If landscapes are your photographic speciality, then this competition is for you. Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 (LPOTY) is now open for entries, until 5 April, so you’ve got plenty of time to enter your best outdoor captures in up to four categories.
These comprise Classic View, Urban Life, Your View and – new for this year – Black & White.
LPOTY was founded in 2006 by esteemed landscape photographer Charlie Waite, and aims to celebrate all that is great about the British landscape, and showcase the work of many talented photographers.
Following a one-year hiatus, LPOTY is back for its 13th competition, with new partners and supporters on board.
These include Light and Land, Britain’s premier landscape photography tour and workshop company, online camera equipment marketplace MPB, and the Sunday Times Magazine.
Read more: 16 essential landscape photography tips
The competition is also supported by Network Rail, owner of most of the railway stations in the UK. Network Rail will again be providing exhibition space – in 2018 and 2019, the LPOTY winners, runners-up and highly commended entries were exhibited on the station concourses of 10 cities across Britain.
With a prize fund of £20,000 – including £10,000 for the overall winner – the chance to have your work printed in a book due to be released in July, and to have your work showcased in London in August and subsequently across the UK, don’t delay – enter today.
In an exclusive offer, Digital Camera World users can get 10% off the competition's entry fees (see code below).
Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 categories
There are four categories in the adult LPOTY competition, and the same image can be entered in more than one category.
Judges will choose the single best image from all four adult categories to crown the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020, who will win the £10,000 top prize.
Each category winner will receive £1,000 each, with four runners-up getting £500 each.
(See below for details of the Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, open to those who are aged 18 or under on 5 April 2020.)
Classic View
The judges are looking for images that capture the beauty and variety of the UK landscape. An iconic view; a view along a cliff-side path or of a historic village; a view down a valley; an urban skyline or snow-capped peaks; perhaps showing the drama of our seasons… recognisable and memorable – a true classic.
A note about editing: please maintain the physical integrity of the image – minor digital adjustments only.
Urban Life
‘Urban’ is used as a general theme, so the judges will also consider suburban areas or country towns. Both historic and modern subjects are welcome, but not underground car parks or Tube or metro stations.
A note about editing: please maintain the physical integrity of the image – minor digital adjustments only.
Your View
An ‘anything goes’ category, where conceptual and personal approaches will be accepted, as long as the subject is outdoors and located in the UK. Fish’n’chips on a deserted beach, a foggy day in the Peak District, a stream rushing over pebbles… you decide.
A note about editing: digital manipulation is allowed in this category and creativity is encouraged.
Black & White
This new category recognises the popularity of this genre amongst entrants to this competition and its continued importance within photography. Entries can include both urban and suburban landscapes.
A note about editing: please maintain the physical integrity of the image – minor digital adjustments only.
Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 Special Awards
In addition to the four categories, LPOTY 2020 partners will be conferring the following special awards.
Changing Landscapes Special Award
To be presented by awards partner MPB, Changing Landscapes will award the photographer who most impressively captures the theme of ‘change’ in Britain’s evolving urban and rural landscape.
Historic Britain Special Award
Awards media partner The Sunday Times Magazine will recognise the entry that best shows elements of Britain’s history that still appear in our landscape today.
Landscapes at Night Special Award
To be presented by awards partner Light and Land, this award will be conferred on the standout entry from a genre that continues to grow in popularity.
Lines in the Landscape Special Award
This Award will be presented by Network Rail to the photographer who best captures the spirit of today’s railway network as it relates to the landscape around it.
More opportunities for emerging young photographers
Young photographers entering LPOTY can enter up to five images for free into any of the four main categories or special award. There is also a portfolio-based category, Living Britain.
The photographer aged 18 or under on 5 April 2020, who creates the entry chosen by the judges as the single best image, taking into account all four youth categories, will become the Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 and will win £1,000.
For those wishing to enter more photographs, additional bundles of five images can also be purchased.
Commenting on the launch of LPOTY 2020, awards founder Charlie Waite said: “I am very much looking forward to once again seeing a new collection of landscape photographs, both rural and urban, of the wonderful United Kingdom.
“I’m very proud to say that the top prize still stands at £10,000 with other financial prizes for category winners. I wish everyone much good luck and good fortune out there with your camera.”
Matt Barker, founder and CEO of MPB, said: “We’re thrilled to partner Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020. For more than a decade, the competition has brought stunning images of the British landscape to the wider public.
“This fits perfectly with MPB’s mission to make photography more accessible and affordable for all.
“We’ll also be proud to present our Changing Landscapes Special Award, and I’m really excited to see how photographers take up this creative challenge”.
For Light and Land, manager Emily Orr said: “During the last year we introduced astrophotography tours in Exmoor and night photography workshops in London.
“These have proved to be incredibly popular, so as a result we will be intrigued to see how photographers will interpret our Landscapes at Night Special Award. We look forward to judging the entries.”
Enter now and get 10% off your fees
In an exclusive deal, valid until 5 April 2020, Digital Camera World users can get 10% off LPOTY 2020 entry fees. Just apply the code DCM10 when checking out, in the box towards the top of the screen.
Click here to visit the official Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 website.
You can also keep up to date with the competition via Facebook and Instagram.
Read more
Charlie Waite's 25 top locations for landscape photography
