Photo Video West has just announced the World Cup of Photography photo contest. The competition, which runs from until 31 March 2013, is open to professional and amateur photographers from any country worldwide. Participants have the option to compete in the Professional or Amateur division for the Grand Prize, a cash award of $1,000, Tamron 18-270 PZD lens and Adobe Master Collections.  Category winners will also be selected for each category including children, portrait, wedding, wildlife, landscape, still life, artistic, silhouette, and underwater.  First place winners for each category win a copy of Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop. Early Bird (ends 1 March 2013) entry fees are $25 (Professional) or $20 (Amateur) per single photograph. After that date, entry fees will be $35 and $30 per image, respectively.

The winners of the 5th Annual International Loupe Awards have just been unveiled. The 2012 International Loupe Awards Open Image of the Year is by Andreas Smetana of New South Wales, Australia, who has won a cash prize of $15,000 and a place on the upcoming Creative Asia Vietnam & China Photography Tour. The 2012 International Loupe Awards Amateur Image of the Year is by Suellen Cook (see picture above).

The 2013 Fotoura International Street Photography Awards competition is now open for entries. Open to photographers all over the world, the awardsl include Open and Student categories and are centred around the theme, “Hometown.” Entrants may upload between 5 and 8 images to the competition’s website, and the deadline for entries is 12 February 2013. The entry fee is £30 (£15 for students), with all entrants receiving a £30 voucher to print their own Blurb book. The winners and a selection of the best entries to this competition will be shown in an exhibition in central London in Spring 2013. The first prize winner will receive £2000 cash, an exhibition of their work in London, a camera and £100 book publishing voucher. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

Competition: Win a Sony NEX-7KB and Accessories

Buy John Lewis Travel Insurance from £37 for your chance to win a Sony NEX-7KB and accessories with a combined value of £1,000.

Travel insurance ensures that you won’t lose out if you have to cancel or cut short your trip and gives you confidence in knowing that your personal belongings are protected – including replacement or if they’re lost, stolen or damaged. And wherever you’re heading on holiday, it’s easy to find the right protection for your trip.

The prize is the well-received Sony NEX-7KB Compact System Camera with 18-55mm Lens, a Sony LCSBBFB Camera Case for NEX Compact System Cameras, and an Integral Ultima SDHC Class 10 Memory Card, 16GB + 8GB, with a combined value of approximately £1,000.

Annual cover starts from £37 so head over to John Lewis Travel Insurance for your chance to win.

This promotion closes on 31st January 2013.

To celebrate the launch of its Niko Camera Bag line, Chrome is calling for entries from street photographers everywhere for its Streets of Chrome photo contest, which runs from 22 January – 14th February 2013. Finalists will be chosen by Chrome’s panel of expert judges - including legendary street photographers Rickey Powell, Tod Seelie and Ken Goto -, and the winner will be determined by open voting on streetsofchrome.com from 7th-14th February. The grand prize is a Fujifilm X-Pro1 compact-system camera with a Fujifilm X-Pro1 35mm f/1.4 lens and a Chrome Niko Camera Backpack.

This month we’re giving away 3 copies of Cyberlink Power Director Ultimate 11!

The lucky winners are Christopher Powell, Sergio Garcia, and Edward Mackiewicz. Congratulations!

Cyberlink is pleased to offer 3 lucky Photography Blog readers the chance to win the new Power Director Ultimate 11, the perfect software for enhancing photos and videos.

Power Director Ultimate 11 is award-winning software designed for Photo-Enthusiasts. It combines powerful pro-level features and intuitive functionality in a complete post-production video editing solution. It can be easily installed on a home PC allowing photographers of all abilities the chance to edit their masterpieces. From the novice shooting family movies on a smartphone up to a professional making a music video or a short film with high-end digital equipment Power Director Ultimate allows them to truly create. It can import over 50 different RAW formats onto the timeline and create 4k/2k quality photo slideshows, the slideshows can then be burnt to CD/DVD and Blu-ray for sharing with friends and enjoying for years to come. Power Director Ultimate is award-winning software that is 38% faster than the previous version.

This month we’re giving away a Capdase mKeeper camera backpack!

The lucky winner is Keith Pollard. Congratulations!

The Capdase mKeeper is a ultra portable sling style back pack which allows you to get instant access for your SLR camera and any accessories. You can simply swing it around and you’re ready to shoot. The unique sling design means that you can swivel the back round to your front to gain instant access to your camera, rather than having to take the backpack off and removing your camera, saving you time and making sure you’re ready for that perfect shot.

The mKeeper features a large compartment which easily houses any lenses, flash, or any other accessories which you need to carry around with you. The compartment features a zipper which ensures that all of your accessories are protected when they’re not in use.

Sponsor LoveCases also sell iPod Touch 5G cases.

ONE, a 3 million-strong global advocacy organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, and iStockphoto have launched the “ONE Thing We Agree On” contest. Hosted on Zooppa.com, the contest will run through 26 February 2013. It is a challenge for creative minds to develop a video or print piece that showcases rivals uniting to fight issues such as poverty, famine and disease. Videos must be short and the message conveyed in three minutes or less. Twelve winners in total – six video winners and six print winners – will share $20,000 dollars and 35,000 free credits from iStockphoto. Winners will also be featured at ONE’s live events, on its website and social media platforms.

Scottish pet photographer Paul Walker scooped up the coveted Photographer of the Year 2012 title at The Societies’ Convention Awards Dinner in London on Saturday 12th January. In addition to receiving his trophy Paul also walked away with a VIP trip to The Societies’ 2014 Convention, set to take place in the Hilton London Metropole hotel in January next year. Paul commented, “Shocked, delighted, speechless, in that order.  I’m going to buy the dog a juicy bone for at least paying attention for that split second - most have selective hearing!”

Talenthouse has announced a new Creative Challenge for photographers. City Academy, a London-based performing and creative arts academy, is inviting aspiring photographers to submit their best images portraying the creative arts. One winner will be selected by the team at City Academy and will receive £500 along with a year’s worth of courses. They will also gain exposure on the academy’s website, blog and Facebook page. The deadline for entries is 5 February 2013.

Website: Talenthouse

Heineken has just launched a photo contest aimed at 60+ year olds. Heineken is asking creative people from around the globe to share their observations and insights on the lives and preferences of this golden generation. Prizes are a share of $10.000 and to have their entries included in a 60+ documentary movie. To enter the challenge, please visit www.ideasbrewery.com. The winners will be announced at the end of March 2013.

This month we’re giving away a fantastic Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens worth £629!

The lucky winner is Sheryl Mitchell. Congratulations!

With its effective focal length range of approximately 16-35mm in 35mm format, the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is a remarkable lens with outstanding image quality that will take your photography into new dimensions and areas of dramatic expression.

The EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is an ultra wide-angle zoom lens with dynamic expressive capability for all EF-S mount EOS cameras; exceptionally small and lightweight for maximum mobility.

This month we’re giving away a fantastic Steadicam Smoothee worth £169!

The lucky winner is Martin Conaghan. Congratulations!

Based on the same technology as the big $60,000 rigs used in Hollywood, the Smoothee allows you to capture incredible video without the shakes normally associated with hand-held video shot on the go, right out of the box, the very first time.

The Smoothee let’s you “fly” wherever the scene takes you—up and down steps, indoors and outside, through crowds—almost anywhere, with precise, elegant control and ease.

Manfrotto is giving away FIVE of its fantastic new ML120 Pocket LED Lights each worth £40.00!

The 5 lucky winners are Candy Johnson, George Smietana, Rona Gough, Mike Swift and Edmund Jones. Congratulations!

The ML120 Pocket LED Light is the smallest and lightest in the Manfrotto range of compact continuous LED light units, ideally suited for use with compact cameras and smartphones when additional light is needed for shooting video or stills. It can be hand held, mounted on a flash hotshoe or fitted to any number of Manfrotto supports via its standard ¼” thread.

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

The Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2013 competition closes for entries on 31 January 2013. This year’s competition has several new categories for entrants, including the Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year, for images of wine producers and all things related to wine. Also the Food Snapping category, for images of food taken on mobile ‘phones, in support of Action Against Hunger and Food off the Press, sponsored by StockFood for previously published work in books and magazines. First prize for the overall winner is £5000. As always we suggest that you read the Terms and Conditions before entering your work.

An iPhone 4 image of a bee hovering over a foxglove (above) has won a National Trust photographic competition that celebrates the role green places play in people’s lives. Taken by Laura Elliot in her parents’ garden in Northern Ireland, ‘Don’t bee choosy’ was shot using the Instagram app - winning both the smartphone category and the overall competition. Laura said: “I was shocked to find out I’d won. I’m studying dentistry at university and photography is just my hobby.” The winner of the 10-and-under category is James Ashton, aged 9, from Doncaster with his intimate image of ducks feeding at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire. Tilly Rose Bellinger, aged 16,from Somerset won the 11-to-16 set with Jurassic mist, an atmospheric black and white image of the Jurassic Coastline in Dorset. The winner of the over 16 award is Eleanor Bennett from Cheshire, having composed a clever photograph of silhouettes of walkers amongst bare trees in Lyme Park, Cheshire All of the winners are featured in the spring edition of the National Trust Magazine and on the National Trust website.

The 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition will open for entries on 7 January 2013. Photographers can submit images for 18 categories, with three categories specifically for those aged 17 and under. The submission deadline is 25 February 2013. To enter the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, head to the website below.

The Photographic Museum of Humanity has announced its 2013 Grant, an international photographic contest that aims to discover new talents. Photographers are invited to submit a series of maximum 15 photos before 18 February 2013. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize guarantees respectively $2,000, $1,000 and $500 in cash. There will also be a New Generation Prize of $500 dedicated to photographers under 25 and a Public Favourite Prize (also $500). In addition, the winners will be granted an exhibition in the photographic museum of Humanity. The contest has no entry fee.

CyberLink recently unveiled a new video contest entitled “Create Video Challenge” that will encourage PowerDirector users to hone and improve their video editing skills. Consisting of a series of engaging and interactive video editing contests that will run for a period of nine months until 5 September 2013. CyberLink will provide a sample video with an accompanying demo that describes how it was made while encouraging participants to use the same techniques when creating their own videos.This month’s challenge involves the creation of a “tilt-shift” video. For detailed information about CyberLink’s “Create Video Challenge,” visit the event page at the website below.

An Australian video of freshwater rotifers has won the first prize in the 2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition. Now in its ninth year, the Olympus BioScapes Competition is a premier platform for honoring images and movies of human, plant and animal subjects as captured through light microscopes. Images of any life science subject are eligible. Entries are judged based on the science they depict, their aesthetics (beauty or impact of the image), and their technical expertise. The 2012 winning images and movies reflect the latest advances in neuroscience and cell biology as documented by researchers, along with amazing glimpses of life on a microscopic scale captured by hobbyists, students and other photographers.