Enter Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

Submissions will open from April 15th, up to and including May 19th
©Arijit Das

Enter the competition

Find out everything you need to know about entering photos on the right and submit your photos. Q&As at the bottom of the page.
The Mangroves Photography Awards is now open for entries until May 19th, 2024.
Entry is free and open to all photographers around the world, of any age and level.
Submitting photos

You can submit a total of 12 photos to the Mangrove Photography Awards, across multiple categories. The same image can be submitted to more than one category.

You can enter as many categories as you wish.

You can enter up to 6 photos per submission form.

Up to 6 photos can be entered across the five single image categories; Wildlife, Landscape, People, Threats, Underwater. 

For the portfolio category, you must submit a series of 6 images.

All submissions must be photographs (accepted file types: JPG, PNG or TIFFS).

The maximum file size per image is 4MB.

Submissions must be free of watermarks or signatures.

Competition rules

Entries must be received by 11.59pm BST on 19th May, 2024 (“the Closing Date”).

All submissions must have been created by the photographer entering.

Entrants 23 years of age or younger on 26th July, 2024 will automatically enter the Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year Award.

Images that have already been awarded 1st place (overall) in an established international award prior to April 15, 2024 should NOT be entered.

This does not include the Conservation Stories portfolio category, which CAN include award-winning images.

Ethical requirements

Manipulation of the natural world is NOT acceptable.

Your entries must report on the natural world in a way that is creative, honest and ethical:

  1. All entrants must confirm that all images were taken naturally, without interference with wildlife or damage to the environment.

  2. Entries must not deceive the viewer or attempt to disguise and/or misrepresent the reality of nature.

  3. Caption information supplied with submissions must be complete, true and accurate.

  4. You must not do anything to injure or distress an animal or damage its habitat in an attempt to secure a photograph. This includes flying (or flying a drone) too low or noisily over an animal and taking photographs at nests using wide angle lenses although telephoto lenses are permitted. An animal’s welfare must always come first.

  5. You are responsible for ensuring full compliance with any applicable national or international legislation (including in relation to drones) and for securing any relevant permits (which, in the case of human portraits, will include the subject’s permission).

Choose your category
Unsure which category to submit? Click here

Single Image Entry

Submit a maximum of 6 images, that will be judged individually, across the following categories.
Categories:
  • Mangroves & People
  • Mangroves & Landscapes
  • Mangroves & Wildlife
  • Mangroves & Underwater
  • Mangroves & Threats
Enter the awards

Multiple-Image Portfolio Entry

Submit 6 images, that will be judged as a serie, for the Mangroves & Conservation Stories category. Your submission should work as a group thematically.
Category:
  • Mangroves & Conservation Stories
Enter the awards

Award Categories

The Mangrove Photography Awards consists of six categories that photographers can contribute their work to. Each category is broad in focus to allow the Awards to be as inclusive as possible whilst encouraging the contribution of impactful and bold imagery.
Séphora, clam diver at the Congo River estuary

Mangroves & People

Revealing intimate relationships between people and mangrove forests; encouraging images illustrating traditional connections with coastal communities and positive conservation efforts of people working to sustain our mangroves.

Pink mangrove lagoon

Mangroves & Landscapes

Captivating images of our mangroves with a unique perspective from expansive vistas down to the microscale of individual plants and other flora. Images may include unseen angles, patterns, closeups and views.

Mangroves & Wildlife

Celebrating animals all over the world in our mangroves, above the waterline; unlikely behaviour in trees, on land and rarely seen species, right down to the animals at microscale, while conveying how the mangroves are integral to it.

Nursery

Mangroves & Underwater

Showcasing the world of mangroves below the water line, uncovering the diversity of aquatic life in this unfamiliar environment. Split-shots can expose relationships with other elements and ecosystems.

Cleaning Up The Coastline

Mangroves & Threats

Investigating the current issues that threaten our coastal ecosystems; highlighting the negative impacts of humans on mangroves and presenting extreme natural events that are increasingly putting pressure on our coastal forests.

Stewards of The Mangroves

Mangroves & Conservation Stories

Portfolio image category showcasing a long-held commitment to mangrove conservation through a striking body of work with emotional storytelling encouraged. A total of six images must be submitted, taken at any time during the photographer’s working life. Award-winning images can be submitted.

Typical Questions & Answers

If we haven't answered your particular question here, we are happy to answer any queries you have about entering the competition.
Contact the MPA team
How is the competition judged?

We appoint a panel of judges and a chair to evaluate all entries. Each submission is reviewed anonymously. Judging comprises two rounds. During the final round, images will undergo an authenticity check to ensure the entry complies with our rules and ethics.

The panel will be looking for originality, narrative and ethical practice and will favour images that have not already been awarded (winner, runner-up, commended, honourable mention, etc) in other similar international competitions.

All Category Winners are considered for the Mangrove Photographer of the Year grand title.

The Competition reserves the right to award images in a category they were not originally submitted in. This will happen at the discretion of the judges for images they feel are particularly suited to an alternative category.

All decisions by the judges will be final and binding.

Can I edit my photos?

Post-processing of images is ACCEPTABLE but must remain truthful to the original experience; reflecting the subject matter and the scene as it appeared.

Finalists may be required to provide RAW files or original untouched JPEGS.

When will winners be announced?

Winners will be announced on 26th July, 2024 on World Mangrove Day. There will not be a gallery this year featuring all the submissions. This shift aims to draw attention to mangroves and their conservation efforts, ensuring that winning entries receive a dedicated platform for recognition and advocacy.

What are the prizes?

Overall Winner: Grand Prize (1 total): $500. Mangrove Photographer of the YearWinner for each category (6 total, including Mangroves & Stories category): $250Runner-Up for each category (6 total, including Mangroves & Stories category): $200Young Winner (1 total): $200. Young Mangrove Photographer of the YearPeople’s Choice Award winner (1 total): $250

Where will my photos be shown?

Many media publications and conservation partners will showcase the results of this competition and benefit the photographers with high profile exposure for their talents. Winners are regularly published in BBC News, The Guardian, BBC Wildlife Magazine as well as other photography magazines.

Can I read the terms and conditions?

Sure, please read the T&Cs here.

Contact the MPA team
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