The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards are open!

Ooh we love to see kids and young people out with their cameras. We also like competitions to inspire and encourage them to take photos. So we're happy to see that the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards are now open for entries!

The RSPCA's Young Photographer Awards opened yesterday and they present photographers aged 18 or younger with heaps of opportunities to submit their work and be in with the chance of winning some great prizes, including an Olympus OM-D and a photoshoot at an RSPCA centre. Very importantly, the competition is free to enter and there's no nasty rights grab for submitted entries. (Although please don't take my word for this and check it out for yourself.)

There are three age categories: Under 12, 12 to 15, and 16 to 18; two themed categories (pet personalities and making life better); a portfolio award; and a People's Choice Award that will be selected from the pet personalities category. And the winners of these categories will be put forward for the Overall Winner prize, too.

Young photographers are eligible to enter five photos in their age category, five in the pet personalities and making life better categories, and they can submit three porfolios comprising five photos each. That's a lot of photos that they can submit!

Being a competition run by the RSPCA, the photos should be of animals, and they don't want photos depicting animals doing anything unnatural or being treated cruelly. There are also rules governing manipulation, submission, and residency.

The registration form is here and you'll find all the information pertaining to the competition on the website, including tips and advice from some pros. The closing date is 26 August 2013. Good luck!

August is a metallic month

Hello lovely people! If you haven't guessed from my Twitter stream, I'm utterly glued to the Olympics at the moment. Apart from it producing some fantastic photography, it's also par-for-the-course because as anyone who knows me will confirm, I'll watch, or listen to, just about any sport going and I've been known to participate a bit, too. I get very excited and jump up and down and scream and shout. And I'll admit that I can cry on occasion.

Anyway, all of that is my rather round-about preamble to announcing our tenuously Olympic-themed competition. Think of all those glorious gold, silver, and bronze medals made out of shiny, shiny metal. Mmm shiny! Yes, we're looking for metallic images throughout August. From antique jewellery to modern art installations that you don't quite understand, we'll take it all. It just has to be metal.

The glinting entry to catch our eyes will win a 12" Fracture.

Entries can be submitted to the Small Aperture Flickr pool from today (Friday 3 August) until Friday 31 August 2012. That gives you four weeks. But please remember that it's one entry per person, so pick your best.

I've had a couple queries about what we look for when we're selecting the winners. Both Haje and I have written on the subject of winning photography competitions, so you might want to look at those articles. It's probably also worth knowing that for both us, the story in your image is key. Haje's a stickler for good lighting, I'm hot on composition, and if Gareth joins the party he'll always comment on sharpness.

For reference, I shall reproduce the rules, but all that remains is for me to wish you good luck and tell you how much I'm looking forward to your entries!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Pixiq.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

If you've any questions, please just ask!

Get terrific with two-tone for July's competition

Green and red! (Picture by Haje)

Okey-dokey! It's July. We've been wracking our brains for a competition theme that'll get you thinking and taking photos. So after a bit of this and a bit of that, we decided that two-tone was the way to go. We want photos that feature two colours. Red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple... Any shades, any tints, but two hues. (And black and white don't count.)

The competition runs from today, Thursday 5 July, until Thursday 26 July. As ever, it's one entry per person, and the person whose image captivates us the most will win for her or himself a gorgeous 12 inch Fracture.

All your beautiful pictures need to be placed in the Small Aperture Flickr pool. I'm always happy to answer any questions, ping me an email (it's over there →) or leave a comment. Otherwise, good luck! (And justincase, The Rules have been reproduced for you.)

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Pixiq.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

If you've any questions, please just ask!

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Our September photo competition

So my lovelies. We’ve had a few creative themes for the past few competitions. They’ve been marvellous, but a change can be as good as a rest, so this month, we thought we’d go and do something technical. We are, therefore, looking for your low-key photos. Dark, brooding, moody, seductive. Whatever take on low-key you want to give us, that’ll be fabulous. The one that we like the best will win a fabulous 12″ Fracture.

You’ve from today – Wednesday 7 September – until Wednesday 28 September to submit your entry. As ever, it’s one submission per person, and they need to go in our Flickr pool.

If you’ve any questions at all, drop me a note. Otherwise The Rules are here for your reference, and good luck!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.

Our July photo competition

Hello All. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s photo competition day. For no other reason than we felt like it, this month’s theme is red. (Okay, so maybe me buying a brand new red dress had a little something to do with it, but only a tad.) Let your imaginations run riot with red. We can’t wait to see what you drop into the Flickr pool, and to choose a winner, who’ll get a gorgeous 12″ Fracture.

You’ve three weeks to submit a photo, so you have from today (Wednesday 6 July) until Wednesday 27 July. It’s only one photo per person, and they need to go in the Small Aperture Flickr pool.

If you’ve any questions, please be in touch. Otherwise, I’ve reproduced The Rules, just in case. Good luck and have fun!

The Rules

• If you decide to enter, you agree to The Rules.
• You can’t have written for Small Aperture or be related to either me or Haje to enter.
• One entry per person – so choose your best!
• Entries need to be submitted to the right place, which is the Small Aperture Flickr group.
• There’s a closing date for entries, so make sure you’ve submitted before then.
• You have to own the copyright to your entry and be at liberty to submit it to a competition. Using other people’s photos is most uncool.
• It probably goes without saying, but entries do need to be photographs. It’d be a bit of strange photo competition otherwise.
• Don’t do anything icky – you know, be obscene or defame someone or sell your granny to get the photo.
• We (that being me and Haje) get to choose the winner and we’ll do our best to do so within a week of the competition closing.
• You get to keep all the rights to your images. We just want to be able to show off the winners (and maybe some honourable mentions) here on Small Aperture.
• Entry is at your own risk. I can’t see us eating you or anything, but we can’t be responsible for anything that happens to you because you submit a photo to our competition.
• We are allowed to change The Rules, or even suspend or end the competition, if we want or need to. Obviously we’ll try not to, but just so that you know.