(Images © Copyright Global Canopy Programme / Katherine Secoy taken in the Danum Valley Indonesia)

(I am late in posting about this. Apologies all!)

Deadline for amateur submissions extended to 28 February 2009

Budding amateur environmental photographers now have until 28 February 2009 to submit their work to The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP) Award, a major new initiative for the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards.

Joining together the need to better understand the importance of the rainforests to the global climate and to increase awareness of The Prince’s Rainforests Project, the award seeks images which capture the essence of what the rainforest means to the photographer.

A selection of the best images by amateur photographers will be displayed in Cannes during the Sony World Photography Awards in April 2009, and these images will be used by The Prince’s Rainforests Project and Sony on various initiatives throughout the year to help communicate this important message.

Photographic entries are judged by a panel of experts including: Stuart Franklin, photographer and President of Magnum (UK); John Sauven, Director of Greenpeace (UK); Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, Executive Director, International League of Conservation Photographers (USA); Helena Christensen, model and photographer (Denmark); Roberto Smeraldi, Director and Founder of Friends of the Earth – Brazilian Amazonia (Brazil); David de Rothschild, environmentalist and explorer (UK), and Kathy Moran¸ Senior Picture Editor of Natural History at Natural Geographic Magazine (USA).

This distinctive panel will be chaired by renowned British photographer and author, Tom Stoddart.

In his appeal for entries to the awards judge David de Rothschild commented “Creative expression through photography is a very powerful tool. It not only has the ability to present the facts and tell stories, but it has the capacity to give insights that can turn reflection into change. The Sony/PRP Awards are an ideal platform to harness creativity to implement change and in turn inspire, educate and engage individuals, communities and industry to take positive action for our planet.”

Fellow judge Roberto Smeraldi added “While we usually quote figures and studies to show how critical the forest is for our lives, it is crucial that we actually also show the link between the forest, the people and everyday’s life. Prince Charles’ initiative offers to us, in Brazil, a unique opportunity to demonstrate why action is dramatically required and why we have an amazing comparative advantage in this field.”

Environmental responsibility has been a significant pat of the Sony ethos for many years and the partnership between the Sony World Photography Awards and The Prince’s Rainforests Project is part of Sony’s eco programme of initiatives and programmes.

Emily Young, General Manager, Environmental Communications at Sony Europe explains “This partnership is all about using photography to raise awareness about the importance of climate change. Photography is the perfect way to communicate the fundamental beauty of our environment, and the importance of preserving it for future generations. We are very excited about the outcome of these awards and in aiding the category winner to document some of the major deforestation areas in the world, and to communicate its impact on overall climate change.”

The amateur photographers selected to have their work exhibited in Cannes will be informed in March 2009.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Events & Exhibitions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.