2011 Insight Guides / Independent on Sunday Travel Photography Competition

This year's winner will also receive an Olympus PEN E-PL2 camera (RRP £530) – a favourite with those who want SLR quality results without the bulk of a traditional camera. Winners of the second, third and under-18s prizes will receive Olympus cameras. Total value of all four prizes is £1,530.

The award ceremony will take place later this year at Stanfords travel bookshop, London. Afterwards adult prizewinners and a friend will be invited to London's newly opened Corinthia Hotel, where they will enjoy celebration dinner at the Northall, the hotel's modern British restaurant, followed by an overnight stay and breakfast the next morning. The Corinthia occupies a grand 19th-century building overlooking the Thames in Whitehall. It was formerly London's landmark Metropole, and is located just minutes from Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. For more information go to: corinthia.com/ london. The winner of the under-18s category will be presented with their prize on a separate occasion.

The Independent on Sunday's Picture Editor, Sophie Batterbury, is keen to stress that entrants do not necessarily have to travel to enter: winning photos can come from their own backyard. Sophie and the judges will be looking for outstanding, top-quality images that capture the essence of chosen destinations.

This year's other judges are: Steven Lawrence, picture editor, Insight; Peter Noble, a former trustee of the Royal Photographic Society; and the high-profile photographer Kevin Cummins.

Entrants must submit three colour images, either digitally or in print. 

How to enter

All entrants must provide three different colour photographs that have not been previously entered in any other photography competition. Entries can be emailed to: photocontest@ insightguides.co.uk as high resolution Jpegs to a minimum of 3MB at 300DPI and a maximum of 15MB at 300DPI, emailed individually or as a group of three.

Alternatively, you can send your prints, no bigger than 10x8 inches (25.4cm x 20.3cm) to: Photography Prize at APA Publications, 58 Borough High Street, London SE1 1XF.

Note that entries cannot be returned and all must be clearly labelled with the entrant's name, address, email address, giving a location for each image taken. Under-18s entrants must mark each image "under-18s". All entries must be received by 16 September 2011.

The prizes

First prize: A commission worth £3,000 from Insight Guides plus an Olympus E-PL2 (RRP £530).

Second prize: Olympus XZ-1 (RRP £400) a high-quality, fully adjustable yet portable camera.

Third and under-18s prize: Olympus SZ-30MR (RRP £300) with a 24x zoom in an ultra compact body plus full HD movies and stills. Adult winners and a companion will be treated to dinner and an overnight stay plus breakfast at the new Corinthia hotel, London.

Entry and eligibility:

a) The competition is open to amateur and professional photographers alike apart from employees of the joint promoters, APA Publications and IPL, their agents or members of their families. b) By entering, competition entrants agree to these terms and conditions: i) all photographs submitted must have been taken since 1 January 2011; ii) all entries must be received by 16 September 2011; iii) all entries must be sent to Photography Prize, APA Publications, 58 Borough High Street, London SE1 1XF or emailed to photocontest@insightguides.co.uk ; iv) postal entries must bear the correct postage. They are invalid if they arrive any later than the closing date, emails must arrive by midnight on the closing date; v) proof of posting or emailing will not constitute proof of delivery and no responsibility will be accepted for lost, damaged, illegible, delayed or mislaid entries; vi) each entrant should submit three different images; the prints must be colour, size 10x8 inches maximum (25.4x20.3cm), emailed images must be colour, high resolution jpegs of a minimum 3MB at 300dpi and a maximum of 15MB at 300dpi. Only unmanipulated prints and images will be accepted. Each print or digital entry must be clearly labelled with the entrant’s name, address, phone number and email address, and each entry for the under-18 category must be clearly labelled “under-18s”; vii) images submitted should not be entered for any other photography competition before the final placings have been announced; viii) prints submitted for the competition will not be returned, so no original prints or irreplaceable images should be sent in: the promoters of the competition accept no liability whatsoever for loss or damage; ix) entrants must own the copyright in all entries and by entering this competition entrants warrant that their entries do not infringe the rights of any third party; x) no purchase is necessary; xi) IPL’s competition rules apply, see independent.co.uk/legal.

Use of materials:

a) All entries, however submitted, shall become the property of IPL and will not be returned. By entering this competition entrants agree that should they win or be a runner-up they are deemed to have agreed to grant to IPL and the Publisher (APA Publications) a non-exclusive licence to publish the winning entries online and in print and to syndicate the work; b) For the avoidance of doubt, entrants agree that the Publisher and IPL shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exhibit and reproduce, and authorise others to reproduce, the winning entries for all publicity and promotional purposes connected to the competition, including exhibitions and calendars; c) The Publisher and IPL shall try to ensure that all material used is credited with the entrant’s name.

Adjudication:

a) The winner will be chosen by the panel of judges led by Peter Noble, Trustee of The Royal Photographic Society; b) The prizewinners will be notified by post, email or telephone after the closing date, not later than 10 October 2011. The Publisher and IPL reserve the right to publish the names of the winners; c) The final placings will be announced in The Independent on Sunday’s travel section. The adult prizes will be presented at an event held on 25 October 2011 at Stanfords bookshop in London, the under-18s prize will be presented at a date and location to be confirmed;

d) No correspondence will be entered into. No purchase is necessary. No cash or other alternative to the prizes will be available. The prize does not include any travel costs incurred in attending the award ceremony. The decision of the judges shall be final. IPL’s competition rules apply, see independent.co.uk/legal. The publisher of the Insight Guides is APA Publications UK Ltd, 58 Borough High Street, London SE1 1XL.