Voting is now open for the Hasselblad Masters 2010 competition. For the second year in a row, the public is encouraged to vote for their favourite image from the 110 finalists. The images will be online from February 1 through October 31, 2011. Eleven winners will be chosen, one from each category, and will be provided with high-end Hasselblad equipment and software to work on their Masters project.

The MPA Wedding & Portrait Awards, formerly known as the Kodak Wedding & Portrait Awards, are now sponsored by Fujifilm. The Awards are open to all professional photographers in the UK and Republic of Ireland and you don’t need to be a member of the MPA (Master Photographers Association) to submit entries. There are two categories - Wedding Photography and Portrait Photography - and the winner of each wins £1000 cash prize. Note that all entries must now be submitted on Fujifilm paper and if the image is originated on film, it must be Fujifilm stock. There will be two rounds of judging, one in May and one in September. The closing dates are 3 May and 30 August 2011. Photographs must have been taken between 29 August 2010 and 29 August 2011 to be eligible.

Website: MPA Wedding & Portrait Awards

The shortlist for the 2011 Sony World Photography Awards has been announced. The 2011 competition has attracted more submissions than ever before, reaching all corners of the globe, with over 105,000 entries from 162 counties. The winners will be showcased as part of the World Photography Festival and Exhibitions at Somerset House in London.

The winners of Canon’s Why Do You Love Football? photography competition have been named. The grand prize winners are Heidi Yowell, 45, of La Habra, Calif., awarded the honour for the Adult Division and Michael Pronzato, 17, of Warrington, Penn., winning for the Teen Division. Each has won a trip for four to attend Super Bowl XLV in North Texas along with a trip for four to the 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Celebration this summer, and they will also have their winning photos displayed in the Hall of Fame for a full year.

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an election-assistance and democracy-promotion NGO, is accepting submissions for its annual photo competition. The contest seeks photographs of individuals taking part in elections or other activities that embody the values of democratic governance and civic engagement. One winner and up to 10 finalists will be chosen, with the winner being awarded $600 for his or her entry. Full contest rules and entry information are available online at the website below.

Website: IFES Photography Contest

Tourism Ireland are asking people to enter an adventure photography competition - ‘Go-tography’ - by sending them the best pictures from their own adventure holidays. The highest-quality photographs will be showcased on Tourism Ireland’s Flickr page and the winner will receive an all-inclusive trip to one of the world’s best adventure spots, the Delphi Mountain Resort on the west coast of Ireland, for “an action-packed weekend of adventure sports”. Return flights from anywhere in Great Britain and car hire will also be included.

Website: Go-tography

The Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 competition is now open for entries. The competition offers photographers a chance to win a share of the £24,500 prize fund. The adult winner is awarded £10,000, while special award winners receive £1,000 and category winners £500 each. The overall winner of the Veolia Environnement Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title receives £500 and a day’s masterclass with a leading light from the photographic world, while category winners receive £250. Interested photographers have until 18th March to enter their work. (Shown above is the winning entry from the 2010 competition, A marvel of ants by Bence Máté.)

PicStop has announced a photography contest with the theme, “Winter”. You have until 30th March to submit your best winter photos to the competition. A judging panel will decide on the winners. The first prize is a Canon EOS 550D camera complete with a 18-55mm IS kit lens, a Hama Rexton 150 camera bag and two 8GB Hama High Speed Gold SDHC memory cards. As always, we recommend that you read the rules before entering your work.

Website: PicStop Winter Photo Contest

Sony Ericsson has launched a Facebook competition to find “the most creative, cutest or crazy photos of all things miniature”. After an entrant has uploaded their photo and it has been approved they can share it on Facebook and Twitter to encourage their friends and followers to vote. The top ten photographs will be chosen by Sony Ericsson on 17th January. Each winner will receive either an X10 mini pro or an X10 mini handset.

Website: Sony Ericsson Mini Magic Facebook App

FotoDC and the National Cherry Blossom Festival have joined to co-produce the first annual National Cherry Blossom Photo Contest in the USA. The contest, which runs from 11th February until 9th April, will accept entries in three categories: Landscape, People, and Festivities, taken during this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, 26th March – 10th April, or taken within the previous two years. Details regarding the First Annual Cherry Blossom Photo Contest will be available on 10th February, with submissions beginning on the next day.

The Choose Film Distinctions Awards 2011 is now open for entries. The theme for this year’s Award is ‘Changes’ with photographers being briefed to capture an image that encapsulates all that Changes means to them. All images must be taken on Fujifilm Professional film.

Win a brand new NEX-5 from Sony, the world’s smallest interchangeable-lens digital camera, in the Sony Photo Challenge. The competition starts on December 15th and the theme will be changing weekly, with the following topics confirmed:

15 December - Nature
22 December - People
29 December - Travel
5 January - Sport

Each week a winning entry will be chosen and the entrant will receive a Sony NEX-5. The second and third place will win a NEX-3 and Cyber-shot respectively.

You just need to publish your photos to the Sony World Photography Awards Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/groups/sonyphotochallenge/
Please tag each photo with ‘SonyPhotoChallenge’ and ‘PhotographyBLOG’.

The competition will close on 12th January 2011.

The Environmental Photographer of the Year 2011 photographic competition is now open for entries. The Environmental Photographer of the Year is calling for entries that deal with some of the most important challenges of our time, and this year a new video category has been introduced to further raise awareness of environmental and social issues. The competition will run until 31st July 2011, with judging taking place throughout August and September.

Win an unforgettable trip off Scotland’s dramatic West Coast in the ‘Wish You Were Here’ online travel photography competition. Three winners will enjoy a once in a lifetime photographic experience on the island with National Geographic’s Jim Richardson. Winners and their partners will enjoy a week’s stay in the exclusive Jura lodge, a VIP tour of the Jura distillery and island, a two day photography master-class from Jim Richardson, and an Olympus E-PL1 camera to capture images from their visit.

BlackBerry Presents MTV’s Brand New for 2011 is a new competition where one director, reporter or photographer will win a money-can’t-buy opportunity to showcase their talents with MTV. The winning photographer will be hanging out with MTV Bang presenter and model Natasha Gilbert, documenting the evening and artists through a lens. To secure this unique opportunity, entrants can simply upload their best picture from a live event, ensuring the image reflects the atmosphere and experience, and accompany this with a caption.

Talenthouse has launched a new project with Grammy Award winning band, Maroon 5. Photographers worldwide are asked to submit a photograph that embodies the theme of ‘Love’ to the Talenthouse website by 31 January 2011. After an eight-day voting stage, Maroon 5 will review the 50 highest-voted submissions and pick the 5 winners who will each receive the opportunity to photograph Maroon 5, meet the band and attend an after show party on their 2011 world tour at a location determined by Maroon 5 and Talenthouse. Travel and accommodation will be provided. The 5 winning photographs will be featured on the band’s official website and social media pages. The winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day.

Webstie: Talenthouse

Frommer’s has unveiled the winner of the 2010 Frommer’s Favorite Travel Moments Photo Contest. Peter G. Allinson, M.D., from Maryland scoped the top prize of a $4000 vacation, and a Tamron zoom lens, for his image of a diver and a sperm whale which he shot while holidaying in Rousseau, Dominica, in the Caribbean. He said: “We located the whales and were able to swim, photograph and play with them on multiple days. This is a photo of my friend Jeff thanking one of the whales, known as Scar, for posing with us. Interacting with and making eye contact with these huge gentle intelligent creatures was the most memorable moment of my life.”

The results of the TPOTY (Travel Photographer of the Year) 2010 competition have been announced. Canadian humanitarian documentary photographer and optometrist Dr. Larry Louie has been named the overall winner for his black and white images of Mali and China. TPOTY founder Chris Coe said, “So often images fail to make an impact or leave a lasting impression on the viewer. Aside from being beautiful, sumptuous images in their own right, Larry’s photographs linger, inviting you in to explore their intricate detail and fascinating textures. It is great to see the B&W medium used so well to capture scenes which are so obviously rich in colour, leaving the viewer to paint in as much or as little as they wish.”

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has announced the winners of its Young Photographer Awards. A dramatic photo of a gull on a stunning ridge of ice, captured by 17-year-old Catriona Parfitt, has been revealed as the overall winner, with TV presenter Ben Fogle presenting Catriona with her prize at a ceremony held at the Tower of London this afternoon. Award-winning photographer and contest judge Danny Green said: ““She could have taken the easy option by zooming in and just taking this gull’s portrait, but Catriona made the right choice and incorporated the inhospitable and dramatic landscape, placing the bird in context of its environment.”

Voies Off has issued a call for entriesfor the 2011 Voies Off Prize. For the past 16 years, the Voies Off Prize has been awarded by a jury of renowned professionals to an artist for the clarity of his vision and the high quality of his work. Voies Off night projections during the opening week of the Rencontres d’Arles festival (first full week in July) have become an international reference for the discovery of emerging authors and the alternative venue that it creates for international photographic creation. You have until 15 January to enter the 2011 contest, whose overall winner will receive €2,500.