Photography News

Shoot Nations is an annual, global photography project including a competition, workshops and exhibitions on various continents. Each year focusses on a different global issue and the photographs produced are presented to the United Nations in New York. The theme for this year's competition is CITY LIVING.

It doesn’t matter what sort of camera you have; phone camera, high-end digital, point-and-shoot - it’s your view of what city life is like that we are after. This year we want young people the world over to address the challenges of an increasingly urban world. Whether living in the country, town or big city, we want to build a global picture of what urban environments mean to young people. Are the streets paved with gold? Or are they fraught with risk and difficulty? And how do the challenges of growing up in the city differ as a boy or a girl? The competition will also focus on the movement and impact on the people and places left behind.

The photos will provide a vivid illustration of young people's differing viewpoints on the subject from all over the world.

Deadline: July 28, 2010

Eligibility: The competition is open to anyone aged 11 — 25 from anywhere in the world.

Judges: Judges will be representatives of Shoot Experience, Plan UK, UK photographers and press.

Prizes: Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

All ages:

1. Best Overall Photo Worldwide
2. Best Overall Photo UK only
3. Best Overall Drawing Worldwide

Best Photo per Brief in each age group, 11 - 16 and 17 - 25:

1. What does 'city' mean to you?
2. City living as a boy or a girl
3. Country to city, city to country - people on the move

48 chosen photos will be collated into a huge photographic collage and presented in a light-box to the United Nations in New York City to celebrate International Youth Day. The light-box will then be put on permanent display at the United Nations headquarters.

ALL photos and drawings will be exhibited online at shootnations.org for the rest of the time.

Selected photos will be displayed on Plan UK's development education website: plan-ed.org (optional).

Selected photos can be sold through Shoot Experience's photo library, shootbank.net (optional).

Olympus UK are providing top of the range digital cameras for the Best Overall Photo Worldwide, Best Drawing Worldwide and UK winner.

National Geographic will be providing each winner with a year's subscription to their fantastic magazine, a must for budding photographers!

Future Maps will be providing each winner with a striking contemporary world wall map, the perfect prize for a global competition.

A shortlist of the standout UK entries will be revealed on mtv.co.uk with users voting to select the Best UK Photo online via MTV's website. The UK Winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to New York for the launch of the Shoot Nations exhibition on 12 August at the United Nations Secretariat building.

Website: Shoot Nations