Environmental Photographer of the Year 2023 competition is now open

EPOTY23 LAUNCHES, SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN

We are excited to announce the launch of the Environmental Photographer of the Year (EPOTY) competition for 2023, in collaboration with CIWEM, WaterBear, Nikon Europe, MPB, and supported by Arup. The competition is celebrating its 16th year and serves as a global platform for showcasing powerful environmental photography from around the world. The focus is on inspiring activism and change, and it invites both professional and amateur photographers to submit their thought-provoking photos capturing the essence of our changing planet. Entries are now open until August 30, and participants can win exciting prizes and gain international recognition.

A platform for environmental advocacy

The EPOTY competition aims to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues and inspire positive action through the art of photography. It encourages participants to capture the tenacity of humanity, showcase solutions, and highlight the urgency of addressing global challenges. By providing a platform for visual storytelling, the competition fosters a deeper understanding of the environmental crisis and its impact on our planet.

Exciting awards and categories

This year's competition offers two prestigious award titles and four award categories, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives and themes. The winners will be celebrated for their exceptional talent and dedication to environmental conservation. Here are the awards and categories:

Environmental Photographer of the Year

The overall winner will receive a £5,000 prize, an interview in CIWEM's Environment Magazine, visibility across WaterBear's social channels, and a feature on Nikon Europe's website.

Nikon's Young Environmental Photographer of the Year

This award recognises the best environmental photography from participants aged 21 and under. The winner will receive a Z Series Mirrorless camera and two NIKKOR Z lenses of their choice.

The winner of each competition category receives a £1,000 cash prize. The 4 categories are;

1. MPB Vision of the Future: This category seeks inspiring interpretations of our future environment, as seen through the photographer's lens.
2. Recovering Nature: This category aims to showcase photos that depict nature's ability to recover and innovative nature-based solutions that restore our ecosystems.
3. Keeping 1.5 Alive: Action-focused photography highlighting the urgency of curbing global warming will compete in this category.
4. Adapting for Tomorrow: This category recognizes photos that portray how communities and nature are finding ways to live with the effects of our changing environment.

In a commitment to accountability and transparency, the competition published an ethics statement and will again feature an ethics panel, comprising experts in journalism and photography. The panel will assist in selecting photos that uphold ethical standards regarding consent, permits, and the representation of people and wildlife.

The EPOTY competition is made possible through the collaboration of CIWEM, WaterBear, Nikon Europe, MPB, and the continued support of Arup. Each partner brings unique expertise and a shared dedication to environmental action, storytelling, and pushing for positive change.

To enter the competition and learn more about the submission guidelines, please visit www.epoty.org. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 30^th August.

About CIWEM

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) is a Royal Chartered independent professional body and a registered charity in the United Kingdom working internationally to advance the practice of water and environmental management. CIWEM represents a community of 30,000 professionals with a shared vision for a safe and sustainable world. For more information, visit www.ciwem.org.

About WaterBear

WaterBear Network is an award-winning digital media publisher and interactive streaming network dedicated to our planet. WaterBear encourages their community to switch from mindless scrolling and engage with entertaining films that cover a breadth of topics in the environmental and humanitarian space. Working alongside hundreds of planet partners, both brands & NGOs to produce original content that entertains people into action by making it effortlessly easy. It is all of us, and the planet, together. Enjoy the act of saving our planet and sign up for real change at www.waterbear.com.

About Nikon Europe