Now in its 46th year, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is an international showcase for the very best nature photography. The competition is owned by two UK institutions that pride themselves on revealing and championing the diversity of life on Earth – the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Being accepted into this competition is something that wildlife photographers, worldwide, aspire to. Professionals win many of the prizes, but amateurs succeed, too. And that’s because achieving the perfect picture is down to a mixture of skill, vision, originality, knowledge of nature and luck.
Each year thousands of entries are received and judged by a specially selected expert panel. The winners are announced at an awards ceremony that takes place each October at the Natural History Museum, London.
Objective
Wildlife Photographer of the Year seeks the very best wildlife images – photographs that are not only technically flawless, but creative, innovative and surprising. You can enter pictures of wild animals, plants and landscapes in the categories listed below.
- Animals in their Environment
- Behaviour: Birds
- Behaviour: Mammals
- Behaviour: All Other Animals
- Underwater World
- Animal Portraits
- In Praise of Plants
- Urban Wildlife
- Nature in Black and White
- Creative Visions of Nature
- Wild Places
Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010 Categories
Prizes
The title Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year is given to the single image or portfolio judged to be the most striking and memorable of all the entries. The winning photographer will receive £10,000, which is presented at an awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London in October. Each category winner receives £500 and each runner-up £250. Special award winners receive £1,000.
Winning and commended images are displayed in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, then tour around the UK and internationally. The pictures will also be published in a hardback portfolio book.
Rules
- Please read and abide by the competition rules before you enter. Translations are available in Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
- To enter the Young competition you must be 17 years or under on the closing date, 5 March 2010.
- Images must be digitally captured, or scans of transparencies.
- RAW files or original transparencies will be requested if an image reaches the final stage. Full picture information and technical details will be required for each picture.
- If your image is awarded a prize you will need to supply us with a high res file (minimum 30MB) for reproduction purposes.
- More information can be found in the frequently asked questions, categories and judges pages.
- If the competition organisers need to contact you an email will be sent from nhm@nhm.pmailuk.com or wildphoto@nhm.ac.uk so please add these to your address book to avoid them being blocked by your email security settings or restrictions placed by their Internet service provider.
How to enter?
To enter the competition online you will need:
- your images in JPEG/JPG format sized at 1400 pixels on the longest dimension
- a valid email address
- your credit/debit card details if you are entering the Adult competition
- a broadband connection
Entry fee
There is a £20 entry fee for the Adult competition. Entry to the Young competition is free.