About

   This contest is a visionary project which gives everyone an opportunity to express and capture both the Human’s INNER and OUTER WORLD by means of photography. It is meant to encompass every aspect, event or thing which comprises the world we live in, starting from urban landscapes to some nooks that have yet been captured only by camera, not by civilization. 

   The human craving for self-expression in Art by reflecting the surrounding world and one’s place in it dates back to prehistoric times. Photography is a contemporary form of rock painting. And the contest is a metaphoric rock upon which you can reflect the Human and their place in the World. Make it happen, post your message!!!!

   In the contest, professionals (those who profit from photography) participate on a par with amateurs. The participation is free of charge. Pictures sent to the project are preselected to take part in the contest. To qualify for the contest they must possess a distinct artistic merit and convey a humanitarian message. The project particularly welcomes those pictures that reveal the role of the Human in the modern world in the most comprehensive way. The organizers may, without stating their reasons, decline pictures which do not meet this criterion.       

Participating in the project, you can showcase your photos and rate those sent by other contestants. Ratings will be used as a reference by a panel of judges to choose the winner. There are two categories in the project: Professionals and Amateurs. You may download up to 16 photos every month (these photos may be put in different nominations, e.g. 4 photos in 4 nominations or 16 photos in 1 nomination, etc.). You can let everyone download your photos or put them up for online-sale. At the year-end three best photographers will be awarded as follows:

The goal of the project is to create a community of people involved in photography and provide a virtual space for art and self-expression.  

   The contest is held from July, 2008 till July, 2009. Winners of intermediate rounds (leaders in nominations) are selected by distant vote of the jury on a monthly basis.

Awards of the “World Photo 2008”Contest  

   There will be awarded three prizes to the three best photographers of the contest:  

1 prize – 300,000 rubles, the Title of “The World Photographer 2008”, participation as a judge in the “World Photo 2009” contest, a personal interactive show in CTiR “Mir”.

This title and award will be given to a photographer who submits most original, emotional pictures that precisely fit the philosophy of the contest,  and have been specially marked by the judges. 

2 prize – 200,000 rubles the Title of “The World Amateur Photographer 2008”, participation as a judge in the “World Photo 2009” contest, a personal interactive show in CTiR “Mir”.

This title and award is given to a photographer who submits most original, emotional pictures that precisely fit the philosophy of the contest, and have been specially marked by the judges. 

3 prize – 100,000 rubles, the Title of “Audience Choice Award of World Photo 2008” participation as a judge in the “World Photo 2009” contest, a personal interactive show in CTiR “Mir”.

   Professionals, who become winners in every nomination, will receive:

Winner’s Certificate, the Title of the “World Photographer 2008 in nomination”, a personal interactive show in CTiR “Mir”. 

   Amateurs, who become winners in every nomination, will receive:

Winner’s Certificate, the Title of the “World Amateur Photographer 2008 in nomination”, a personal interactive show in CTiR “Mir”.

1. The World of People. (Portraits of any kind of a person or a group of people. Joyful people and sad people. Emotional people and apathetic people. Any kind of people).
2. The World of Families. Children. (Photos that reveal one of the most important values in the world: the family of a person, relatives, parents and kids, their interrelations. It refers to any photo you can describe as “This is my family”.).
3. World of My City. Architecture. (Photos of places to live, life environment, ways of life; photos of cities and towns; photos of houses, streets, and everything you can describe as “This is where I live.”).
4. The World of Living Beings. (Pictures of any living being populating the planet and surrounding the Human, including pictures revealing the interaction between the Human and the world of animals).
5. The World of Events. Reportage. (Pictures of events that influence the life of people in the world. Interaction between people. Photojournalism).
6. The WorldofNature. Landscapes. (Nature, natural phenomena, outside world surrounding the Human).
7. The WorldofTravel. (Photos made in journeys, trips, etc. reflecting encounters with the world of the unknown that break the routine and usual patterns of behavior.).
8. The World of Things. Food. Still-life. (Photos of things that surround the Human. Things made bythe Human. Things asembodiments of the Human thought.).
9. The WorldofLovers. Weddings. Celebrations. (Fine art pictures of happy moments in lives of people. Photos that tell about the joy of life.)
10. The World of Erotic Art. (Pictures of a beautiful human body. Fine art photos portraying sensual aspect of love.).
11. The WorldofSport. (Pictures of sport events, training sessions; photos of Humans competing with each other and achieving results; photos conveying the feeling of triumph and defeat, the art to win and lose).
    
12. The World of Communication (Photos that portray one of the most important aspects of life, that is communication, respective emotions, things that are necessary to make it happen).
13. The World of Culture, Art, Fashion and Advertising. (Photos of cultural events, art or fashion shows. Ads and still photos.).
14. The World of Computer Art. (Photo collage. Abstraction. Computer graphics and photo processing).
15. The Underwater World. (Pictures of life underwater, pictures revealing contacts of the Human with this world).
16. The World of Macro. (Inner and outer world of a human in macro)
17. The Beautiful World – photos that do not fit in any other category but which, to your mind, are still worth a prize or recognition.

1. The artistic merit and technical level of Photos are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, where

1 is very bad
2 is bad
3 is tame
4 is good
5 is excellent.

2. These two ratings are summed up to produce a 10-scale rating of a photo:

e.g. 5 for the artistic merit + 4 for the technical level=9 (total rating).

3. Every photo receives 4 different average ratings from:

- guests: e.g. (10+10+8+10)/4=9.5

- registered contestants-amateurs: e.g. (10+9+8)/3=9

- registered contestants-professionals: e.g. (10+9+8+10)/4=9.25

- judges of the contest: e.g. (6+7+8+4+10)/5=7

The total rating of a photo is a mean of the average ratings of these four groups of website users:

E.g.: (9.5(guests) + 9(contestants-amateurs) + 9.25(contestants-professionals) + 7(judges))/4=8.69 (the total rating).

4. The rating of an author is a mean of total ratings of photos he/she has posted:

E.g. The rating of an author who has posted 5 photos: (6.5+7+8+4+10)/5=7.1

5. There are categories of amateurs based on their rating which are as follows:

the rating of 0-5 – a beginner

the rating of 5.1-7 – an intermediate

the rating of 7.1-8 – an upper intermediate

the rating of 8.1-9 – an advanced

the rating of 9.1-10 - a master

The status of an amateur will change automatically in relation to the ratings he/she receives from the jury, guests or other contestants. An author will continue to be a beginner until his/her photo is rated by all the four groups of users (the jury, gusts, contestants-amateurs, contestants-professionals).

6. The status of a professional shall not change regardless of ratings. You can register as a professional only if you do photography professionally and profit from it. The organizers shall reserve a right to change the status of a user from “Professional” to “Amateur” at its sole discretion, including cases specified in this paragraph.