The time is ticking down if you want to win the inaugural Potato Photographer of the Year. You have until 30 June to get your spud shots in. There are over £1,000 worth of prizes on offer including a Fujifilm X-A7, and an esteemed panel of judges featuring Magnum Photos legend Martin Parr.
All proceeds from the Potato Photographer of the Year (which the organizers point out isn't just for photographers, but is also open to anyone with an interest in potatoes!) will go towards the Trussell Trust – a registered charity which supports a nationwide network of food banks in the United Kingdom.
Obviously the competition is a bit of fun, but it's in aid of an incredibly worthy cause. While for many photographers the current lockdown is challenging because it limits their ability to shoot, for many more people the lockdown means facing an uncertain future with no guarantee of food to eat.
The Potato Photographer of the Year, then, is a great way to tackle both issues. For photographers, it's a great challenge of creativity – can you take a photo of a potato that's a work of art? You might scoff, but in 2016 a snap of a spud by Kevin Abosch sold for a cool $1 million!
So now is your chance to see if you can do the same. Will you take a regal potato portrait worthy of a King Edward? A creative model shoot featuring some Maris Pipers? Or just some delicious traditional food photography that's too good to be limited to your Instagram feed?
On offer are prizes worth over £1,000, including the new Fujifilm X-A7, a year's membership to the Royal Photographic Society, a one-to-one workshop with professional photographer and Digital Camera magazine columnist Benedict Brain, and a three-year master-level subscription to Photocrowd.
The panel of judges features Brain along with Professor Paul Hill, who received an MBE for services to photography, Angela Nicholson, founder of SheClicks and former DCW Head of Testing, and the inimitable Martin Parr.
To enter Potato Photographer of the Year visit its home on Photocrowd, and for more information on the good work of the Trussell Trust visit the charity's website.
Read more:
The best lenses for food photography in 2020: make your supper the star
The best books on food photography in 2020: whet your appetite for photography
10 food photography tips for getting tasty shots every time
