Epoch Times Photo Comp Entries in, Judges Busy

'Great Wall in the Clouds' by Zhiping Zhang of the U.S.A. was last year's First Prize winner in the Epoch Times Photo Competition. (Zhiping Zhang)

NEW YORK—Entries closed for the 2009 Epoch Times International Photography Competition on April 30, and now the judges have a tough task ahead.

This year, 3,350 photographers submitted more than 12,300 entries. The photographers hail from 89 countries, making the second annual competition truly international.

Among the participants are some of the winners and highly-placed individuals from last year’s competition.

The competition seeks to revive the ideas and forms of traditional aesthetics, entries of work are expected to base on real events reflecting humanity, social conditions, and the natural environment, in a manner that express the spirit of justice, kindness and beauty.

The three categories for the 2009 competition are: News, and on-the-spot reports; Life in society; and Landscapes. Each category has one First Prize, two Second Prizes, four Third Prizes and ten Excellence Awards. First prize takes $2,000 USD, or its equivalent in photography equipment or travel services.

The jury has begun the preliminary selection process, and the names and entries of the finalists are expected to be published before the end of June.

Finalists will then need to provide high definition or original size files of their winning entries.

For information and to view last year’s winning entries, please visit the official 2009 Epoch Times International Photography Competition website.