Channel 4 and Blipfoto sports photo competition

19 May 2011

Channel 4, Blipfoto and BT Paralympic World Cup launch a photography competition to find the most visceral, challenging and extreme sports photographers out there.

‘Momemtum' aims to uncover dark, hard-hitting action sports photos that challenge the perception of disability sports.  Entries do not need to illustrate disability and should instead convey human movement, action and physical exertion in a unique or ground-breaking way.

Winning finalists will have their entries presented to Channel 4's Paralympics team who are on the lookout for new photography talent to undertake photographic work as part of its continued disability sports coverage.  

To take part, entrants must set up a free Blipfoto journal, taken and uploaded to their journal between 18 May and 10 August, and up to three photographs and accompanying text can be submitted.

At the close of the competition, the Blipfoto community - including participants in the competition - will be given a week to nominate finalists.  The top ten images with the greatest nominations will then go before a final judging panel.  Three winners will be selected and awarded fabulous prizes from official prize partners, Olympus.

Winning photographs will be fed into the Blipfoto's BT Paralympic World Cup microsite, www.blipfoto.com/momentum, reaching wide audiences, adding colour and texture, and pushing the creative bar for the event to new levels.

Comments Joe Tree, CEO and founder of Blipfoto.com, "Anyone can enter this competition.  All you need to do is sign up to Blipfoto and get yourself along to sports games or events in your local area and start practising high energy action shots.

"This is such a great opportunity for someone with an out-of-the-box approach to photography to go from enthusiast to commissioned photographer, having their work seen by global audiences on the BT Paralympic World Cup website, and great prizes from Olympus and Blipfoto."

 Says, Stuart Cosgrove, Director of Creative Diversity, Channel 4, "We're looking for undiscovered photography talent.  Our coverage of the Paralympics is all about uncovering a whole new, challenging perspective to disability.

"Paralympians are incredible athletes who go above and beyond their disability to compete at the level they do.  We're looking for entrants of this competition to convey that grit, passion and unwavering determination in the entries they submit."

Blipfoto invites anyone to join a community of thousands who document and share their daily lives with others around the globe.  Started as the personal online photo journal of Edinburgh photographer and designer Joe Tree, Blipfoto.com has grown steadily - through word of mouth alone - into a worldwide phenomenon that connects people from all walks of life. 

The simple and addictive concept is based on uploading just one new photo - taken that very day - to your journal.  Some people do this every day and others as often as they can. Contributors are now spread across 160 countries, and the website receives more than 13 million page views per month from 160,000 visitors.

Blippers include photography enthusiasts, students, young mums, retirees, sea captains, chefs, foodies, birders, journal keepers, singers, authors, media correspondents, charity workers, politicians and creatives. 

For more information on the competition, see: www.blipfoto.com/momentum

New to Blipfoto? Take the tour and sign up: www.blipfoto.com/tour 

 

Note to Editors:

Contact Julie Gracie at Blipfoto.com: julie@blipfoto.com, 0131 467 7740 for more information.  Images from www.blipfoto.com can be provided in high resolution.

The judging panel includes: Deb Poulton, Channel 4; Alison Walsh Channel 4; James Ballardie; Channel 4; and Joe Tree, Blipfoto.

 

Prizes include:

The Channel 4 photography commission is based on the quality of submissions and is not a guaranteed outcome of the competition.

Winning photographs will be fed into the BT Paralympic World Cup website.

 

First prize

Olympus Pen E-P2 with 14-42mm lens and electronic viewfinder, and lifetime full membership to Blipfoto.com

 

Second prize

Olympus Pen E-PL2 with 14-42mm lens, and one year full membership to Blipfoto.com

 

Third prize

Olypmus Tough TG-810 and one year full membership to Blipfoto.com

 

‘Blipper' - a person that is part of the Blipfoto community