To celebrate its tenth birthday, PhotoBox has launched a photography contest called ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. The company is asking photo enthusiasts across the UK to submit their best holiday snapshots and travel photographs from their favourite countries. In the first two weeks, you can submit photos taken in African countries - then the competition moves on to the Americas, Antarctica, Europe, Asia and, finally, Oceania. 6 winning photos from 6 continents will be selected from the entries, with the winners receiving the holiday of their lives to each of the continents featured in the contest.

Website: Around the World in 80 Days

Photobox Press Release

Nation gears up to take on world photo challenge in race against the clock

- UK joins PhotoBox 10 year celebrations and a chance to win fame, world record gallery acclaim plus travel adventures to the six corners of the world -

PhotoBox, Europe’s favourite online destination for photo printing, sharing and photo booking is celebrating turning 10. Not one to do things by halves, PhotoBox is embarking the nation on an 80 day race around the world in photos.

There will be rewards galore including six holidays of a lifetime to the far corners of the world courtesy of leading holiday company Thomson; a Guinness World Record attempt for the biggest photobook known to man and plenty of photography kudos as photos will be judged by a world class panel and winning entries exhibited at the trendy Old Truman Brewery during PhotoMonth and immortalised in the world’s largest photobook.

Let the race begin!

We’ve already received over 1,000 photos after just one weekend and we’re setting out to share, enjoy and celebrate tens of thousands more! Already the quality of images is outstanding – the nation’s photographers have definitely set the bar high and the judges now have a considerable task on their hands….

Our voyage kicked off on Friday and we’re following in the footsteps of the World Cup and journeying to where it all began – Africa. The aim, to complete all the countries of this continent in photos in less than 14 days, then move on to the next – America, followed by South America (with a quick stop in Antarctica) back to Europe, then off to Asia and finish things off in Oceania.

6 winning photos from 6 continents will be selected from the estimated tens of thousands of entries, but all participants are in with a chance of having their photos grace the pages of the world’s biggest photobook. Everyone’s a winner.

To succeed in this mammoth task, especially with some of the less visited more far flung locations; we’re calling on the nation to help us. We plan on getting everyone’s friends and family involved. Our own facebook fan page will be the race hub, the place to get your daily dose of dares, competitions, hunts and forfeits to keep spirits high during the 80 day feat!

So, who will be judging?

·      David Noton – award winning landscape photographer and author of ‘Waiting for the Light’ and ground breaking DVD ‘Chasing the Light’

·      Annabel Williams – world class portraiture and wedding photographer, published author and tutor, providing pioneering photographic training cemented in simple techniques and the refreshing mantra that photography is 90% psychology and 10% technical

·      Manfred Baumann – international celebrity photographer who’s had the joy of working with Sir Roger Moore, Bruce Willis, Tony Curtis and Juliette Lewis, amongst others

·      Damien Demolder, esteemed editor of the UK’s leading photography weekly, Amateur Photographer

·      Linda Buttle – PhotoBox Editor and regular judge across all photo competitions

·      Christian Cull – travelling the globe to amazing destinations in far flung places as part of his responsibility for media and customer communications, Thomson’s Communication Director has a keen eye for a winning travel photo that appeals to ‘the people’

All photos will be judged on two key criteria:

·      1. The photo that best captures the spirit of the continent, portraying its culture, people, landscape and feeling it evokes

·      2. The photo’s composition and impact

Prizes and Rewards

The comp runs from June 18th to September 5th, with winners announced by the judging panel on Friday 10th September. The six winners will receive the holiday of their lives to each of the continents featured in the race, provided by the UK’s leading tour operator Thomson. Well known for its exciting holidays and tours in 59 destinations around the world, Thomson is offering a range of stunning resorts with unique activities to enjoy. It offers the perfect balance between independence and providing customers with a helping hand on their financially secure holiday experience.

The first 14 day holiday adventure for two, involves a seven-day ‘Taste of Kenya Safari’ with spectacular game drives and views across 3 national parks set in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, with a stop at the heart warming Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, followed by a relaxing seven-nights at the exclusive Voyager Beach Resort in Nyali Beach.

Paparazzi at the ready

What’s more, the winners will take centre stage with a rare opportunity to be seen and contacted by the media, art critics, photography peers and the general public, with their own page in the World’s largest walk-in photobook.

This staggering 19.6ft/6m by 13ft/4m book will be displayed at London’s prestigious Old Truman Brewery Gallery as part of photo fest extravaganza, Photo Month, now like PhotoBox in its 10th year.

A media preview and drinks reception kicks off proceedings on Thursday 14th October, where the book, which fills half a room, will let visitors enjoy these stunning photos on an epic world scale with pages taller than any person, giving a magical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ effect!

Back where it all began

Mark Chapman, MD and co-founder at PhotoBox, commented: “When Graham and I set up PhotoBox in 2000, we knew it was a gamble. We had a passion for photography and digital cameras were starting to take off, so we dived in with both feet. A bit like Phileas Fogg, we gambled on our dream to succeed and despite the dot com crash, we held on, inspiring the nation and continuing our quest to set photos free.”

Chapman added: “10 years later, not only did we survive, we’re now Europe’s leader and we owe this to our customers. So when it came to celebrating 10 years as the nation’s favourite, we couldn’t find a more fitting way to express our gratitude, values, spirit and epic journey, than to create a people powered photo campaign capturing people’s best loved memories and adventures.”

“It’s a very proud moment for us. To think we started with a good idea, a couple of printers and four pair of hands, just mine and Mark’s, and now have 3.5m members in the UK alone, makes this 10 year milestone very special indeed” concluded Graham Hobson, Co-founder and CTO.

Competition details

Entries to the ‘Around the World in 80 days’ photo competition to be submitted here http://80days.photobox.co.uk, with the site featuring further information on the competition, its judges and everything else you need to know.

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