Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition and an Opportunity to Win £ 500

The Royal Society is delighted to announce their Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition for 2018. If you have an interesting image that conveys a particular scientific phenomenon, you can participate and win cash prizes. The Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition celebrates the power of photography to communicate science and the role great images play in making science accessible to a wide audience.  For the 2018 competition, photographs can be submitted to one of 5 categories:

[1] Astronomy: for images of astronomical bodies, or that demonstrate astronomical or astrophysical phenomena.

[2] Behaviour: for images that show the behaviour of living species.

[3] Earth Science and Climatology: for images of physical processes or features related to Earth, including its oceans and atmosphere.

[4] Ecology and Environmental Science: for images that demonstrate the interaction of species within the environment and the environment itself.

[5] Micro-imaging: for any images taken using microscopes and other high-magnification imaging devices.

The Photography Competition is open to scientists studying or working in science at the graduate level or above, and winning entries are chosen according to 2 key criteria: they should be aesthetically pleasing, and convey an interesting scientific phenomenon. The terms and conditions are:

 [1] No more than 20 entries per person are permitted, and each entry may only be submitted to one category.

[2] Photographs must not have been taken more than five years prior to the competition opening date of Tuesday 15 May 2018.

As for technical requirements, entries should be:

[3] No larger than 10MB and be at least 300dpi, and should be submitted as either JPEG or TIFF files with no watermarks, signatures or borders included.

[4] Any adjustments MUST be reported within the description and should not misrepresent the reality of nature.

[5] Entries must be accompanied by a description of the scientific phenomena shown, with information that could include, but is not limited to location, species, behaviour and scientific context.

 [6] Submissions that include computer manipulated and generated images, composite images, scientific illustrations, data visualizations and x-rays will not be considered. However, submissions to the micro-imaging category only can include micro-CT x-ray scans.

The overall winner receives a prize of £500 and winners of the categories not chosen as the overall winner receive £250. The final shortlist selected by the judges will be displayed in an online exhibition on the official website of The Royal Society.

The Royal Society origins lie in a 1660 ‘invisible college’ of natural philosophers and physicians. Today its UK’s national science academy and a Fellowship of some 1,600 of the world’s most eminent scientists. The Royal Society basic purpose is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.