Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

9 September 2011

The long-awaited WWT Photography Competition 2011-2012 is now open for entries. The competition is being held in association with Canon, in celebration of the Scott Antarctic Expedition Centenary, and offers an amazing grand prize of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Antarctica.

The competition will run for 12 months with seasonal heats held regionally at each of WWT’s nine wetland wildlife centres. When the competition closes on 31 August 2012, all seasonal, regional heat winners will go forward to the national grand final to be judged by a panel including photography experts and celebrities in the autumn.

Following from the success of last year’s competition which, despite only running for three months attracted 6,000 online entries and a staggering 60,000 votes in the People’s Choice category. This year the competition will reprise the Wetland Wildlife, Wetland Landscapes, and Wildlife & People categories, as well as the People’s Choice category where members of the public can go online and choose their favourite entry each season.

The Junior category has changed from Under 16 to Under 18 to reflect minimum age requirements for many of the main national prizes. All entrants ticking that they are under 18 when entering any of the main categories will automatically be entered into the prestigious Junior Photographer of the Year category. A Junior winner will be chosen at the end of each seasonal heat for each WWT centre, and all these will go through to the national finals.

Whilst photographs entered into all the other categories much have been taken at one of WWT’s nine wetland wildlife centres across the UK, a new category, World Wetlands, invites entries taken of wetlands large or small, good or bad, from all over the world. These can range from puddles in Paris, lakes in Lagos to oceans in Oceana, or even one of the most extreme wetlands in the world, Antarctica.

Finally, to be in with the chance of winning the grand prize of the trip to Antarctica, entrants must submit at least three or more photographs in at least two or more seasonal heats. If this criteria is met, the entrant’s ‘portfolio’ will be automatically entered into the Portfolio Photographer of the Year category. At the national finals, each portfolio photographer’s three best photographs (as shortlisted by the judges) will be considered with the winner receiving the Portfolio Photographer of the Year Award and the grand prize of a 12-day fully inclusive trip to Antarctica, courtesy of Exodus in partnership with Quark Expeditions.

There are a host of other fantastic prizes up for grabs for the national winners. The Wetland Wildlife category winner will receive a three day birds of prey photography workshop in the Czech Republic, courtesy of Tatra Photography; and the Wetland Landscapes category winner will receive a 6 night nature photography workshop in Cumbria, courtesy of Lakeland Photo Holidays, plus a head-to-toe outdoor clothing kit, courtesy of Regatta. The Wildlife & People category winner will receive a 5 day activity holiday for two people in Sooma National Park, Estonia, inclusive of return flights from London, courtesy of Much Better Adventures and OU Karaskose; and the winner of the Junior Photographer of the Year category will win a 7 day family activity holiday in mid-Wales, courtesy of Mount Severn.

The winner of the World Wetlands category will receive a 5 night eco-tourism break for two people to New York State and the opportunity to see the wetland spectacle that is Niagara Falls, including return flights from the UK to Buffalo with United, operated by Continental Airlines, plus accommodation at the new luxurious Embassy Suites Buffalo.  The winner of the People’s Choice Award will win a weeks’ narrowboat holiday for four in the UK, to the value of £1000, courtesy of Kate Boats. Finally, all national category winners will also receive a subscription to Birdwatching magazine.

Visit www.wwt.org.uk/photo for full details and to enter your photographs.