Potato Photo Contest

Free Photo Contest:

The IYP World Photography Contest, Focus on a global food, supports two key objectives of the International Year of the Potato: to increase awareness of the importance of potato as a food in developing nations, and to promote research and development of potato-based systems as a means of contributing to achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Copyright: By entering the International Year of the Potato 2008 World Photography Contest, Focus on a global food, the photographer gives permission to FAO to use the material submitted to the contest in eventual exhibitions resulting from the contest and in all promotional material relating to the International Year of the Potato. FAO hereby reserves the non-exclusive right to publish the entries of category winners and of short listed nominees in brochures or materials directly related to the International Year of the Potato 2008 for a period of no more than 12 months from the date of the announcement of the winners without any remuneration being due to the photographer.
Eligibility: All entrants must be over 18 years of age.
Entry deadline: 1 September 2008


The contest is an invitation to reflect on the potato's key role in agriculture, the economy and world food security, to offer new insights into potato biodiversity, cultivation, processing, trade, marketing and consumption, and to contribute to a free and international exchange of information on this globally important food crop.

The following is a brief outline of the photography contest. Be sure to print and read carefully the contest rules before submitting entries. Entries close on 1 September 2008.

1. Categories: Professional and amateur
The contest is divided into two categories: Professional photographers (people who make their living from photography) and Amateur photographers. All entrants must be over 18 years of age.

2. Entries: JPEG images
Photographs must be submitted as digital files in JPEG format. Each entrant may submit either a single JPEG image or a "photo story" of from 4 to 8 related JPEG images. Images must be 300 dpi resolution, and 20 cm x 30 cm. They may be taken with a digital camera, or may be scans in JPEG format of negatives, transparencies or prints.

3. Selection panel
The Selection Panel is composed of:

Chairman: NeBambi Lutaladio, IYP Coordinator
Manuel Antonio Alvarez Espinal - Permanent Representative of Peru to FAO
Lucy Conticello - Photo editor
Adrian Evans - Director, Panos Pictures
Steve McCurry - Photographer (Magnum Photos)
Andrea Sonnino – Senior Agricultural Research Officer, FAO
Maria Wood - Picture Editor, Time, Asia edition
Francesco Zizola - Photographer (Noorimages)
4. Prizes
Professional photographers category:

1st place - US$4 000 and a Nikon D300 kit (D300 body + AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR lens)
2nd place - US$2 000 and a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR lens
3rd place - US$1 000 and a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR lens
Amateur photographers category:

1st place - $US2 000 and a Nikon D60 kit (D60 body + AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR lens)
2nd place - $US1 000 and a Nikon D40 kit (D40 body + AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G II lens)
3rd place - $US 500 and a Nikon Coolpix S600 camera
5. Sponsors
The IYP World Photography Contest, Focus on a global food, is proud to be supported by Nikon Europe.

For further information: IYP-Photo@fao.org

free photo contest