Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation announces 2024 Edition of Environmental Photography Award
Events
Press release
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, in partnership with SEK International University, is pleased to announce the 2024 edition of its Environmental Photography Award.
Global registration opens today, 5 September and goes through 5 November 2023 on the Environmental Photography Award website(for a two-month duration). Registration is free.
Photographers, whether professionals or amateurs, can submit up to 5 pictures in each of the 5 categories of the competition illustrating the different relationships that humans have with nature:
Polar Wonders
Ocean Worlds
Into the Forest
Humanity versus Nature
Change Makers: reasons for hope
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Environmental Photography Award was launched in 2021, in honour of the Foundation’s 15th anniversary. It is an annual contest that rewards photographers who use their creativity to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment.
For this 2024 edition, the presidency of the jury has been entrusted to Alex Mustard, British underwater photographer and marine biologist, who was already a member of the jury in 2023. After two years as a juror, Sergio Pitamitz, wildlife and conservation photographer and photographer for National Geographic Expeditions, and iLCP - International League of Conservation Photographers member, has been appointed Contest Chairman and will accompany the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation teams through the various key stages of the image selection process.
Olivier Wenden, Vice-Chairman and CEO of the Foundation talks about the success of this event, which for its 2023 edition registered almost 10,000 images from more than 2,300 photographers from all over the world: "The Environmental Photography Award is now a major event in the panorama of photo competitions dedicated to nature. 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's essential that the photos convey a strong message to the public and encourage them to take action".
The President of the 2024 jury, Alex Mustard, adds enthusiastically: “I am honoured to be chairing the jury this year and to be contributing to the development of this important competition. I discovered the Environmental Photography Award in 2022, loved its ethos and entered immediately. 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. A successful environmental photograph can act as a work of art and a militant slogan at the same time. In one glance the best images can touch the brain and the heart and make a measurable difference for our planet.”
Judges
A prestigious panel of 7 professional photographers will select the 5 category winners, and among them, the 2024 Environmental Photographer of the Year.
The judges will also present two honourable mentions per category and select the shortlisted images that will constitute the 2024 Environmental Photography Award, to be exhibited in a large-format exhibition in the Principality, toured abroad and published.
· Alex Mustard, President of the Jury - underwater photographer and marine biologist (United Kingdom).
· Javier Aznar - National Geographic contributor photographer focused on natural history and wildlife conservation (Spain).
· Jasper Doest - photographer specialising in conservation issues and wildlife (Netherlands).
· Esther Horvath - National Geographic contributor photographer, photographer for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, focusing on documenting climate research in the polar regions (Hungary).
· Britta Jaschinski - photojournalist specialising in crimes against nature (United Kingdom and Germany).
· Alexa Keefe – assistant managing editor at National Geographic magazine (United States).
· Steve Winter - photojournalist specialising in big cats and documentary filmmaker (United States).
Biographies of the jury members are available on the Environmental Photography Awards website.
Prizing
As in previous editions, the winners in each of the 5 categories will each receive a prize of €1,000.
The Grand Prize winner (namely the Environmental Photographer of the Year) will receive a total of €6,000, corresponding to the main prize of €5,000 and the prize in his or her category, as well as the privilege of travelling to Ecuador to visit the Amazon Research Station of the University of Ecuador, to do a photo documentary in the heart of the Ecuadorian jungle.
The Public Award (online vote open to all at the beginning of April) and Students’ Choice (granted by the Principality's high school students, in collaboration with the Department of National Education, Youth and Sport) will each receive €500.
The names of all the winners will be announced at the opening of the exhibition in Monaco in June 2024.
Touring exhibitions
Exhibited outdoors in large format, in the heart of Monaco, the photographs of the Environmental Photography Award help to convey the environmental values that are dear to the Sovereign and the Principality and raise public awareness of the major environmental issues.
In addition to its annual exhibitions in Monaco, the Environmental Photography Award has already made stops in Rome and San Marino in 2021, and Madrid and Washington in 2022. An exhibition has been on show at the GoodPlanet Foundation in Paris since April and will run until 17 December 2023.