Calling All Amateur Photographers
Sigma, a manufacturer of photography lenses and accessories and Photographer’s Forum are announcing an open call to all amateur photographers to enter its 30^th Annual Spring Photography Contest.

This contest is open to individuals worldwide. There is no age limit but the contest is strictly for amateurs only. If you are a professional photographer, you may not enter.

Contest Details
The contest is open-themed and there are no specific categories for subject matter. Photographs that are submitted must indicate if they are being entered as a color or black and white entry.

Winning photos will be published in the November 2010 issue of Photographer’s Forum magazine. All contest finalists will be published in the hardcover edition of Best Photography 2010.

This is an entry fee of $3.95 USD per photo. There is no limit to the number of photos you may enter as long as each submission is covered by an entry fee. If you submit your photos by April 19, 2010 the entry fee is $3.95 USD. If you submit your photos after April 19, 2010 the entry fee is $4.95 USD per photo.

To submit your photos online, click here to register and upload your submissions. Online entries must have a long dimension of at least 1000 pixels and no larger than 3000 pixels. Save all work in JPG format at the highest quality setting. Requirements for color space are Adobe1998, sRGB or untagged color space. File size should not exceed 4MB.

To submit your photos or slides via standard mail, the sponsor states:

* Enter black & white or color prints or slides. Do not send disks.
* Prints must be unmounted 9×12 or smaller.
* Label every photo with your name and address, and indicate which edge is the top.
* Make checks payable to Photographer’s Forum.
* All entries MUST include payment, entry form, and photographs.

Prizes
According to the official details for this contest the awards are:

First Place Grand Prize
$2,000 cash award from Photographer’s Forum PLUS Sigma
24-70 mm lens

Second Place
$1,000 cash award from Photographer’s Forum PLUS Sigma
12-24 mm lens

Third Place
$500 cash award from Photographer’s Forum

Fourth Place
Five $100 awards

100 Honorable Mentions
All Honorable Mentions will be listed in the November 2010 issue of Photographer’s Forum magazine and will receive a gold embossed certificate of outstanding merit from Photographer’s Forum.

Other Information
For contest rules click here to download the PDF document. For the contest FAQs and additional guidelines click here. The contest deadline is May 17, 2010. Finalists will be notified by August 2, 2010. Winners will be notified by August 16, 2010.

Are you someone who is interested in fashion design? Then the Marie Claire Fashion Contest IED is a competition that may help you to get additional career training in this exciting design field.

The Contest
Illustrators are encouraged to render a fashion design creation that has the theme of “Ethnic Trends for Spring and Summer 2010″. The submitted design may be for women, men or unisex.

What to Submit
Each entry should have a project title and an accompanying description of what the project is about in 80-100 words.

Format for all submissions should be in JPG, 300 dpi resolution, and no more than 3MB in size. Acceptable media in generating the illustration can be in watercolor, acrylic, felt-tip pen or pencil (or a combination of the two). No collage, Photoshop images, or any computer generated artwork will be accepted.

Awards
According to the contest sponsors the awards will consist of various free courses held at the Barcelona, Spain workshop locations. In addition to the free courses, the first place winner will also receive free accommodations for the duration of the sessions. Those who do not take up their prizes will forfeit all rights.

1st place
100% grant for 2010 summer course on Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image* or Introduction to Fashion Design* (this grant also includes accommodation).

2nd place
100% grant for course on Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image* or Introduction to Fashion Design* (course only).

3rd place
50% grant for course on Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image* or Introduction to Fashion Design*

Dates for summer courses: from 5 July 2010 to 30 July 2010
.
*The choice of course will depend on the places available, and Istituto Europeo di Design management reserves the right to change or substitute the course if the minimum number of students is not reached. The course may not be exchanged for money; if winners do not attend the course, they lose the right to the prize.

*Illustration - Idea, Concept and Image: this course is given in English

Other Information
To send in your entry click here. The contest deadline is May 1, 2010. If you have further questions about the contest send an email to concursomarieclaire (at) bcn.ied.es