Call For Entries: Photography Competitions from Around the Globe

We hope you've been honing your photography skills because now it's competition time! It's been almost a month that our first post on photography competitions was published and after seeing a great response from our readers, we now bring you the second edition. The chance to win great prizes aside, photography competitions provide a wonderful opportunity to test your photography skills and learn from the experience. The deadline for some of the competitions is fast approaching, so you better be quick about it! Get set, go!

1. I Heart Animals Photo Contest at ViewBug

ViewBug is a photo contest community that provides some really amazing photography contests. Utilizing the services of some well known photographers as judges (including Scott Kelby), it acts as a platform for photographers to get discovered. This particular contest invites photos showing human-animal bonding. 
Deadline: 21 April 
Entry Fee: Free for 1 photo entry ($8.99 for additional entries)
Winner Selection: Judged as well as Voted
Eligibility: Open for all
Prizes: Jury winner can choose between Canon 5D MKIII or Nikon D800; People's choice winner can choose between Canon 28-135mm lens or Nikon 55-300mm lens

2. Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Astrophotographers from around the world are invited to submit their astrophotography images in this competition presented by Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Categories: Earth and Space, Our Solar System, Deep Space, and Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Deadline: 24 April
Entry Fee: Free
Winner Selection: Judged
Eligibility: Open to all
Prize: Overall winner – the Astronomy Photographer of the Year – will receive £1500 (approx. $2485). Also, prizes in each category. 

3. Banff Mountain Photo Essay Competition

Presented by The Banff Centre, Canada, this competition invites photographers to submit photo essays to illustrate their mountain related stories whether they be culture, adventure, wildlife, sport, environment, or natural history. You can submit 2-5 images in each photo essay, telling your story. 
Deadline: 30 April
Entry Fee: $10 CDN
Winner Selection: Judged
Eligibility: Open to all
Prize: $3000 CDN (approx. $2726)

4. Photomicrography Competition – Nikon’s Small World

Presented by Nikon, the main theme of this annual competition is to capture beauty and complexity of life through photomicrography, i.e. photos captured through a light microscope. 
Categories: Still photographs as well as video
Deadline: 30 April
Entry Fee: Free
Winner Selection: Judged
Eligibility: Open to all
Prize: Grand prize – $3000 worth of Nikon equipment

5. Nactus Award 2013-14 – Reptile and Amphibian Photography

The Nactus Award is an annual herpetological photography competition that invites reptile and amphibian photographs from photographers around the world. The award is presented by Exo Terra that creates terrariums for reptiles and invertebrates. 
Categories: Amphibian portraits, Amphibians in their environment, Amphibian behavior, Reptile portraits, Reptiles in their environment, Reptile behavior, Endangered species, Scientific Record
Deadline: 30 April
Entry Fee: Free
Winner Selection: Judged as well as Voted
Eligibility: Open to all
Prize: Canon 5D MKIII and a Nactus Award statuette

6. Vienna International Photo Awards 2014 – Documentary Photography

With a mission to draw more attention to documentary photography, it focuses on a niche between press and art photography that is often lost sight of. In its second year now, VIPA invites photos that focus on documentary photo-reportages such as social, cultural, political, and environmental issues. 
Categories: Professional, Amateur, Smartphone
Deadline: 15 May
Entry Fee: €35
Winner Selection: Judged
Eligibility: Open to all
Prizes: Professional – €4000 (approx. $5535), Amateur – €3000 (approx. $4151), Smartphone – €2000 (approx. $2767)