraying Superstorm Sandy’s impact on the region. The museum invites both novice and professional photographers to submit images depicting the stages of preparation, destruction and rebuilding for a juried exhibition that will open in April, to coincide with the six-month anniversary of the storm. Consideration will particularly be paid to before and after images of the same subject, highlighting the dramatic effect of the storm. The deadline for entries is 11:59pm, 3 March 2013. For more information detailing submission requirements, visit the website below.

VinylPlus has announced that a new photo contest has been launched on its Sustainable Thinking Platform. Running until 30 April 2013, the competition is open to young adults around the world, aged 18-30. All entries must address the question, “Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for Europe and beyond. How do we make it happen?” Each participant may submit up to 3 pictures. The winner will be awarded with an Apple iPad mini tablet. You can enter the contest through the website below.

Website: Sustainable Thinking

The 4th annual Photocrati Fund competition is now open for entries. The Photocrati Fund offers a $5,000 grant to one photographer each year to undertake an environmental or humanitarian photography project. At the completion of the project, the grant winner’s images will be displayed as a photo essay on Photocrati.com. Applications for the 2013 Photocrati Fund competition will be accepted through 30th April (11:59pm Mountain Time). To apply, submit a one-page project statement (including a rough budget) and biography, along with a link to an online portfolio of 20-30 themed images to: [email protected].  For complete Photocrati Fund rules and guidelines, visit the website below.

The World Photography Organisation (WPO) today revealed the shortlists for the Professional, Open and Youth categories of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. Photographers returning to the awards include: Javier Arcenillas (Spain); Robin Hammond (New Zealand) and Paolo Pellegrin (Italy).  Exciting up-and-coming photographers new to the awards include Ed Kashi (USA) and Andrea Gjestvang (Norway). Catherine Chermayeff, Director of Special Projects at Magnum Photos and chairwoman of the Honorary Jury, commented: “What an invigorating three days - which resulted in lively and passionate debates. I think we, the jurors, all began this process and felt overwhelmed. I am delighted to say that by day three, each group proudly presented and argued for our respective shortlists and found surprising strength in the shortlist submissions across all categories.” The work of all the shortlisted photographers will be exhibited at Somerset House, London, from 26 April – 12 May as part of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition.