The British Journal of Photography has revealed the winners of BJP Breakthrough 2016, its annual search for the world's best student and graduate photographers. This year's Graduate Series award went to the Belfast School of Art graduate Jan McCullough for her series Home Instruction Manual, while the Graduate Single Image award went to the UK-based Polish photographer Piotr Karpinski for his image titled Woman in the Church No.1. Sicilian photographer Simone Sapienza won the Undergraduate Series award for his Vietnam-based project Charlie surfs on Lotus Flowers, while Irish photographer Daragh Soden won the Undergraduate Single Image award for an image from his series Young Dubliners. The winning work will be exhibited at BJP's dedicated space at Free Range, the UK's largest creative graduate showcase from Friday, 24th June - Monday, 4th July 2016.

The Sony World Photography Awards are now open for entries. Photographers are welcome to enter their work for free into any of the awards’ four competitions: Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. The 2017 edition also sees new categories introduced across the all competitions challenging photographers to push their creative boundaries. In addition to the Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions, the hunt is also on to find the UK’s best photographer in the UK National award. Entries to the UK National Award will be taken from those with British nationality entering any of the ten Open categories. The Sony World Photography Awards shortlist will be announced on 28 February 2017, Open and National Awards winners revealed on March 28 and overall winners announced on April 20.

SkyPixel has launched a 360-degree Panorama Contest in conjunction with DJI. 360-degree panoramas are a relatively new feature on SkyPixel, and a separate section of the website dedicated to 360-degree imaging had been soft launched prior to the contest. Contestants may use any aerial platform to capture and submit their entries. The Grand Prize includes a DJI Phantom 4 and a Huawei P9 Plus smartphone, and the submission deadline is 20 June 2016.

Leica has revealed that the presentation of the Leica Oscar Barnack Award 2016 will take place in Berlin, Germany, on 28th September. The Award's return to Germany brings the competition back to the birthplace of its namesake - Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the ‘Ur-Leica.’ Approximately 3,200 photographers from a total of 108 countries submitted entries to the 2016 Award - almost twice as many entrants as in the previous year, with a record number of submissions. The portfolios of the twelve finalists in the categories ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ and ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award’ will be publicly announced on 15 June 2016 on the Award's website.

Canon U.S.A. is continuing its Rebel With A Cause campaign by launching a contest to find the next individual to "challenge the status quo in positive ways to further their passion, belief, or cause." Participants are encouraged to submit a photo or video essay to share what makes them a Rebel With A Cause. One Grand Prize Winner will be presented with the opportunity to have their cause brought to life with their own documentary production, similar to those of previous Rebels Nik Wallenda and Swizz Beatz. In addition, they will receive a Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR camera and lens package, $10,000 in cash prizes to support their cause, as well as press and media exposure. The deadline for entries is 17th June.

EyeEm has announced the 2016 EyeEm Awards, its annual global competition for up-and-coming talents to get exhibited, published and seen by leading editors and curators. Photographers have five weeks to submit in five categories: The Portraitist, The Architect, The Great Outdoors, The Photojournalist and The Street Photographer. Winners will be announced at the 2016 EyeEm Festival on August 27 in Berlin, and get published in EyeEm’s annual New Talent publication. The grand prize winner will be named EyeEm Photographer of the Year and win a round-trip ticket to Berlin to attend the 2016 EyeEm Festival. Anyone can enter the Awards via the free EyeEm iOS and Android app and web interface. It’s free to submit and photographers are encouraged to submit as many photos as they choose. The submission deadline is 5 June 2016. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

London’s Air Ambulance has launched a photography competition calling on the public to submit photos of its iconic helicopters and rapid-response car fleet to fill its 2017 Charity Calendar. “We receive so many fantastic photos from members of the public who kindly donate them for the charity’s use,” says Mark Davies, Director of Development at London’s Air Ambulance. “This competition is now a great opportunity for people to showcase their work more widely, while at the same time raising money.” Photographers have until Friday, 22nd July to enter their work, and the best photos will be picked by a judging panel made up of London’s Air Ambulance staff. To be eligible, all photos must have been taken in 2016 and must be submitted via e-mail. Money raised from the sale of the calendar will help the charity, which delivers an advanced trauma team to critically injured people in London.

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the ColorChecker targets, X-Rite have launched a social competition, entitled ‘Where’s That ColorChecker?’ Every 3 days, XRite will post a famous landmark partially covered by a ColorChecker target. Entrants who correctly identify the landmark will have the chance to win one of 40 ColorChecker targets. A winner will be randomly selected after each round from the list of correct answers. The competition runs until 4 July 2016.

Magnum Photos and LensCulture are inviting submissions to the inaugural Magnum and LensCulture Photography Awards. The jury will select 12 winners and 20 finalists from Documentary, Street, Portrait, Fine Art, Photojournalism and Open categories. In addition, the jury will select 7 photographers as “Jurors’ Picks” and give out 5 “Student Spotlight” awards to young, up-and-coming talents. Winners, finalists and top-rated photographers will gain access to an unprecedented level of global exposure and recognition from two of the largest organisations in the photo industry, as well as cash funding and career support. The deadline for entries is 24 May 2016.

Nikon has announced the winners of its European Film Festival in association with independent film organisation, Raindance and Oscar-winning director, Asif Kapadia. ‘Not A Pizza Order’ by Cécile Ragot, France, has been awarded the Grand Prix, with cecile winning a Nikon D810 film kit and a one-week, all-expenses paid networking trip to the Cannes Film Festival in May. All jury members were impressed by this film, which is centred around the issue of domestic violence. The other category winners selected by the jury were ‘Bad Luck’ by Martin Taube, Sweden (Best Narrative), ‘Evasion’ by Pierre le Gall, France (Technical Excellence) and ‘Diamondjaw’ by Tormi Torop, Estonia (Best Student Entry).

The winners of the Sony World Photography Awards have just been announced. The awards included four competitions - Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. The Professional competition was divided into fourteen categories, and the winners are Amélie Labourdette (Architecture), Kirstin Schmitt (Candid), Julien Mauve (Conceptual), Maroesjka Lavigne (Landscape), Marcello Bonfanti (Portraiture), Alberto Alicata (Staged), Francesco Amorosino (Still Life), Jetmir Idrizi (Campaign), Asghar Khamseh (Contemporary Issues), Angelos Tzortzinis (Current Affairs), Espen Rasmussen (Daily Life), Kevin Frayer (Environment, People), Nikolai Linares (Sport). Asghar Khamseh also won the "L'Iris D'or - Photographer of the Year" award. The Open Photographer of the Year is Kei Nomiyana from Japan for his series, 'Enchanted Bamboo Lights.' Sam Delaware from the United States has been awarded the Youth Photographer of the Year title. RongRong & inri, the influential photographic husband and wife team who have shaped contemporary photography in China and beyond, were recognised for their Outstanding Contribution to Photography.

Photo: Kei Nomiyama, Open Photographer of the Year

Ricoh have announced their second annual developers contest. The competition is looking for new apps and gadgets that utilise the Ricoh Theta camera, which takes 360°, fully spherical images or videos in one capture. Winners of the contest will receive a trip to Tokyo, Japan, for the awards ceremony and the first prize winner will be awarded a cash prize of one million yen. Applicants have until 31st August 2016 to submit their final app and gadget designs.

DJI has received a record 130 proposals for its third annual DJI Developer Challenge, and has advanced 25 developer teams to the second round of the competition. The teams will be given DJI hardware and software to begin turning their ideas into reality through further challenges, until 10 finalists are chosen to demonstrate their applications in a public competition in August. They will also receive DJI’s flagship Matrice 100 aerial platform and a Zenmuse X3 camera. The 2016 DJI Developer Challenge asks teams to develop a search-and-rescue application that launches a drone from a moving Ford F-150 pickup truck, surveys the survivors and obstacles in a disaster site, compiles and transmits the information back to the in-vehicle communications system, SYNC 3, in real time, then lands safely in the bed of the moving truck.

Now open for entries, the Environmental Photographer of the Year competition is an international showcase for the very best in environmental photography. Free to enter, the competition provides an opportunity for amateur and professional photographers of all ages to share images of environmental and social issues with international audiences, and to enhance our understanding of the causes, consequences and solutions to climate change and social inequality. The main prize is the prestigious Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year title, along with a cash prize of £3,000. In recognition of the contemporary focus of this year’s competition, photographs must have been taken (and films made) since 1 January 2015. The submission deadline is 18 April 2016.

StreetFoto San Francisco is an annual international street photography festival that will host its inaugural event in several venues around San Francisco from 8-12 June 2016. The festival features a group exhbition by members of Burn My Eye, an influential international street photography collective; lectures by In-Public member Richard Bram, APF co-founder Vineet Vohra, Burn My Eye member Jack Simon and other prominent photographers; a panel discussion featuring a group of internationally known street photographers visiting the festival; private one-on-one portfolio reviews; photo walks through San Francisco’s most photogenic neighborhoods; organised pub crawls, and more. Additionally, the StreetFoto San Francisco International Street Photography Awards are now accepting submissions to three separate contests including Best Street Photograph, Best Street Photography Series and Best Mobile Street Photograph. Contest finalists will be exhibited in San Francisco during the festival and will be have their work included in the StreetFoto 2016 book. Winners and runners-up will be eligible to win over $2000 in cash prizes and subscriptions to APF magazine.

An image by Budapest-based Australian photojournalist Warren Richardson has been selected as the World Press Photo of the Year 2015. Taken at night on 28 August 2015, the photograph (above) shows migrants crossing the frontier from Serbia into Hungary across a temporary razor wire obstacle deployed before the completion of a taller and more robust border fence. "I was exhausted by the time I took the picture," Richardson says. "It was around three o’clock in the morning and you can’t use a flash while the police are trying to find these people, because I would just give them away. So I had to use the moonlight alone." The 2016 contest drew entries from around the world: 5,775 photographers from 128 countries submitted 82,951 images. The jury gave prizes in eight categories to 41 photographers from 21 countries including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, and the USA.

The Royal Photographic Society's International Print Exhibition will open for entries on 1 March 2016. Now in its 159th year, the contest has a reputation for showcasing a wide range of genres and styles of photography. Entry to the competition is initially online and submissions will be reviewed by an influential panel of prominent photographers and photographic professionals who will individually shortlist work. The selectors will create a shortlist with the final selection of 100 images being made from prints. The selected images will be shown at the opening exhibition at London's Old Truman Brewery. Selected photographers will be eligible for several cash prize awards (totalling £4,250 + Metro Imaging 12-month mentorship programme) aimed at helping support future photographic projects. Those entering their work before 31 March 2016 will get a chance to win a signed copy of Don McCullin: The New Definitive Edition.

The Photography Show today announced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, in partnership with Training byLUMIERE, for one emerging talent to be fast-tracked into a pro career in the photography industry, winning a package worth £15,000. The competition will seek to find one talented individual, who wants to make the transition to becoming a professional photographer, with access to advice, six months of training, a brand, website and essential kit plus a real understanding of what it will take to make it as a professional photographer. Entrants are asked to submit a 60 second video demonstrating why they think they should win. The first deadline is 1 March 2016, after which a shortlist will be announced, and the winner revealed on site at The Photography Show on Tuesday, 22nd March.

Photography Blog has teamed up with X-Rite to offer 3 entrants the chance to win a new i1Display Pro – professional calibrator (worth £207 incl. VAT) and Colour Management Pro eBook (worth £18 incl. VAT) by Ashley Karyl.

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How to enter the competition

To be in with a chance of winning one of the three X-Rite i1Display Pro’s with eBook, all you have to do is sign up to the Photography Blog newsletter by Monday 8th February 2016 using the form below.  

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The Societies have announced the overall winners of their photography competition. Chris Chambers from West Yorkshire was awarded the Photographer of the Year title during the Awards Dinner at the Societies' annual convention. In addition to receiving his trophy Chris also walked away with a Fujifilm XT1 Camera with XF56 1.2 Lens and a fully paid ticket to the WPPI Convention in Las Vegas with a flight and 5 nights accommodation to the value of £3,200.