14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is offering photographers the chance of winning the $20,000 Grand Prize and an additional package of rewards via its Future Pro Photographers Photography Contest. Submissions are accepted from all over the world with the exception of residents of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and the Province of Quebec. In addition to the $20,000 Grand Prize, the Redmond company, together with the contest's sponsors are offering an Epson 3800 printer, a PPA 5 year membership, a NAPP 5 year membership, a Digital Railroad One year membership and the Microsoft Photography Workflow software package.
"The 3rd annual Microsoft Future Pro Photographers Photography Contest is the most lucrative contest of its kind and provides a unique opportunity for college and university student photographers from around the world to showcase their artistic talent and photographic style. Microsoft is committed to carrying the art of digital photography forward by encouraging new and emerging talent at the student level to learn, utilize, and implement state-of-the-art equipment, software, and techniques to produce the finest images possible," Jeff Greene, Program Manager with Microsoft's Rich Media Group explained.
Microsoft's invitation claims that the opportunity of a lifetime is but a single click away. Participants can submit a total of three photos per each category of the contest, namely Nature & Landscape, People & Portraits and Sports & Photojournalism. Each image has to respect the following requirements: maximum longest dimension - 1024 pixels; maximum file size - 2MB; file format - JPEG, and Color Space - sRGB. The deadline for submitting entries is on April 30, 2008.
"For student photographers, this is an opportunity to kick start your career as a future professional photographer. The exciting prize packages include a Grand Prize of US$20,000 cash and a digital Workflow prize package. There will also be three First Place winners in the following categories: Nature & Landscape; People & Portraits; and Sports & Photojournalism who will each win US$3000 cash and a digital Workflow prize package as well," Greene added.