ORGANIZED BY: This competition is organized by the Barlinek S.A.

The L’Esprit Photo Competition is an initiative which aims to capture in the photographer’s frame the delight and regard inspired by feminine beauty, interpreted in a thousand ways and coming from every corner of the world. Wishing to promote the very best of the contemporary photographers who capture that inestimable beauty, the L’Esprit Décoration brand is desirous of adopting the mantle of promoter for this unique event.

COMPETITION TERRITORY: international

ENTRY CLOSES: 31st December 2009

PRIZES: the overall winner receives Ford Focus car + exhibition, there are also rich prizes for other winners (Nikon/Canon kit, Notebook) (scroll down for details)

ENTRY TYPE: online upload

ELIGIBILITY: amateur, professional

ENTRY FEES: free

RESTRICTIONS and REQUIREMENTS

• Photo editing: No derivative work and, in particular, an alteration or adaptation of a different photograph. No photomontage. Post-production corrections that allow the Entry to be still recognized as a photography (colour or monochromatic) but not as a graphic artistic interpretation. Corrections and processing of RAW files is allowed in the scope regarded by the author as appropriate, however, the work must not lose its character of a photograph.
• Only work which had not been previously submitted to any other contest.
• Photo requirements: JPG format, “RGB” color space or in “Greyscale”; size between 800 px and 1600 px on the longer edge; shorter edge should be proportional to the longer one depending on the original composition of the submitted photograph. S
• Should Contest Entries be selected for the second stage of evaluation, you will be asked to submit image with minimum size of the longer edge 2500 px and the maximum one – 7000 px.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Contest Participant shall have the right to submit Contest Entries which are the expression of his/her individual creativity to which he/she has all copyrights or the Contest Entries which have been co-created by him/her and all copyrights to which are initially vested in the co-authors indicated by the Contest Participant in the procedure of registration to the Contest.

The Contest Entry which has more than one author can be sent to the Contest by only one co-author on his/her own behalf.

YOUR RIGHTS AS A PHOTOGRAPHER

• By submitting his/her application to the Contest each Contest Participant shall grant the Organizer a royalty free authorization to use the Contest Entry in the scope necessary to conduct the Contest, including, in particular, making digital copies of the Contest Entry by introducing it to the Contest Operation System and by making available the Contest Entry to the members of the Contest Committee for evaluation purposes. The Organizer shall have the right to grant further authorizations to other entities to use Contest Entries in the scope specified above.
• Each Contest Participant, the Contest Entry of whom has been classified as one of the Initially Selected Contest Entries (i.e. the Contest Entry placed on the ranking list published on the Contest Web Site) shall grant the Organizer a non-exclusive license to use the said Contest Entry for purposes of contest promotion, organization of an exhibition and of a post-contest publication, in the following fields of use: (a) recording and copying the work – making copies of the work by a specific technique, including printing, reprography, magnetic recording and digital technology; (b)sales of the original or copies on which the work has been recorded – distribution, lease or rental of the original or copies; (c) distribution of the work in a manner other than specified in point 2 – public performance, exhibition, projection, play back, broadcasting and re-broadcasting, as well as making the work publicly available so that everybody can have access to it wherever and whenever they choose.
• After submitting the Contest Entry to the Contest the Contest Participant shall not have the right, until the date of announcement of Contest results, to submit such Contest Entry to any other contest or to distribute it in any way.

THEME

The theme is “portraits and nude photographs of women“.

Maximum 5 images per entry.

JUDGES

• Wojciech Fibak

World-famous tennis player, businessman and art collector, owner of the contemporary art gallery, Galeria Fibak, his love affair with art began many years ago. He turned his attentions, in particular, to Polish artists, which has since borne fruit in the form of the world’s largest single collection of Polish paintings by artists of the L’École de Paris.

• Gosia Baczyńska

Graduate of Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Wrocałwiu (the Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts). A fashion designer, working from her own studio, her collections first hit the catwalk in 2000. Her creations have been modelled by such stars of the runway as Alek Wek, Liz Jagger, Helena Christensen. She was named Designer of the Year by ELLE in 2004 and 2005.

• Monika Brodka

Singer, winner of the third edition of “Idol”. Has released two solo albums: “Album” (2004), “Moje Piosenki” (2006). Awarded the prize “Eska Music Awards” in 2005 in the category “Newcomer of the Year”, winner of “Opolskie Premiery”, nominated for “Paszport Polityki” in the “Stage” category. Photographer by avocation. She graduated from the “Academy of Photography” in Warsaw. In 2008, during the Month of Photography in Krakow was an exhibition of her work entitled “Transformations”.

• Marek Straszewski

Considered one of the best Polish fashion photographers. Author of numerous fashion sessions and portraits for magazines Elle, Marie Claire, “Your Style”, “Beauty” and “Viva”. Considered a specialist in portraying the stars. Specializes in advertising photography, created campaigns for Dior, Toyota, Ferrero, Ariel. “Epica “ advertising photographers prize winner. Director of video clips for MTV and Fashion TV. Since 1997 runs his own photographic studio in Warsaw.

• Wacław Wantuch

A graduate of Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Krakowie (the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts), his mediums are graphics and art photography. He works predominantly in black and white and specialises in female nudes, chiefly creating startling images. He is the creative force behind the theatrical production, Kamień, światło, dźwięk (Stone, Light, Sound), and has published several photographic albums of female nudes and images of Krakow.

• Grzegorz Sroga

Marketing Director for Barlinek S.A., member of the International Advertising Association, holder of a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Management and Social Communication at Uniwersytet Jagielloński (the Jagellonian University), he is a promoter of innovation and new values. He has published numerous scholarly articles, as well as articles dealing with scholarly topics and aimed at a general readership. He is also a screenwriter and photographer.

• Bartek Podkowa

Architect, IT designer and photographer, graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Politechnika Krakowska (the Krakow University of Technology) and the University of Tennessee in the USA. He was the lead designer for Onet.pl between 1996-2001 and created that website’s logotype. Co-founder and Art Director of Webservice Internet. He has created countless advertising publications, in both printed and electronic form, for leading brands, using his own photographic ‘technique’.

JUDGING CRITERIA

• aesthetics
• originality

WINNING PHOTOGRAPHS

100 photographs will be selected to create an exhibition to be shown in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznań and Wrocław.

The goal of the exhibition is to promote the selected photographers and their work, encouraging a developing public interest in Polish art photography. It will also stand in contrast to the overwhelmingly trivialised portrayal of female beauty in the mass media. The selected photographs will also be immortalised in a special album.

Grand Prix: Ford Focus

1st place: Nikon D700 with Nikkor AF-S VR 24-120mm f/3,5-5,6G IF-ED kit _OR_ Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 24-105 f4 L kit

2nd place: Notebook Toshiba Satellite L300-1F9

3rd place: Sekonic L-758D DigitalMaster Light Meter

USEFUL LINKS

Read the official rules yourself!

Ready to enter? Register here!

Official website of the competition: http://www.lespritphoto.com

IMPORTANT NOTE

I cannot take any responsibility for changing of rules or mistypes in this article. This article has only an informative nature. For official rules always refer to the official website!

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