CGAP Photo Contest 2014

Photo © Tran Dinh Thuong-All Rights Reserved

I started to frequently peruse Hanoi Times online to find tidbits of information for my forthcoming personal project in Vietnam, and noticed that it reported that seven Vietnamese photographers had won won prizes and/or recognition in a photography contest organised by a World Bank affiliate.

The CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is affiliated to the World Bank, and its annual photo contest seeks "to showcase the different ways in which poor households manage their financial lives and to raise awareness about the importance of formal financial services for people at the base of the economic pyramid."

I never heard of CGAP - and whilst readers of this blog know my stance towards photo contests- I took a look at its results, and found that many of its entries are impressive. This year's contest received a record 4,820 entries from professional and amateur photographers in 95 countries.

I urge you to take a look at the results of the photo contest here. Not only are these photographs impressive in their own rights, but they're from largely unknown (at least to me) photographers...and what a delight this is. Fresh names, fresh work...and none of the usual suspects who regularly  participate in such photography contests.

CGAP also featured all of the entries (yes, 4818 of them) with the names of the photographers on this page. Most of the entries are environmental portraits...some more travel photographs than documentary, but the general quality is really quite commendable.

So happy browsing, and be prepared to be impressed.

All of Asia Photo Contest | Winner

All of Asia's Second International Photo Competition has recently announced its winner.

Roberto Fenanti won the “All of Asia”, the second international travel photography competition organised by 1000for1.com with his monochromatic photograph of Bagan in Myanmar, which in the opinion of the judges, captured the perfect moment under a unique light.

Photo © Roberto Fenanti- Courtesy 1000for1.com

In an email, Matteo Vegetti (a photographer himself, and one of the founders/organizers of the contest) graciously asked me whether I concurred with the choice...and having had the chance of viewing the other submissions, I do. It wasn't an easy task though because of the quantity of wonderful photographs, but this one stood out.

The judges also agreed to award four honorable mentions to photographers Jakub Rybicki, Chee Keong Lim, Neil Herbert and Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman.

These submitted photographs aptly convey the sense of Asia, with two scenes of Myanmar, one of Afghanistan and from Bangladesh.

The three members of the jury (aka the judges) were Matteo Vegetti, a travel and documentary photographer, Javier Arcenillas, a humanist freelance photographer and Johnny Miller, the cofounder of Maptia.

The Three Finalists In The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest

Photograph A. Photo © Peter Ansara-All Rights Reserved

Photograph B. Photo © Jeff Oftedahl-All Rights Reserved

Photograph C. Photo © Anthony Pond-All Rights Reserved

Which Photograph Wins The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest?

Photograph A

Photograph B

Photograph C

Poll Maker

It was a tough job to choose three finalists from the numerous entries I've received over the past weeks...but here they are, and it's now up to the readers of The Travel Photographer's blog to choose the winner of the Street Photography Contest, who will receive the WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001 camera bag.

The voting will come to an end on October 24th...when the winner will be announced.

The rules for the contest were simple and easy to follow, and were listed in this post.

WotanCraft Atelier's website has full information and details on the WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001 bag.

The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest | Extension

I announced The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest mid June, and I'm extending the deadline for submissions from August 31 to the week following September 30, 2014.

Two reasons for the extension: the number of submissions hasn't reached my expectations to make the contest really competitive, and I'll be traveling to Viet Nam by September 2 and I won't have the time to properly curate the submissions.

The street photography contest is open to any professional, student, or amateur photographer at least eighteen (18) years of age. The contest is restricted to residents of the contiguous United States.*

The contest's main theme is daily life in any city, town or village (anywhere in the world), captured through street photography: real, instant images, that grab moments, people, faces, streets, buildings and other elements capable of telling stories.

The sole prize is the handcrafted WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001 which I reviewed earlier here. It's an ideal camera bag for street photography, it's low-profile and is made of very high quality leather.

The requirements and rules are simple:

1. Entrants can submit up to three (3) photographs, color or monochrome.

2. Each photograph must be a jpg 1000x667 pixels at 72 dpi.

3. Each photograph must include your name and a sequential number if submitting more than one (ie JohnDoe_001.jpg, etc.)

4. Each photograph must indicate where it was made (New York City, San Francisco, London, Delhi, Tokyo, etc). 4. Entrants warrant that their submissions are all their original work.

5. The contest is closed for submissions on September 30, 2014.

6. Entrants are to send their submissions to: tes(at)telsawy.com. The email must also include entrants' full name.

7. There are no fees, or any costs to the entrants. This contest is essentially a competitive giveaway, and has received the blessing of WotanCraft Atelier.

Judging: I shall be judging the submissions, and will announce the three top best photographs. These three photographs will be posted on this blog, and public voting will be opened to choose the prize winner. This will now occur during the week following September 30, 2014 deadline.

* Regrettably, shipping to destinations other than in the contiguous United States is not only costly, but also involves an amount of paperwork, as well as potential hefty custom duties to be paid by the eventual recipient, especially with such an expensive camera bag. That is the reason for restricting the contest as I did. My apologies to the multitude of very talented non US-based photographers who may have been interested in entering the contest.

WotanCraft Atelier's website has full information and details on the WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001.

Travel Photographer Asia | Contest

I'm very pleased to introduce the Travel Photographer Asia Contest to my readers.

As I've always evangelized, travel photography is a complex and varied discipline that includes a wide range of genres and subjects, from cultural events to food, from architecture to people and from reportage to wildlife. Travel photographers must be able to capture these diverse genres using all sorts of techniques, and resources.

Spearheaded by Ahsan Quraishi, the Travel Photographer Asia is a travel photography contest aimed at professional and amateur travel photographers who have travelled in Asia. Through the submitted photographs, it seeks to highlight the undeniable vibrancy of the people, places, food and festivals in Asia.

The best 50 photographs will be chosen by a panel of judges, and will be exhibited for a week at one of Kuala Lumpur's best exhibition venue, MapKL@Publika and the winners will be unveiled in a gala prize giving ceremony on the opening night.

I am also very glad to have been chosen as one of the 4 judges on the Travel Photographer Asia panel, which includes photography heavyweights Khaula Jamil, Eric Beecroft and Rahman Roslan. The winning entries will be first shortlisted by the judges, then chosen via social media.

The rules governing the contest are simple and straightforward. Submissions to the contest start on January 21, 2015 and all entries must be submitted on or before midnight on 20 April 2015. The winners will be announced on May 29, 2015.

The prizes are very generous, but I would be remiss if I didn't highlight that both the Winner and First Runner-Up will be each awarded a spot in the fantastic Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (held on 19 -25 July in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) inclusive of tuition fees, 7 days 6 nights accommodation and return flights (ex KL).

There's no question there is an incredible amount of photography talent amongst Asian and non-Asian photographers who make images in Asian countries, of cultures, people, its food, festivals, religious events and its landscapes. I am certain that this contest will brings phenomenal imagery to the forefront, and will introduce new names to the multitude of people who love photography.

So if you traveled to and photographed the Asian continent, participate in this inaugural photo contest, and let us see your photographs!

The Travel Photographer's Street Photo Contest

The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest is open to any professional, student, or amateur photographer at least eighteen (18) years of age. The contest is restricted to residents of the contiguous United States.*

The contest's main theme is daily life in any city, town or village (anywhere in the world), captured through street photography: real, instant images, that grab moments, people, faces, streets, buildings and other elements capable of telling stories.

The sole prize is the handcrafted WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001 which I reviewed earlier here. It's an ideal camera bag for street photography, it's low-profile and is made of very high quality leather.

The requirements and rules are simple: 

1. Entrants can submit up to three (3) photographs, color or monochrome.

2. Each photograph must be a jpg 1000x667 pixels at 72 dpi.

3. Each photograph must include your name and a sequential number if submitting more than one (ie JohnDoe_001.jpg, etc.)

5. Each photograph must indicate where it was made (New York City, San Francisco, London, Delhi, Tokyo, etc).

4. Entrants warrant that their submissions are all their original work.

5. The contest is closed for submissions on August 31, 2014.

6. Entrants are to send their submissions to: tes(at)telsawy.com. The email must also include entrants' full name.

7. There are no fees, or any costs to the entrants. This contest is essentially a competitive giveaway, and has received the blessing of WotanCraft Atelier. 

Judging:

I shall be judging the submissions, and will announce the three top best photographs. These three photographs will be posted on this blog, and public voting will be opened to choose the prize winner. This will occur during the week following August 31, 2014 deadline. 

* Regrettably, shipping to destinations other than in the contiguous United States is not only costly, but also involves an amount of paperwork, as well as potential hefty custom duties to be paid by the eventual recipient, especially with such an expensive camera bag. That is the reason for restricting the contest as I did. My apologies to the multitude of very talented non US-based photographers who may have been interested in entering the contest. 

WotanCraft Atelier's website has full information and details on the WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001.

Photo Courtesy WotanCraft Atelier

Peter Ansara | Winner of The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest

Photo © Peter Ansara-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Peter Ansara-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Peter Ansara-All Rights Reserved

I'm happy to announce that Peter Ansara of Tacoma, WA has won The Travel Photographer's Street Photography Contest. The win was quite decisive, and was determined by the readers of this blog who gave Peter's photograph (top) the most votes.

The two top black and white photographs were made in Seattle, Washington while the third was made in Monument Valley, Arizona.

Peter retired from the United States Air Force with 25 years service in 2002, and has photographed for some 35 years. He loves street photography and photographs in Seattle 3 or 4 times per month. He also runs and operates a non profit organization in Tacoma, Washington.

The runners-up were Jeff Oftedahl and Anthony Pond.

Congratulations to Peter who will soon receive the WotanCraft Ryker Urban Classic 001.