Amateur and professional photographers alike can now register for the annual Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Environmental Photography Awards. Here’s how.
The Prince Albert II Foundation has long been a champion of all things environmental, sponsoring more than 750 projects and offering grants in excess of €100 million over the years. One of its newer and most popular initiatives is the Environmental Photography Awards, to which registrations can now be submitted for the 2024 edition.
Launched in 2021 to mark the foundation’s 15th anniversary, the competition was created as a way of raising awareness through the universally recognisable visual medium of photography, celebrating the beauty of the Earth as well as highlighting the problems it faces. The most recent edition attracted 10,000 submissions from photographers the world over.
Now it’s back and photographers of all backgrounds, skill level and nationality have until 5th November to submit their work via the official website. Participation is entirely free of charge.
THE CONTEST
The Environmental Photography Awards rewards photographers for their creativity and skill in capturing moments in time under five specific categories. This time, the themes are: Polar Wonders; Ocean Worlds; Into the Forest; Humanity versus Nature; and Change Makers: Reason for Hope.
Participants can submit up to five pictures in each of the five categories and prizes include €1,000 for the winner of each category, with the Grand Prize winner receiving €6,000 and the chance to travel to Ecuador to visit the Amazon Research Station of the University of Ecuador in the capacity of a photo documentarian for a project in the heart of the jungle.
There is also a Public Favourite Award for the best photo as voted for online and a Students’ Choice Prize given by the Principality’s high schools in collaboration with the Department of National Education, Youth and Sport. Winners in these categories earn a €500 prize.
“The Environmental Photography Award is now a major event in the panorama of photo competitions dedicated to nature,” says Olivier Wenden, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Prince Albert II Foundation. “What makes it special is its holistic approach: celebrating the beauty of biodiversity while also bearing witness to the harmful effects of human activity on the environment and the hopes of those committed to making positive changes. It is essential that the photos convey a strong message to the public and encourage them to take action.”
SELECT JURY MEMBERS
For this edition, the jury presidency has been given to a British underwater photographer and marine biologist, Alex Mustard, who was a jurist for the 2023 competition.
“I discovered the Environmental Photography Award in 2022, loved its ethos and entered immediately,” says Mustard. “Still images are both powerful and accessible, popping into our lives in books, magazines, as prints or on screens. When it comes to the natural world, we know that people are more inclined to protect what they know and love, which is why we photographers have a vital role to play in informing the public, providing them with new knowledge, and sharing with them our emotions and unique experiences.”
Joining Mustard are Javier Aznar, Jasper Doest, Esther Horvath, Britta Jaschinski, Alxea Keefe and Steve Winter.
After two years as a juror, Sergio Pitamitz, a wildlife and conservation photographer and photographer for National Geographic Expeditions as well as an International League of Conservation Photographers member, has been appointed as the contest’s chairman and will be part of the Prince Albert II Foundation team as they go through the selection process.
Read about the winning image from the 2023 edition here:
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Featured photo of the 2023 winner of the “Into the Forest” category: Kallol Mukherjee, Falling Leaves are Blue, 2018, Himalayas, India