Hasselblad has announced the call for entries for its renowned Masters competition for 2018. This year’s competition is bigger than ever with 11 categories, including the brand new ‘Aerial’ sector that pays tribute to Hasselblad’s history of aerial photography. Photographers looking to enter the competition have until 10 June 2017 to submit three images in the Aerial, Fine Art, Landscape, Wedding, Portrait, Fashion/Beauty, Product, Architecture, Wildlife, Project//21 and Street/Urban categories. Winners will not only receive the coveted accolade but will take home a state-of-the-art medium-format Hasselblad camera and have their work published in the Hasselblad Masters commemorative book. Hasselblad CMO, Johan Åhlen said “After the overwhelming response we received to the 2016 Hasselblad Masters, we’re excited to see what’s in store this year. The quality of entries in previous years has been simply outstanding and we’re immensely proud to continue to inspire and empower talented photographers across the globe. Our Masters become part of the Hasselblad family and we want to equip them with everything they need to make their mark on high-end photography.” As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

The Open Day Competition, run by Calumet Photographic, is challenging photographers to submit creative and captivating pictures that encapsulate a unique moment in time. People can vote for their favourite shot on Calumet's Facebook page, which will be used on all invitations and promotional materials for Calumet’s Spring Capture More Open Days. The winner will also receive £250 worth of Calumet Gift cards to spend on equipment. “Launching a competition like this, gives us the perfect opportunity to see the talent and originality out there,” says Jon Warner, Managing Director of Calumet Photographic. “Our Open Days are hugely important to our customers, so what better way to show them how much we appreciate their loyalty than by asking them to be a part of them?” The deadline for entries is 23 February 2017.

The Societies of Photographers have announced the overall winner of their 2016 Photographer of the Year Awards. Darrin Zammit Lupi from Malta was awarded the Photographer of the Year title by The Societies during the Awards Dinner at their annual convention and London Photo Show. In addition to receiving his trophy, Darrin also walked away with a Fujifilm X-T2 and with XF18-55mm lens and a fully paid ticket to the WPPI Convention in Las Vegas.

Color Confidence have announced the winner of the Inspired by Colour photography competition. The yearlong competition encouraged photographers to submit images based on a different theme each month. “Each month we enjoyed viewing the photographs that were submitted as part of the Inspired by Colour competition,” says Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director at Color Confidence. “We are passionate about colour and it was great to see the different genres, techniques and approaches that were used.” At the end of the competition, Violeta Angel from Northampton was crowned ‘Color Confidence Photographer of the Year 2016’ for her winning image 'Seagull'. She received the grand prize of £1,000 worth of photography equipment.

The category winners of the Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition have just been announced. The winning photographers come from around the globe, and this year the competition received over 17,000 images entered by professional and amateur photographers from over 50 countries. Pete Hyde from the UK has won the At the Water’s Edge:category, Alice van Kempen from the Netherlands won Wildlife Insight, the Live the adventure category was topped by Kirsten Quist from Canada, Stian Nesoy from Norway has been named winner of "Light on the land," Johan Sundelin from Sweden has won "Under exposed," while Justin Garner and Christopher Roche, both from the UK, have won the "Small world" and "Spirit of travel" categories, respectively. The Young OPOTY award went to David Rosenzweig (USA).

Daniel Castro Garcia has won the British Journal of Photography’s International Photography Award (IPA), with a series depicting migrants caught up in the European refugee crisis. He began documenting the crisis without a commission in 2015, spending weeks getting to know his subjects and interviewing nearly everyone he photographed. Working with his friend, graphic designer Thomas Saxby, and producer Jade Morris, Castro Garcia then self-published a book of the images called Foreigner: Migration into Europe 2015-2016. The limited edition of 1000 copies has now sold out. Castro Garcia's work will be exhibited at London’s TJ Boulting Gallery from 16th March - 1st April 2017, in a solo show which will also be his first major exhibition. As part of the IPA, Castro Garcia will receive a £5,000 grant from Metro Imaging to produce the show. “I think it's really important for a show like this to have zero gimmicks," he says. "Everyone has seen the life jacket installations now. I don't want to trick anyone - that's the most important thing here: this subject needs sobriety. It can't always be about emotions. The same way it can't be about facts and figures."

Communication Arts magazine has issued the call for entries for its 58th annual photography competition. With an acceptance rate of less than 5%, the Communication Arts Photography Competition is the most exclusive major photography competition in the world. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors, photo editors and photographers, the winning entries will be featured in the Communication Arts Photography Annual, in print and on the iPad. As a service to art buyers, a comprehensive index will carry contact information of the photographers represented. The deadline for submissions is 10 March 2017.

The winners of the 3rd International Landscape Photographer of the Year (ILPOTY) competition have been announced. From 2394 entries, the winner of the third International Landscape Photographer of the Year (based on a folio submission of at least 4 images) is Alex Noriega from the USA, while the winner of the third International Landscape Photograph of the Year (awarded for a single image) is a picture by Hougaard Malan, from South Africa (reprinted above), who also won the Waterfall Award. Runners-up include Kath Salier, Peter Poppe, Simone Cmoon and Eberhard Ehmke. The Black & White Award went to Guy Havell, the Dominant Sky category was won by Leonardo Papèra, the South America Award was given to Kalan Robb, while the Squarial (square aerial) Award was won by Ignacio Palacios.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Awards are returning for the 37th time this year. Opening for entries on 1 March 2017, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award is one of the industry’s most prestigious photographic competitions. The winner in the main category will be honoured with a cash prize of 25,000 euros and Leica M-System equipment (a camera and lens) valued at an additional €10,000. Photographers interested in taking part can submit their applications and photographic projects online, with a closing date of 10 April 2017. The winner of the Newcomer Award will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros and will also receive a Leica rangefinder camera and lens. In addition to the two main categories, a further ten submissions to the competition will each be honoured with prizes of €2,500.

The winning images in the 2016 international Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards have just been revealed. Joel Santos has become the first-ever Portuguese overall winner in the awards' 14-year history, beating photographers from 123 countries to take the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2016. His winning entry features a portfolio depicting traditional fishing in Ghana and – in another first for TPOTY – an aerial portfolio captured using a drone, giving a bird’s eye view of one of the hottest places in the world, Ethiopia's Danakil Depression. In addition to the significant international exposure that comes with winning TPOTY, Joel Santos receives £4,000, a selection of StaaG luxury leather travel goods and sterling silver accessories (worth over £1250), £500 to spend on the Páramo clothing of his choice, and a Plastic Sandwich personalized leather portfolio case. The Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2016 is 14-year old Darpan Basak from India, 18-year old Courtney Moore (USA) won Young TPOTY 15-18 and Ankit Kumar (India) won Young TPOTY 14 and Under.  Basak receives £500, Photo Iconic photography tuition and a Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio case. Each Young TPOTY age group winner receives £250 plus Photo Iconic photography tuition.

The World Press Photo Foundation invites all professional visual journalists worldwide to participate in the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest and the 7th annual World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest. The annual photo competition, which has been running since 1955, rewards photographers for the best single-exposure pictures contributing to the past year of visual journalism. The Digital Storytelling Contest (previously known as the Multimedia Contest) rewards those producing the best forms of visual journalism enabled by digital technologies and the spread of the Internet. The contest is open to digital storytellers, visual journalists and producers, with submissions that include the work of a professional visual journalist. The contest has four categories and is judged online. The 2017 Photo Contest requires registration before 6 January 2017 12.00 CET and submissions can be entered until 11 January 2017 12.00. The deadline for submissions for the 2017 Digital Storytelling Contest is 6 January 2017 12.00.

Animal shelter advocate and photographer Guinnevere Shuster has been selected as the latest "real life rebel" in Canon's Rebel With A Cause campaign. To build awareness of the overcrowding within shelters and the 3,000 animals euthanised each year*, Guinnevere captured a "dog's best day" with shelter dog, Willa. “Four years ago, I started photographing shelter dogs. With millions of animals still in shelters looking for their forever home, I wanted to try and make a difference and do my part to change people’s opinions of animal shelters and their residents,” said Shuster. “It’s been amazing working with Canon to change the portrayal of shelter animals by showcasing how to use photography to capture dogs in their natural state, having fun, rather than the stereotypical pictures that show shelter animals behind ‘bars.’” Click through / scroll down to watch the full #WillasBestDay film, shot entirely on Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR cameras.

Canon UK have partnered with the Red Cross for the third year to run the British Red Cross Humanitarian Awards photography competition. The awards ceremony, held at the Palace of Westminster on 15th November, included an exhibition of shortlisted photographs on the theme ‘Making a difference matters’. The competition, open to anyone under the age of 26, invited young people to capture moments showing community or charitable work. Caitlyn Gallagher, 17, from Elgin in Scotland won the 17 and under category with her photo taken on her last day of volunteering at a school in Nepal (above). Azraa Muthy, 24 from Epsom in Surrey won the 17-25 category with a photo showing a Syrian refugee girl in Lebanon. Muthy was struck by the contrast between her own childhood photos, and the expressions and experiences of the children who had fled the conflict and face an uncertain future. The judges commented: “The child’s eyes drew us to this image. They really stand out against the surroundings. It’s an image you keep looking at and noticing new things like the mountains in the background. The composition is perfect.” The two winners each received a Canon EOS 700D plus a lens, to help them to continue to develop their passion for photography.

Scott Sinden, who is living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Brian Adam, a limb amputee, are among the winners of this year’s Disabled Photographers’ Society’s (DPS) annual competition. Scott’s winning image (above) was of a solitary poppy, which he captured in front of a sunset. Taking a picture so low to the ground was particularly challenging for the budding photographer due to the deterioration of his muscles, which is a symptom of MND. Brian, who is 72, uses crutches to move around but does not let that hold him back when it comes to his photography. His winning image entitled My First Paddle, was a close up of an avocet chick taken in Norfolk. Altogether, there were more than 150 entries and the winners were presented with a certificate and medal at an awards ceremony which took place at Calumet Photographic’s London store on Drummond Street. Some of the shots will form part of the DPS Exhibition, which will be displayed in store until Friday, 25th November.

An unusual view of the Mediterranean Biome has won Devon-based photographer Flick Cowley a Costa Rican getaway for two as part of the Eden Project’s Twitter and Instagram photo competition. His image “Bench of Biomimicry” was awarded top prize among more than 13,000 entries. The competition ran from May 2016 to September 2016 and entrants were asked to either Instagram or tweet as many photos as they liked and the only rule: it must feature Eden. It could be a picture with family or a simple plant, as long as it was capturing an Eden moment. “I feel proud and overjoyed that my photo was selected among so many other fantastic images," Flick said. “I love photography and everybody knows me for always having a camera in my hand. I’m inspired by what I see and I wanted to put an image together which represents what the Eden Project means to all those who visit.”

The 53rd Wildlife Photographer of the Year photography competition is open for entries until 11.30am GMT, Thursday 15 December 2016. There's a range of categories, from to surprising animal behaviour. Judged by a panel of industry-recognised professionals, images are selected for their originality, artistry and technical complexity.  Joining the panel this year are photographer Daniel Beltrá, wildlife photojournalist Britta Jaschinski, National Geographic photographer and filmmaker Mattias Klum, wildlife photographer Jasper Doest and wildlife writer Rosamund Kidman Cox. Entrants get the chance to take centre stage at an awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum, London in the newly unveiled Hintze Hall where a vast blue whale skeleton will be on display. They will also see their image tour across the world and reach an audience of millions in the annual exhibition. Award-winning images will also be published in a limited edition hardcover book, which is translated and sold across the world.

Forces Mutual, a not-for-profit financial services company committed to improving the lives of the UK Armed Forces, has launched the Genuine Moments photography competition for photography enthusiasts in the military family to win almost £4,000 in prizes. Themes for entries include Everyday life on duty, Everyday life working with the UK Armed Forces personnel, R&R on base, My life as part of the military family and Animals in the military. Eligible photographers include serving members of the UK Armed Forces, civilian contractors, children aged under 16 with one or more parent or sibling who is a fulltime or reserve member of the UK Armed Forces and family members of serving UK Armed Forces. Entries must be submitted before 30 November 2016 to be in with a chance of winning nearly £4,000 in prizes including £750 photography vouchers to the overall winner and a further 13 category prizes ranging from £50 Amazon vouchers to £300 photography vouchers.

SkyPixel is calling for all creators to enter its 2016 annual aerial photography contest in conjunction with DJI. The competition, which runs from 26th October to 30th December, is open to all entrants and features both “enthusiast” and “professional” groups to which users can submit their photos. Entrants can choose between the categories of “beauty”, encompassing natural landscape and urban architecture and “360-degree aerial panorama,” which showcases immersive 360-degree views from above, aided by Virtual Reality (VR). Photos can be taken with any aerial equipment. A final category, “Drones In Use,” features photos taken from any device of drones in flight. This year’s Grand Prize will be a DJI Mystery Box, a DJI Mavic Pro, Epson Moverio BT-300 smart glasses and Epson SureColor P400 Wide Format Photo Printer and a one-year Adobe Creative Cloud Photography membership.

A new fundraising photography competition is challenging individuals across the UK to take and submit images that Celebrate Life in the Face of Death. The goal of the contest is to encourage people to engage with death, dying or bereavement through photography. Competition judge and celebrated photographer Rankin says “Art is a different way of seeing and talking about things we’d rather not discuss. The challenge of this competition is to look at the reality of death for all us, and then to celebrate the life we have. We all carry cameras with us these days, so I hope people will bring all their imagination, joys, fears and creativity to this. I hope to be astonished by the responses.” As this is a fundraising competition, it costs £15 for each photograph entered, with no limit on the number of entries. There will be a first prize of £1,000 for the best photograph, one runner-up prize for amateur photographers and another for professionals, and ten highly commended photos. The prizes donated include the opportunity to observe a photography shoot with Rankin, a visit to an advertising shoot, portfolio reviews, a day in a professional studio, a Polaroid Camera+ packs of Impossible Project film, and photography handbooks  The winning and highly commended photographs will become an exhibition, which will tour nationally.

Canon has announced the winners of its New Cosmos of Photography 2016 competition. This year, the work of German photographer Benjamin Breitkopf was presented with an Honourable Mention Award. His entry is a visual essay looking at the political, historical and cultural situation surrounding the 2014 revolution in Ukraine. The judges were captivated with Breitkopf’s presentation approach, which utilises a three channel video installation that reflects the many layers and voices featured in his project. “We are delighted to see an increasing number of international photographers entering the New Cosmos of Photography competition,” commented Junko Kimura, General Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility, Canon. “Every day, we are exposed to hundreds of images, and in this competition, we are pushing the boundaries of photography. It’s amazing to see the creative ways and unexpected points of view participants use to convey their ideas through imagery.” The 2016 New Cosmos of Photography Tokyo Exhibition, showcasing the prize-winning works of the contest, will be held from Saturday, October 29 to Sunday, November 20 at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.