GTMA’s 2020 Global Travel Photographer competition is open to professional and amateur photographers. Don’t be bashful about entering work, but you must be a current member of ASTW, BGTW or SATW in good standing.

NB. EXTENDED DEADLINE: Entries now close March 9th, 2020

Judging criteria

An independent panel of three highly qualified judges, one each from Australia, Great Britain and US-Canada, will select the winner.

To be eligible, entrants must submit a portfolio of five images that, together, capture the spirit of travel. Photos may include portraits, scenic landscapes, cultural icons, wildlife. They can portray intimate vignettes or details, or they may be sweeping panoramas.

Photos submitted must be essentially editorial in content. This means that these images are appropriate for a travel publication, book, or website.Portfolios containing one or more photos identified as having been taken in a studio, or perceived by the judges as having been shot primarily for a commercial purpose (such as an advertising campaign), will be disqualified.

All five photos in a single portfolio may have been captured at a single destination, but the winning portfolio will encourage wanderlust and exploration from a variety of perspectives. The individual photos need not come from far-flung, exotic places, as long as they inspire travel.

Photos will be judged with consideration given to subject, composition, lighting, perspective, storytelling, and other aspects that result in a unique, compelling, travel-oriented image.

Photography Rights

Submission of photos automatically allows the GTMA as well as ASTW, BGTW and SATW the right to display, exhibit and publish said images in non-profit society-related uses, including their respective websites. Otherwise, all rights remain with the photographer.

Contest Rules

  1. The entry fee is US$25 per portfolio of five images. Photographers can enter more than one portfolio, paying a separate entry fee for each one.
  2. All images must have been captured during the 2019 calendar year, between January 1 and December 31, 2019. Photos do not need to have been published in order to be submitted. Important: any portfolios containing a photo taken before or after these dates will be disqualified. Please be prepared to submit metadata that displays accurate capture dates and times, if requested.
  3. Entries must be received no later than March 9, 2020. Submissions received after this date will not be considered.
  4. Metadata identifying the photographer should be removed. Photos must be re-named using the requested file naming procedure. Portfolios containing photos not named correctly will be disqualified.
  5. Basic photo processing such as cropping, exposure, contrast, color balance and adjustment, saturation, sharpening and dust spotting is allowed. High Dynamic Range (HDR) techniques where two or more images are blended together realistically, as well as the stitching of two or more images into a panorama, are also acceptable.
  6. Images that are not allowed: altering photos by adding or removing objects, backgrounds, or skies; compositing by combining two or more photos with different elements such as a moon; adding colors or textures not in the original capture; and other major alterations that transform the image into something significantly different than the original capture. If requested, please be prepared to submit an original raw (unprocessed) file to identify what alterations have been performed, if any.
  7. The decision of the judges is final.
  8. Winners will be announced May 12, 2020.

File sizing and naming procedures

Please follow file sizing and naming procedures exactly to avoid having your photos disqualified.

JPEG files are the preferred format, and preferably at least 2000 pixels (on the long side) at 300 PPI. The file size should not exceed 5MB per photo (the entry system may reject larger files).

To preserve anonymity for entrants you will change the file name for each of your five photos. Begin the new file name with the last four numbers of your telephone number, followed by an underscore, followed by the four-letter name of your organization (ASTW, BGTW, SATW), followed by another underscore, followed by the letter “A” and the number of the photo in your entry (1 through 5).

Therefore, if your phone number ends in 3569, and you are a member of SATW, the file name for the first photo in your portfolio would be: 3569_SATW_A1.jpg. The second photo would be named 3569_SATW_A2.jpg, etc.

In the event you choose to submit a second portfolio of five images, the second portfolio would be classified as “B”. The first photo in the portfolio would be named 3569_SATW_B1.jpg, etc.

Prize

GTMA’s 2020 Global Travel Photographer will receive an exciting Arctic Cruise Adventure, sponsored by Abercrombie & Kent, the world’s leading luxury and adventure travel company. The 15-day trip for two departing July 31, 2020 sails aboard the luxurious, all-balcony ‘Le Boreal’ and will journey in search of the polar bear — from Oslo, Norway to the Svalbard Islands, and from the remote east coast of Greenland on to the West Fjords of Iceland — in the company of A&K’s award-winning Expedition Team.

Entries now closed