The Kennel Club Dog Photographer of the Year, which attracts international coverage and is viewed by tens of thousands of people from around the world, is now open and free to enter...
The organisers waived the entry fee in 2012 to encourage more people to enter. As a result, the competition saw almost 5,000 entries last year, more than double the previous year. Hoping to build on the success of 2012, the competition is again free to enter and the only criteria are that the images are of good quality and in high resolution.
Pictured above is the 2012 winning image taken by Catherine Laurenson.
Kennel Club Picture Librarian Heidi Hudson, who organises the competition, said: “Each year the quality of the images we receive really surprises us and they are getting better and better as the competition goes on. I always look forward to seeing the skill that is out there as the dog makes such an interesting subject and every image is unique.”
The Kennel Club launched the Dog Photographer of the Year competition at Crufts in March, with award-winning artist Jo Longhurst announced as this year’s guest judge.
London-based Royal College of Art graduate, Jo recently won the prestigious Grange Prize for Contemporary Photography at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and is well known for her work photographing Whippets.
Jo follows in the footsteps of acclaimed photographers Tim Flach and Martin Usborne as a judge of the popular international competition which is open to both professional and amateur photographers. There are six categories in the competition: Man’s Best Friend, Dog Portrait, Puppies, Dogs at Work, Dogs at Play and, solely for under 16’s, I Love Dogs Because.
The overall winning photo will be published on the front of the Kennel Club’s monthly publication, the Kennel Gazette, the UK’s oldest dog magazine, and all images will be on display at the Discover Dogs event which takes place at Earl’s Court, London on November 9-10.
The winner of the 16 and under category will have their winning image painted by artist Sarah Abbott.
For more information, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/dogphotocompetition
