EyeEm announces its Photography Awards and Festival 2014

New kit. Maybe some cash. Global exhibition. Publication in a 'Best of 2014' photobook. A trip to Berlin. Sound good? They're all prizes that are up for grabs for winners of the EyeEm Global Photography Awards. Starting today, photo-sharing site EyeEm is looking for the best examples of mobile photography to showcase at the Berlin Holzmarkt as part of its photography festival in September this year. There are ten categories into each of which you can submit a maximum of three images.

Open now are the Portraitist, the Illusionist, and the Explorer categories. That round closes on 1 June, to be followed by the Architect, the Street Photographer, and the Illuminator categories, which are open to submissions from 2 June. The final round opens on 16 June and comprises categories the Speedster, the Landscapist, the Storyteller, and the Stylist.

All you have to do is upload your chosen images to EyeEm and tag them with the appropriate category in the Share screen. If you don't already have an EyeEm account, it's free to join.

The winners will be chosen by a jury of ten illuminaries from the photographic world, including Anna Dickson, the Huffington Post's Director of Photography, conflict photographer Benjamin Lowy, and Olivier Laurent, who edits TIME's Lightbox magazine. As well as being exhibited at Berlin's Holzmarkt as part of EyeEm's Photography Festival running 12-13 September, winning images will be showcased to the public in London, New York City, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, and Tokyo. And the talented entrant named as the EyeEm Photographer of the Year will win a round-trip to Berlin for two, to experience the Festival!

'We’re looking forward to celebrating this new generation of budding photographers, who are defining a new era, with the launch of our Global Photography Festival & Awards,' says Florian Meissner, co-founder and CEO of EyeEm. 'Photography has changed significantly in recent years and at EyeEm we see smartphone photography as a natural evolution of the art form. The creative excellence of our community is the center of EyeEm and the Global Photography Festival & Awards are our way of continuing to support and show the world this incredible talent.'

The EyeEm Photography Festival runs over the 12 and 13 September 2014. It aims to highlight the creative images being made with mobile phones, connect leaders from the photography, devices, and media industry with the next generation of photographers to discuss the state and future of photography, and lay on photowalks, masterclasses, and portfolio reviews for attendees.

All of the details on how to enter the competition and how to book your place at the Festival are available on the EyeEm website. See you there?

A surreally good competition winner

It's been a little while coming, we know, but Haje and I have finally settled on the winner and runner-up for our surreal-inspired photo competition. It was a very close call between the two, but we're delighted to announce that the spoils go to: Phantom Lake, by They call me Alex.

and The Grind, by Hooker771

What appealed to us about both these photos was that neither relies on extensive manipulation. They're in-camera surreal creations. And they look terrific, in particular because of their gorgeous use of colour.

Congratulations both Hooker771 and They call me Alex!

The Ilex Press has very kindly provided a copy of my newest book, Surreal Photography: Creating the Impossible, for the winner. I hope that you enjoy it!

As an aside, that was the last competition that we'll be running for the forseeable future. It was a great deal of fun to dream up themes and watch you complete the briefs with such enthusiasm, but we thought that we'd quit while we're ahead. Thank you to anyone who ever entered and to those who generously provided prizes, too.

A child's eye view of the world

Ask kids to take photos and you’ll get amazing results. That was the premise that Photobox and Childline worked on when they launched their Young Photographer of the Year award, and that was exactly what they got. The competition was pretty simple: entrants had to be under 18 and their photos had to show their view of the world. The results? Not so simple: the standard was so high that four prizes had to be increased to five. Take a look for yourself.

Winner of the Under 8s category was six year old Amelia Spain. She snapped My Sister’s Red Boots when she was lying in a pile of leaves, trying to photograph a mouse with her Mum’s camera!

My Sister's Red Boots, by Amelia Spain

The competition for the 9-12 category was so strong that the prize had to be split between 10 year old Daniel Adams and 11 year old Chris Pritchard. Daniel’s Butterfly was photographed in Muscat, Oman, whilst Chris took his shot of the Lemur Tree in Fuengirola Zoo.

Butterfly, by Daniel Adams

Lemur Tree, by Chris Pritchard

Heather Elisabeth Bailey’s superb Trapped came out of her going through a tough time, but wanting to make something positive and creative out of it. Can you believe she’s only 14?

Trapped, by Heather Elisabeth Bailey

Finally, Elisha Hook took the prize in the 16-18 year old category, with her surrealist-inspired photo, Shadow.

Shadow, by Elisha Hook

All five of them have won an overnight stay at one of the UK’s favourite tourist attractions, as well as a digital camera, and a stash of Photobox goodies!

To take a look at all of the entrants, head over to the competition website.

Viewbook PhotoStory 2010

Fancy seeing a series of your photos exhibited at a gallery in Amsterdam? How about having them published in a magazine and a book? I thought it sounded pretty cool, anyway. These are some of the prizes for the talented people who bag the Viewbook PhotoStory 2010 competition.

This is a competition with a bit of a difference, though, because you need to submit a series of photographs that weave a narrative. As the competition director, Alrik Swagerman said: ‘While a single image has a narrative in itself and can be strong in isolation, Viewbook PhotoStory’s focus is specifically on showing series of images, in a well-chosen sequence that triggers a reaction and combines a narrative with photographic excellence.’

Entries will be judged in two categories: documentary and conceptual. Although the overall competition winners will be selected by an international panel of judges, there is also a public vote and the winners of that get some goodies, too. You can submit your entries between now and 1 October 2010, when both public and jury voting commences.

So if you’re pro or amateur and fancy having a go, head over to the competition website. And don’t forget to look at our tips for winning competitions, either!