Contests Leica

“Leica Oskar Barnack Award” Competition for Professional Photographers & “Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award” Competition for Any Prospective Professional Photographer Aged 25 or Under: Submit Your Applications & Photographs Online before 15 April 2016

Leica invites professional photographers and up-and coming photographers under the age of 25 to enter the international photography competitions.

The photography competition will be won by the photographers whose keen sense of observation best demonstrate the relationship between man and the environment, with a series of minimum 10 and maximum 12 photographs. Photographers are asked to submit a self-contained series of images that document the interaction between man and the environment with acute vision and contemporary visual style – creatively and innovatively.

Just as in previous years, the “Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award” is addressed to all future professional photographers who are not older than 25 years.

The Leica M camera is one of the prizes.

The following video presents Craig Semetko: How to use a Leica M:

What makes the Leica M different from SLRS? Follow along with photographer Craig Semetko as he answers this question and explains how to use the Leica M, including techniques on focusing. For Craig, the benefits of the Leica M include its small, discreet nature and big, bright viewfinder that allows you to see more. Because of this, the Leica M demands more from the photographer. Watch this video and discover the capabilities of the Leica M.

The competition is not limited to photos taken with Leica cameras. The camera system used is not a criterion.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Award” competition is open to professional photographers only:

  • To take part, participants must send in a series of photographs taken in 2015/2016 or long-term projects containing at least one photo from 2015.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award” competition is open to any prospective professional photographer aged 25 or under at the time of entering:

  • To take part, participants must send in a series of photographs taken in 2015/2016 or long-term projects containing at least one photo from 2015.

Prizes

Submit your application now: this year’s winners share prizes to a total cash value of around 80,000 euros (89,912 USD at the current exchange rate):

  • The winner of the main category “Leica Oskar Barnack Award” receives a cash prize of 25,000 Euros (28,141.25 USD at the current exchange rate) and in addition a Leica M camera and lens worth 10,000 Euros (11,257 USD at the current exchange rate).
  • The winner in the category “Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award” receives a cash prize of 10,000 (11,257 USD at the current exchange rate) Euros and a Leica M camera and lens worth 10,000 Euros.
  • In addition to these two categories, ten finalists will be awarded each with a cash prize of 2,500 Euro (2814.88 USD at the current exchange rate) for their series. That means, for the first time, Leica will honor the twelve best photographers in the competition.
  • As last year, www.i-shot-it.com will award a third category in partnership with Leica Camera AG, namely the Leica Oskar Barnack Public Award. The award winner of this category will be determined via online voting on the platform for photo competitions, www.i-shot-it.com and will receive a cash prize of 2,500 Euros (2814.88 USD at the current exchange rate). A prize draw for non-cash prizes of Leica compact cameras will also be held for all those who participated in the vote.

Entry

Only one entry per photographer is accepted.

Jury

….the submitted photos have not been manipulated or altered other than standard image optimizations such as colour intensity or cropping….

….Granting of rights

(1) In the event that I reach the final round of the twelve best submissions, and in the event that I am awarded the “Leica Oskar Barnack Award/Newcomer Award”, I hereby authorize Leica Camera AG and third parties appointed by Leica Camera AG, unlimited as to time, territory and content, irrevocably and also royalty-free,

  • to use my photos for press, marketing and communication purposes in connection with the competition for the “Leica Oskar Barnack Award/Newcomer Award” and the exhibitions planned afterwards,
  • to use, display or project my photos in the context of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award/Newcomer Award (e.g. in Leica Galleries, Leica Stores, at photo festivals, etc.) and the exhibitions planned afterwards,
  • to create the projection and to subsequently show the projection in the context of the “Leica Oskar Barnack Award/Newcomer Award” and the exhibitions planned afterwards worldwide, either through Leica Camera AG or through third parties (e.g. in Leica Galleries, Leica Stores, at photo festivals, etc.), also on the Internet,
  • to publish my photos in a magazine(e.g. in the annual LFI “Leica Oskar Barnack Award Special Edition”), specifying the competition,
  • to produce my photos (in accordance with Leica Camera AG I may produce them myself) and curate them for an exhibition,
  • to display my photos, or to have them displayed, within the scope of exhibitions, specifying the competition,

Provided that, in each case, credit is given by stating either (i) my first and last name, or, if upon my explicit request, (ii) my pseudonym (artist’s name).

(2) Further, provided that I reach the final round of the twelve best submissions, I agree that the produced set of images (e.g. prints, edited photos) will pass to the ownership of Leica Camera AG and thereby become part of the historical Leica archive dedicated to the culture of photography. Leica Camera AG is not allowed to sell these photos.

(3) If and to the extent I have agreed to participate in the “Leica Oskar Barnack Public Award” Leica Camera AG is herewith authorized to forward my submitted photos (the digital picture files) to www.i-shot-it.com.

….Data Protection

(1) Leica Camera AG collects, processes, uses and stores the data stated by the participants upon submission of the photo series for the duration of the competition, for implementing and managing the competition. Neither Leica Camera AG nor any third party will use such data for any further purposes without express consent of the participants.

(2) The participants are free to delete their data until submission phase closes April 15th, 2016, by withdrawal on oskar-barnack-award@leica-camera.com, thus withdrawing from the participation in the competition.

(3) All personal data of the participants are processed and used by Leica Camera AG in compliance with the statutory regulations. Further information is provided in the Data Protection Regulations.

(4) If and to the extent I have agreed to participate in the “Leica Oskar Barnack Public Award” Leica Camera AG is entitled to forward my application details including my name and address for the purpose of processing the “Leica Oskar Barnack Public Award” competition to www.i-shot-it.com….

The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany are exclusively applicable….

Leica Camera AG may at any time change these Terms and Conditions of Participation without separate notification.

Please read the complete Rules and the Terms & Conditions of the above competitions at http://leica-oskar-barnack-preis.de/en/applying/contest-rules.html .

Good Luck! / Bonne chance!

PRESS RELEASE

21/01/2016

Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2016

The international photographic competition for professional photographers and up-and coming photographers under the age of 25, continues its rich tradition in its 36th year with numerous new features and significantly more attractive prizes for the winners. The winners of this year’s ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Awards’ will be honoured in the course of an official prize-giving ceremony that will be held in Germany again for the first time in many years. What is more, the cash value of the prize for the winner of the category ‘Newcomer Award’ has been doubled to a total of 10,000 euros and, for the first time, the work of ten further entrants will be honoured.

The invitation for entries for the ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ 2016 begins on 1 March 2016. Photographers interested in taking part can now submit their applications and photographic projects online until 15 April 2016. The terms and conditions of entry can be downloaded from www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com in time for the start of the competition.

With prizes amounting to a total cash value of 80,000 euros, the ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ is one of the segment’s most prestigious photographic competitions. The winner in the main category will be honoured with a cash prize of 25,000 euros and Leica M-System equipment (a camera and lens) valued at an additional 10,000 euros. This year, the prize money for the Newcomer Award has been doubled: the winner in this category will be honoured with a cash prize of 10,000 euros and will also be presented with a Leica rangefinder camera and lens. In addition to the main categories, a further ten photographers will be awarded cash prizes of 2,500 euros each and, for the first time this year. will thus also bear the honour of being among the twelve best photographers in the competition. The portfolios of all the finalists will be presented on the website www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com and published in a special issue of LFI Magazin.

A jury of prominent international experts determines the award winners in a selection process and pays particular attention to the photographers’ unerring powers of observation and how they show the relationship between man and the environment, expressed graphically in self-contained portfolios of up to twelve images.

The members of this year’s jury are: Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director Leica Galerien International (Salzburg), JH Engström, photographer and last year’s award winner (Karlstad, Sweden), Christine Ollier, Art Director Galerie Filles du Calvaire (Paris), Chris Boot, Executive Director, Aperture Foundation (New York) and Lorenza Bravetta, Director, Camera – Italian Centre for Photography (Turin).

The ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ will also see the presentation of a public award for a winner determined by online voting on the website www.i-shot-it.com, the online platform for photographic competitions. The winner in this category will receive a cash prize of 2,500 euros. A prize draw for non-cash prizes of Leica compact cameras will also be held for all those who participated in the vote.

About Leica Camera

Leica Camera AG is an internationally operating, premium-segment manufacturer of cameras and sport optics products. The legendary status of the Leica brand is founded on a long tradition of excellence in the construction of lenses. And today, in combination with innovative technologies, Leica products continue to guarantee better pictures in all situations in the worlds of visualisation and perception. Leica Camera AG has its headquarters in Wetzlar, in the state of Hesse in Germany, and a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal. The company operates branch offices in England, France, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, South Korea, Italy, Australia and the USA. New and innovative products have been the driving force behind the company’s positive development in recent years.