The international grand prize went to Jung Hyun Kim of South Korea.

First Prize went to Stewart Carlson of Seattle, WA.

Second prize was awarded to Mike Journeay of Houston, TX.

And third prize went to Kerry Koen of Boca Raton, FL.

You can see the winning photographs and read about the photographers in the February issue of Costco Connections.  And don’t forget the honorable mentions.

1) New York Institute of Photography home study photography course.  Enter some basic information to be eligible to win one of three home photography course.  You can pick from 1) The Complete Course in Professional Photography 2) NYIP’s Short Course on the Fundamentals of Digital Photography or 3) The Complete Course in Digital Photography: Photoshop for Photographers. Enter here.  Hurry contest ends on 10-6-2011.

2) Win A Sigma 18-250mm Lens.  Another quick entry of the basics will sign you up for a chance to win a 18-250mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM lens from Sigma.  Enter here.  This one ends on 10-23-11 so you have a little more time, but why delay?

To help raise awareness and inspire continued protection of the mountain the Desert Foothills land Trust is sponsoring 2011 Black Mountain Photo Contest.

You have until October 24, 2011 to submit your photographs of Black Mountain.  A panel of judges will pick the best images based on technical and artistic merit. Winning entries will be those whose overall impact best captures Black Mountain as a natural resource to be protected and preserved.  The winning entries will make up the 2012 Black Mountain calendar.

Grand Prize: Galápagos expedition for the winner and one (1) guest, a $1,000 B&H gift card, one (1) Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens, one (1) iPad®, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPad® of winner’s choice.

Professional Prize (Birds Category): Caravan tour for the winner and one (1) guest from Caravan Tours, Inc., $250 from Three Hoots Wines, one (1) iPod® Touch, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPod® Touch of winner’s choice.

Amateur Prize (Birds Category): Five (5) nights’ accommodations at The Lodge at Pico Bonito, Honduras, in an air-conditioned Superior Cabin for winner and one (1) guest including meals, a guided rainforest hike along Loop Trail, and ground transportation between La Ceiba Airport and The Lodge, $250 from Three Hoots Wines, one (1) iPod® Touch, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPod® Touch of winner’s choice.

Youth Prize (Birds Category):  iPod® Touch, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPod® Touch of winner’s choice.

Professional Prize (Birds in their Habitat Category): 5-night Inkaterra trip for winner and one (1) guest, $250 from Three Hoots Wines, one (1) iPod® Touch, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPod® Touch of winner’s choice.

Amateur Prize (Birds in their Habitat Category):  6-night trip to Belize for winner and one (1) guest, $250 from Three Hoots Wines, one (1) iPod® Touch, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPod® Touch of winner’s choice.

Youth Prize (Birds in their Habitat Category):  iPod® Touch, and five (5) Audubon Guides apps for the iPod® Touch of winner’s choice.

"The Fifties Night" by Frank Meyl

I had not heard of the International Photography Awards before and have apparently been missing out.  The mission statement of the IPA states that their purpose is

To salute the achievements of the world’s finest photographers, to discover new and emerging talent, and to promote the appreciation of photography.

The award’s eight categories cover a range of photography subjects from advertising to nature to architecture.  They also have separate awards for professional and amateur photographers.  The winners for the 2011 awards were recently announced and the winning photographs are, of course, spectacular.  Be sure to check out the full range of International Photography Award winners including Frank Meyl and his winning photograph in the Professional, Self-Promotion category, ” The Fifties Night”, shown here.

Each category of the contest represented an element of the film to be produced based on the photographs.  There was setting, time, character, mood, relationship, goal, obstacle, and the unknown.  If you look at all the winning photographs as a group you can almost see a commonality between them that could be woven into the story of this short film.

Each of the winning photographs are fantastic and well deserved winners.  But these three are my favorites.

City Lights © Michael L'Heureux

Where One Day Ends, One Day Begins © Kelly Shipp

The Final View © Walter Arnold

You can learn more about Project Imagin8ion and see all the winning photographs on the Imagin8ion YouTube Channel.

The California Coastal Commission, the California Thank You Ocean campaign, and Fairmont Hotels of California are sponsoring the 13th annual California Ocean and Coastal Amateur Photography Contest.  The contest is designed to showcase the importance of the coast and ocean in California. The contest is open to all amateur photographers.  The subject of photo entries should be in one of the following areas:

• The scenic coast and Pacific Ocean off California,
• People and the California coast, and
• California ocean and coastal wildlife.

Three winners will be selected by a panel of judges while online voting will select the viewer’s choice award.  Winners can select from one of 4 hotel packages donated by the Fairmont Hotels of California.  Check out the contest rules and get your entry submitted by the deadline of September 2, 2011.

That is my submission above.  Feel free to cast a vote for my image here.

After sifting through over 10,000 entries to the Frommer’s 2011 Cover Photo Contest the Frommer judges have picked a winner.  Julie Hughes of San Francisco will walk away with a $1,000 Barnes & Nobel gift card and the honor of having her photograph published on the cover of Frommer’s next travel guide for Morocco, the location of her winning photo.  Julie’s photograph gives a camel’s eye-view of the Sahara Desert at Erg Chebbi.  Taken while on the back of the camel this image gives a unique perspective on the Saharan desert dunes while still presenting an iconic image of the African desert, sand dunes and camels.  That makes for a great travel photograph.

There were also 4 runner up photographs selected.  Each will get a cover photo for upcoming Frommer’s travel guides for the location of their images as well as a Barnes and Nobel Nook reader.

International Prize:

$2,500 Costco Cash Card (I could easily spend that)

National Prizes:

First Place: $1,500 Costco Cash Card

Second Place: $1,000 Costco Cash Card

Third Place: $500 Costco Cash Card

All winners also gets a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9

Now for the fine print:

• You must be a card carrying member of Costco to enter.
• Entry deadline is September 30, 2011
• Only one entry per person
• Must be 18 or older to enter
• Read all the finer print rules here.

Find or head out and take your “Best Shot” and enter the Costco International Photo Contest 2011 here.

And for inspiration check out the Costco International Photo Contest 2010 winners.