- Deadline for amateur submissions extended to 28 February 2009
- Final call for professional photographers
Budding amateur environmental photographers now have until 28 February 2009 to submit their work to The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP) Award, a major new initiative for the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards.
A selection of the best images by amateur photographers will be displayed in Cannes during the Sony World Photography Awards in April 2009, and these images will be used by The Prince’s Rainforests Project and Sony on various initiatives throughout the year to help communicate this important message.
Photographic entries are judged by a panel of experts including: Stuart Franklin, photographer and President of Magnum (UK); John Sauven, Director of Greenpeace (UK); Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, Executive Director, International League of Conservation Photographers (USA); Helena Christensen, model and photographer (Denmark); Roberto Smeraldi, Director and Founder of Friends of the Earth – Brazilian Amazonia (Brazil); David de Rothschild, environmentalist and explorer (UK), and Kathy Moran¸ Senior Picture Editor of Natural History at Natural Geographic Magazine (USA).
This distinctive panel will be chaired by renowned British photographer and author, Tom Stoddart.
In his appeal for entries to the awards judge David de Rothschild commented “Creative expression through photography is a very powerful tool. It not only has the ability to present the facts and tell stories, but it has the capacity to give insights that can turn reflection into change. The Sony/PRP Awards are an ideal platform to harness creativity to implement change and in turn inspire, educate and engage individuals, communities and industry to take positive action for our planet.”
Fellow judge Roberto Smeraldi added “While we usually quote figures and studies to show how critical the forest is for our lives, it is crucial that we actually also show the link between the forest, the people and everyday’s life. Prince Charles’ initiative offers to us, in Brazil, a unique opportunity to demonstrate why action is dramatically required and why we have an amazing comparative advantage in this field.”
The professional Sony/PRP Award winner will be announced on 3 February 2009 and the amateur photographers selected to have their work exhibited in Cannes will be informed in March 2009.
Further information about the Sony World Photography Awards and details of how to enter the competition can be found at www.worldphotographyawards.org
Sony World Photography Awards
The Sony World Photography Awards (WPA), launched in 2007, lend a global platform for the photographic industry and community. Through a variety of international programmes including the week-long Festival @ The Sony World Photography Awards, the launch of an online magazine and a gallery, an international student programme and a touring exhibition, the WPA will continue to discover new talent and create avenues through which to reward photographers with the support and expertise of industry professionals. The winner of L’Iris D’Or – the best photograph for both the amateur and the professional awards – will be announced at the awards ceremony in Cannes on 16 April 2009.
The WPA website – www.worldphotographyawards.org now features an online magazine and gallery. It also includes comprehensive information about the awards, the categories, a current list of World Photographic Academy members, and key dates. Images from the 2008 awards are available via the website’s press centre.
The Prince’s Rainforests Project
The PRP consists of a team of 20 working out of St. James’s Palace who intend to leverage the convening power of The Prince of Wales to work with bodies ranging from Governments, international business and NGOs to the rainforest nations themselves and the people who depend on these forests for their livelihoods.
PRP’s objectives are to find a way to:
– Establish true economic values for the services provided by the rainforests;
– Identify possible sources of finance to pay for those services; and
– Develop efficient and equitable transfer mechanisms, alongside the necessary technical and institutional capabilities that may be required, to ensure that the funds aimed at conserving rainforests also contribute to improving local people’s long-term livelihoods
More about the PRP in www.princesrainforestsproject.org
