The four winners of Canon’s The Assignment photo contest have just been announced. The final four winners are the UK’s Ivan Hoo (Portrait), David Bernard of the Czech Republic, (Sport) France’s Alan Laboile (Macro) and Dave Derbis from Germany (Landscape). A total of 43,404 images were submitted, and voted for by 192,127 registrants on the competition website. The winners will now have the chance to plan and follow their own personal ‘dream assignment’ – each of which will be filmed for broadcast across Europe later in the year.

Canon UK Press Release

Canon announces winners of The Assignment

United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 04 July, 2008: Canon is pleased to announce the winners of The Assignment, the European challenge for amateur photographers. Following an outstanding response of 43,404 submitted images – voted for by 192,127 registrants on the competition website – the final four winners are the UK’s Ivan Hoo (Portrait), David Bernard of the Czech Republic, (Sport) France’s Alan Laboile (Macro) and Dave Derbis from Germany (Landscape).

The announcement comes after a climactic head-to-head competition finale in Vienna, against the exciting backdrop of UEFA Euro 2008. The event – held over 4 days – saw four pairs of finalists compete in a series of challenges.

Macro finalists’ skills were tested with a night shoot at Vienna’s Votive Church, while Sports finalists shot a street luge event outside the city. The Portrait finalists tackled a group of ballroom dancers in the gardens of Schonbrunn Palace; Landscape finalists, meanwhile, enjoyed a dramatic aerial shoot from a hot-air balloon. The winning images were judged by Sirio Magnabosco, the resident Photography Master.

The final four winners will now have the chance to plan and follow their own personal ‘dream assignment’ – each of which will be filmed for broadcast across Europe later in the year.

“While congratulating our winners, we would also like to pay tribute to the legions of other talented photographers who submitted images,” said Gregory Kukolj, Marketing & Communications Director for Canon Europe. “As the company that revolutionised consumer D-SLR photography, we are thrilled to see how much new photographic talent Europe is producing.”

Held across 18 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK) between March and May, The Assignment 2008 saw a total of 43,404 images submitted in four categories – Portrait, Landscape, Sport and Macro.

National category winners were judged against those from other competing countries by an expert panel, chaired by award-winning reportage, portrait and travel photographer Vicki Couchman.

For more information and images, please visit www.canon-europe.com/theassignment

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