© Joyce Choo

ONE is a pioneer convention uniting established professionals and aspiring photographers towards a singular goal : The perfection of the craft in medium and large sensor photography. ONE aims to be a powerful platform for existing professional to showcase their new personal works based on the “ONE” theme and for aspiring photographers to launch their careers through adapting industry practices and workflow systems.

ONE kicks off with a photography competition, calling for best photographic works worldwide. These works will be in line with the theme “ONE”, an acronym of “Our Need to Express”. Competition finalists will be mentored under a professional to refine their skills and compete for the top prize.

This convention will begin on 1st April 2010 with the launch of the competition and will culminate to a series of events in October 2010 with the opening of the exhibition.

Official website. Facebook.

Here are the contest details:
Portrait Open (Individual)
USD$ 10 per image up to 8 images
1st USD$ 2,500
2nd USD$ 1,250
3rd USD$ 700

Portrait Open (Stories)
USD $50 per entry minimum 5 images, up to 8, and a 250-word narrative to accompany
1st USD$ 2,500
2nd USD$ 1,250
3rd USD$ 700

All prizewinners will also receive the Analogue/Digital Man Trophy, a specially commissioned sculptor from British artist Matt Richards. Winners will also receive a 1 year’s subscription to ArtMalaysia magazine.

For the first time, all main prize winners will be invited to enroll in the KL Photoawards Professional Photographic Development Program.

The contest will be launched next week on Dec 1, online submissions begin on Mar 1 and ends on Mar 31. Finalists will be announced in April and prize winners in May. Check out the website for more details.

The FCCT is pleased to announce its Second Annual FCCT Photojournalism Awards, the premier photojournalism contest in Asia.

Who’s Eligible? Any pro or amateur photographer in Southeast Asia (defined as: Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei). Photographers do NOT need to be members of the FCCT.

What Kind of Photos? All photos must be taken in Southeast Asia. The FCCT will accept submissions in four categories:
* Spot news – for the best photos taken at news events in Asia
* Feature photography – for the best non-news “feature” photos taken in Asia
* Photo essay – for the best collection of up to 12 photos on a single topic taken in Asia.
* “Environmental” photography – for the best photos focusing on the environment, climate change or natural resources in Asia.
* In addition, the judges will select one Photo of the Year from all submissions to recognize the single most impressive photo of 2008. That photo will receive the year’s top prize.

What Can You Win?
Photo of the Year: A new Canon EOS SLR camera (with lens kit), a $1,000 cash prize sponsored by Toyota, and a voucher for a 2 night stay in a luxurious Anantara Pool Villa at the soon to be opened Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa on Mai Kao beach in Thailand.

First-place winners in each category: A new Canon CP 760 mobile printer, a $250 cash prize sponsored by Toyota, and valuable vouchers for free dining at The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.

Selected winners will also receive round-trip tickets for economy-class air travel in Asia, courtesy of Star Alliance, the global airline network whose members include Thai Airways and other international carriers.

In addition, all winners will be recognized in a special edition of FCCT’s quarterly magazine, Dateline, published to profile their work. Also, FCCT will sponsor a two month-long exhibition of the prize-winning photos — printed by Canon — at its gallery in Bangkok, including a special Friday-night reception on in early December attended by local photographers and media. Additional prizes may be added later as sponsors sign on to the event.

What’s the Deadline? Photos must be submitted to FCCT by Oct. 1, 2008. Winners will be announced in late 2008.

Submission Specifications: Photos must be submitted on compact disc or DVD and should be 3 MB or greater in size. Submissions can be published or unpublished work taken over the last year. Photographers MUST provide their name, a brief biography and full contact information (including phone and email address) or submissions will not be considered. Photo submissions should be sent to the FCCT at:

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand
Penthouse, Maneeya Center
518/5 Ploenchit Road, Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330 Thailand

For more information, contact the FCCT at +66 (0)2 652 0580/1 or info@fccthai.com

FCCT and Canon will retain the right to reproduce any photos submitted for the contest in the FCCT gallery, in Dateline magazine, and in other promotional work related to the contest. Prints of the winning photos will be produced by Canon and may be used by FCCT and Canon — with attribution to the photographer — for up to one year following the contest.

The 8th annual Ueno Hikoma Awards, a photography contest organized by the Kyushu Sangyo University aims to discover and nurture young photographers. This year, it saw 1758 works in the adults section and 2309 entries in the high school/junior high school section. [via TAB]

The winning works can be found here. Fantastic stuff.

From their site:
The festival brings together well-known and passionate photographers from across the world in a spirit of creativity and sharing. It showcases exhibitions and outdoor projections about Asia by renowned artists and photojournalists, while differentiating itself from other events with its strong educational goals.

Outreach programs for street children, landmine victims and HIV-positive women will be held alongside free workshops for young Asian photographers. Gary Knight from VII will be heading an assignment-based workshop. There is also a commercial workshop led by Vincent Soyez and Laurent Zylberman. Lastly, there is the photography contest on Flickr.

It looks set to be an exciting festival once again. The list of participants contains illustrious names from all over the world. It would definitely be a great experience to meet some of them. I missed the festival last year when I was in Cambodia and it looks like I would be missing it again this year due to school. I would have enjoyed doing a reportage on the event!

The competition is based on the following themes/submission schedules:

1. Faster – Oct 1 to Oct 22
2. Higher – Oct 22 to Nov 12
3. Stronger – Nov 12 to Dec 3
4. China – Dec 3 to Dec 31

Winners from each theme stated above will win a package for two to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, inclusive of airfare and USD$5,000. The four winners will then compete for the Grand Prize of US$3,000 with pictures taken during the Games. Four people’s choice/consolation prizes worth US$500 will be awarded too.

The prizes are attractive and the chance to attend the Games is an opportunity of a lifetime. However, you would need to be a Visa cardholder to participate in the competition. It would still be fun to give it a go though.

Thanks to Ernest, who happens to be one of the judges, for sending the link.

© Johny Kok – Pool

Apologies for not digging deeper but the results for Malaysia@50 were actually released 2 weeks ago. Read the press article.

The Malaysian landscape teems with life waiting to be captured by that intuitive camera held by both young and old. The shutterbugs wandered through the neighbourhoods they grew up in and villages tucked out of sight from the busy highways. They scoured the brightly lit roads of major coastal towns and the idyllic countryside.

© Lee Yun Ni

A 300-page book has been published with the winning entries. A catalogue has also been produced with writings by Khairul Harzin Hashim, Li Hsian, Khadijah Khalid, Dillion Daniel, Azrul K. Abdullah, Nikt Wong and Sherman Ong. Both the catalogue and hardcover coffeetable book will be available from Aug 16 at The National Art Gallery Malaysia.