Sigma has announced that the deadline for voting online for its first-ever scholarship contest has been extended to April 30. A total of 122 high school seniors, hailing from nearly every state including Hawaii and Alaska, are vying for $5,000 in cash and $1,000 in Sigma products. Applicants were required to submit up to five thematically tied photographs, along with a brief essay describing their creative process in capturing and selecting the images. Students chose a wide variety of themes such as natural beauty, personal growth, artistic expression, and love. Online voting by the public started on 17 February and will end 30 April, narrowing the field to the top three student finalists.Responding to user requests to make the voting process more user friendly, Sigma modified the Web site to make it easier for voters to make their selection by using a valid email address.

Website: Sigma Photo Scholarship

Ninette Murk, former fashion journalist and founder of Designers Against AIDS is inviting creatives to submit photos, cartoons and other imagery using elements of pop culture in order to help bring back the sexiness of safe sex. This Creative Challenge is hosted by Talenthouse, a purpose-built online platform for all artists and creatives. The winner will have their piece of visual design selected to be used in future campaigns initiated by Designers Against AIDS.

Website: Talenthouse

The next Bing homepage photography contest is centred around the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Kicking off on 29 March, the Earth Day anniversary photo contest from Bing is asking students to submit Earth Day-related photos. The grand prize for the winning photo is getting displayed as the Bing homepage image on Earth Day. Prizes for other winning contestants include a trip to Seattle, in addition to photo equipment for the winners and their schools. For more info, head to the Bing blog via the link below.

Website: Bing Blog

The New York Institute of Photography (NYIP), America’s oldest and largest photography school, showcases today the top 100 photos chosen as winners of the NYIP Centennial Photo Challenge. “In celebration of NYIP’s first 100 years of teaching photography to everyone, we received an outstanding selection of hundreds of contemporary photographs,” said Chuck DeLaney, director of the New York Institute of Photography. “From those entries, it was not easy to narrow it down to the top 100 but the final selection of images is really a celebration of current photographic styles and now these images have been posted for the entire world to see.” The 100 winners can be viewed in a slideshow on NYIP’s website and YouTube channel.

Website: NYIP’s YouTube Channel

Fodor’s Travel has announced the latest in its series of travel photography contests, “Show Us Your Hawaii,” where North American visitors to the Fodor’s Travel website will have the opportunity to upload their favourite photos of Hawaii. Until March 28, 2010, Fodors.com members are invited to “Show Us Your Hawaii” by submitting their favourite vacation photos, and the stories behind them. One grand prize winner will have his/her photograph featured on Fodors.com and receive a suite of Fodor’s latest full-colour guidebooks. Ten runners up will win two Fodor’s guides of their choice and all winning photos will be featured in an online gallery. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

Website: Show Us Your Hawaii

Israeli photographer Netanel Hadad has won the Carl Zeiss photo contest on ‘digital culture’ for his work entitled “The digital blind date” (see above). “The picture won because it deals with a tough topic beautifully and creatively. There’s great atmosphere in this image,” says photographer Edith Held from Berlin, who assessed the contest entries. “The photographer plays with the details and thus renders the story into the image perfectly. I really like the idea behind it.” Hadad’s image was created with a Hasselblad camera and Planar T * 2/80. The picture was inspired by his personal experience. ”I met my wife through the Internet. Fortunately there are no geographic boundaries on the Web. Now I can finally capture how strongly the digital culture has influenced our lives.”

Fujifilm Professional has announced the winners of the latest Fujifilm Distinctions Awards. The overall winner is Ukraine based photojournalist, Ikuru Kuwajima who collects a cash prize of £1,000 for his image, ‘Cossack Children with a Foal’, captured on Fujicolor Superia 400 film. The Awards were judged by Camilla Brown from The Photographers’ Gallery, Aidan Sullivan from Getty Images, Photographer, Simon Roberts, and Jerry Deeney from Fujifilm Professional. Simon was impressed by the winner: “Ikuru’s entry has an awkward beauty about the pose, with the hand gestures of the children mirroring the foal’s head. It’s a really intriguing, atmospheric image that is reminiscent of a classic painting.”

The British government has launched a photo / essay contest as part of its Science: [So what? So everything] campaign. The Science: [So what? So everything] campaign is looking for real life images and stories to illustrate how medical science has touched your life by bringing you or a loved one a better quality of life. Your photo could show what improved health has allowed you to achieve, that would previously have been impossible, or how it has given you or a loved one a new start in life. The first prize is a Canon EOS 500D with 18-55 IS and EF-S55 250 IS lenses, worth £1,149.95, and a photography course.

Website: Science: [So what? So everything]

In just six weeks, Hearst Corporation’s 2011 8x10 Photography Biennial Competition has received 1,300+ submissions, already surpassing the total number of entries received for the 2009 competition. The 2011 contest is open to all U.S. and international freelance, amateur and professional photographers and students, aged 18 to 35 years of age.  All entries must be submitted no later than May 31, 2010.  Additional information and submission guidelines can be found at www.hearst8x10.com.

The shortlist for the 2010 Sony World Photography Awards has just been announced.  The list contains the names of 190 outstanding photographers from 48 different countries. In order to choose them, the Honorary Judging Committee had to go through more than 80,000 submissions. Astrid Merget, Creative Director of the World Photography Organisation says: “As in past years, the sheer number of entries from across the globe overwhelms us and reminds us of how universal photography is as a creative expression.  We are thrilled to see the quality of entries once again heighten and even more pleased to see many returning photographers on the shortlist.”  Click through / read on for the entire list.

Hull Media has announced the Most Transporting Photo Contest, a promotion that encourages members to share their most compelling travel photos on WereYouThere. Entries will be judged on the overall quality, originality and creativity of the photo and accompanying caption. One Grand Prize winner will receive a 16GB iPod Nano; three First Prize winners will each receive an 8GB iPod Nano. Register at the website below to enter, then upload a travel photo along with a descriptive caption of least 100 words. Each submission must be the entrant’s own original work and may not have been published commercially elsewhere. Multiple submissions are allowed, provided each is unique. The contest continues through to Sunday, 14 March.

Website: WereYouThere Photo Contest

New York-based celebrity and music photographer Diana Levine is searching for emerging photographers to submit their best work and assist her on an up and coming celebrity shoot. Diana Levine is an accomplished photographer in her industry, and has worked with celebrities such as Alicia Keys and Kim Kardashian. Her clients include AOL and MTV, and her photos have been published in numerous magazines. Interested readers should submit 2 of their best photographs, showcasing their knowledge of lighting and creativity. Additionally, Diana would like to see your experience and requests that you send your resume to [email protected] to be considered for this opportunity. Of course make sure to read the rules beforehand.

Website: Talenthouse

Hasselblad invites photographers to submit photographs to be considered for the 10th annual Masters Awards.  Each year Hasselblad awards the title of Master photographers in a range of specially defined categories. Photographers are invited to submit up to 5 images in each of the following eleven categories: architecture, editorial, fashion/beauty, fine art, general photography, nature/landscape, portrait, product, up-and-coming, wedding/social and, for the first time, wildlife. Awards are granted in recognition of the photographer’s contribution to the art of photography and photographic ability in the areas of creativity, composition, conceptual strength, and technical skill. Submission criteria are strict: with the exception of the up-and-coming category, submitting photographers must have been active professionals for more than three years and submitted images must be captured with a medium or large format system. The up-and-coming category is open to all active professional photographers, regardless of length of time in the business, and submitted images may be captured with any large format, medium format, or 35mm digital system.

American Rivers announced today that it will be the beneficiary of donations through a photo contest sponsored by Orvis. The contest encourages people to submit their favorite fishing or river-related photo. Photos can depict a range of subjects, including rivers and landscapes, anglers, wildlife, and more. The winning photograph will appear on the cover of a future Orvis fly fishing catalog and the winning photographer will receive a $1,000 Orvis gift card or a Helios fly rod outfit. People can vote for the winning photo and each vote requires a $1 donation to American Rivers. The contest runs through 1 June 2010.

Website: American Rivers

The International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition is back with a new format. This year there will be four seasonal competitions, based on specific themes, which allows photographers to win cash prizes throughout the year. The first of these seasonal competitions is on the theme of ‘Winter Beauty’ with a closing date of 28 February. In addtion to the new format, International Garden Photographer of the Year has also introduced a new category, ‘Wildflowers’. They will use this category in our exhibitions to highlight issues around the alarming disappearance of wild places.

Website: IGPOTY

Fodor’s Travel has announced the latest in its series of travel photography contests, “Show Us Your France,” where North American visitors to Fodors.com will have the opportunity to upload their favorite photos of France, and the chance to win Fodor’s guides. One grand prize winner will have his/her photograph featured on fodors.com. Photo submissions will be accepted at www.fodors.com/contest/france from February 15th to March 7th, 2010. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

PicStop has teamed up with SanDisk to give one lucky visitor to their website the chance to drive a supercar for the day. The day includes the delivery & collection of either a Aston Martin DB9, Ferrari F430 or a Lamborghini Gallardo with insurance for 2 named drivers. For your chance to enter this prize draw simply click enter and submit your name & email details. Make sure to read their terms and conditions though, as only people with a valid British full driving licence are allowed to drive the car. The draw will be held on 19 March 2010.

Website: PicStop

The winners of the World Press Photo of the Year 2009 contest have just been announced. The overall winner is Italian photographer Pietro Masturzo for his image of women shouting in protest from a rooftop in Tehran after the strongly contested presidential elections. The jury gave prizes in ten themed categories to 63 photographers of 23 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mali, Mexico, the Netherlands, Palestinian Territories, Peru, Somalia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. The winning entries have been chosen from a record 101,960 images submitted by 5,847 photographers. Featured above is the 1st prize winning entry in the Nature Singles category, Hunting Kingfisher by József Szentpéteri (alias Joe Petersburger), National Geographic.

Website: World Press Photo Winners Gallery

In 2010, the Bron Imaging Group bi-annual BIG ED photographic contest will be hosted by the iconic photographic team of Markus Klinko and Indrani. The theme of the contest, which runs until 1 July, is an intimate portrait of the girl or boy next door. The winner will receive a complete broncolor Mobil A2R travel kit, and will have the option to add a second Mobilite 2 head, a Unilite head, or a Ringflash C. The second prize is a broncolor Minicom RFS Travel kit, whilst the third prize is a California Sunbounce Micro Mini with flash bracket. Read on for the rules and to find out how to enter your work if you’re eligible.

eLearning Africa has launched an online photography contest to find out how information and communication technologies have changed people’s lives on the Aftican continent. The organisers are inviting people from Africa to submit images that show how they live, learn and work with cell phones, computers and the like. The top three entries will be rewarded with a Canon PowerShot S90, a Flip UltraHD camcorder and an 8GB iPod. The ten best photos will be featured in an exhibition at the eLearning Africa conference held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 26-28th May. The submission deadline is 26 April.

Website: eLearning Africa Competition