Shutterbugs, here's your chance to become Australia's next Emerging Photographer

SUN Editions online marketplace for photographs
(Image credit: Canon / SunStudios)

Fancy yourself a wizard with a camera? Now's your chance to prove it by becoming Australia's next Emerging Photographer.

SunStudios, in partnership with Canon Australia, has announced that submissions are now open for the 2021 edition of the SunStudios Emerging Photographer Award (SEPA). There's a total prize pool of AU$25,000 on offer across four main categories – two in stills and two in video – as well as two people's choice winners.

This is the 12th year the competition has been held, but the first time a videography category has been included.

The theme for the 2021 Emerging Photographer Award is Faces & Places, so any fashion or portrait photos, along with landscapes, travel, architecture and documentary photography are acceptable. Video entries should be under four minutes in length, on the same theme.

Photographers from across Australia are welcome to enter, and all submissions will be judged anonymously.

Submissions close at 11:59pm AEST on Friday, August 23, and winners will be announced at SunStudio's Atrium gallery in Sydney on September 30. An exhibition of the finalists' work has been scheduled to open on the same day, but attendance will depend on the Covid-19 restrictions in place at that time. If the pandemic is at bay, the exhibition will then travel to Melbourne's Skylight Gallery in November.

To find out how to enter, head to the SEPA website for all the details, prize inclusions, judges, as well as the terms and conditions.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Sharmishta Sarkar
Managing Editor (APAC)

In addition to looking after they day-to-day functioning of Digital Camera World in Australia, Sharmishta is the Managing Editor (APAC) for TechRadar as well, and helps produce two of Future's photography print magazines Down Under. Her passion for photography started when she was wandering the wilds of India studying monkeys (yes, life took a sharp turn somewhere along the way) and is entirely self-taught. That puts her in the unique position of understanding what a beginner or enthusiast is looking for in a camera or lens, and writes to help those like her on their path to developing their skills or finding the best gear. While she experiments with quite a few genres of photography, her main area of interest is nature photography – wildlife, landscapes and macro. She still prefers an optical viewfinder but is utterly fascinated with what mirrorless technology has been able to achieve. 


With an ear to the ground in the Asia-Pacific territory, she is constantly on top of camera news and breaking developments in the Australian region, in addition to sourcing local deals during big retail events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday / Cyber Monday. 


She’s also a skilled stargazer, always eager to share astrophotography tips such as photographing the blood moon without even using a tripod!