Insight Guides’ 2012 travel photography competition, run in association with The Independent on Sunday, is now open for entries. Whether professional or amateur, any UK-based adult who has a love of travel photography can enter by submitting three images that have been taken this year and capture the essence of a destination. There’s a separate category for under-18s, too, with the young photographer winning an Olympus Tough TG-820 camera of his or her own.  Photographers have until Friday 14 September 2012 to submit their entries for judging by an expert panel made up of Michael Pritchard, director-general of the Royal Photographic Society, picture editors of the Independent on Sunday and Insight Guides, and high profile photographer Kevin Cummins. As well as scooping a travel photography commission worth £3,000, the first prize winner receives an Olympus E-PL3 (RRP £550, pictured). The second prize is an Olympus E-PM1, whilst the winner in third place will be awarded an Olympus XZ-1 (RRP £400).

Press Release

GET IN THE FRAME AND WIN AN INSIGHT GUIDES PHOTOGRAPHIC COMMISSION

Anyone whose travel photographs are a snap above the rest is invited to enter Insight Guides’ 2012 travel photography competition, run in association with The Independent on Sunday, to win a photographic commission worth £3,000.  Also up for grabs is some great Olympus photographic equipment, as well as a night at the Corinthia, one of London’s top luxury hotels. The commission from Insight Guides to photograph a travel destination for a future guide book could pave the way for a new and exciting career in travel photography.

Whether professional or amateur, any UK-based adult who has a love of travel photography can enter by submitting three images that have been taken this year and capture the essence of a destination. There’s a separate category for under-18s, too, with the young photographer winning an Olympus camera of his or her own.  Photographers have until Friday 14 September 2012 to submit their entries for judging by an expert panel made up of Michael Pritchard, director-general of the Royal Photographic Society, picture editors of the Independent on Sunday and Insight Guides, and high profile photographer Kevin Cummins. The winner will be announced in the travel pages of The Independent on Sunday shortly afterwards, which will also feature a selection from the winning portfolio.

As well as scooping the travel photography commission, the first prize winner receives an Olympus E-PL3 (RRP £550), a favourite with those who want SLR quality results without the bulk of a traditional camera.  The second prize is an Olympus E-PM1 (RRP £450), one of the world’s smallest and lightest system cameras with interchangeable lenses.  The winner in third place wins an Olympus XZ-1 (RRP £400) which combines the image quality and adjustability of system cameras and the portability of digital compact cameras, while the Under-18 prize-winner will receive an Olympus TOUGH camera TG-820 (RRP £270).  This next-generation of TOUGH compacts sets a new benchmark by combining Olympus’ trademark indestructibility with superb picture quality.

Adult winners will be presented with their prizes over dinner in the Northall, a modern British restaurant at London’s luxurious Corinthia Hotel (www.corinthia.com/london ) before being treated to a night in one of the Hotel’s sumptuous rooms.  Located in Whitehall just minutes from Trafalgar Square, the Corinthia overlooks the Thames.

It is simple to enter the competition: just submit, in either digital format or print, three top-quality colour travel images that have been taken this year.  They need to capture the essence of one or more destinations and work together as a set. Digital entries, which must be high-resolution Jpegs sized to a minimum of 3MB at 300dpi and a maximum of 15MB at 300dpi, should be emailed individually or as a group of three to [email protected]. Alternatively send prints, no bigger than 10 x 8 inches to Photography Prize, Insight Guides, APA Publications, 58 Borough High Street, London SE1 1XF.  Images should be clearly labelled with the entrant’s name, address, telephone number and email address, and a location should be given for each image taken.  Under-18s must mark each image “under-18”. For further information, entrants should visit www.insightguides.com as terms and conditions apply.

The winner of last year’s competition was Nathaniel Gonzales, one of whose pictures of London is shown above.  He travelled to Paris for his Insight Guides commission to take photographs for a new guide to the French capital.  Published this month is the Insight Guide to Tuscany (£14.99) which features hundreds of full-colour photographs, many of which were shot by the 2010 competition winner, Steve McDonald.

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