Entries are open for Leica's Women Foto Project Awards, with a $10,000 cash prize plus a Leica SL2-S and lens as the top prize
(Image credit: Leica)
Leica has announced a call for entries for its fourth annual Leica Women Foto Project Award – and this year, the brand’s initiative to promote diversity in photography expands to new regions across the globe.
For the first time ever for these awards, Leica will accept entries from the United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada in addition to the United States. One award winner per region will walk home with a Leica SL2-S and a Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH lens, as well as a cash prize of $10,000 (approximately £9,200 / AU$15,400).
"We are delighted to bring the fourth iteration of the Leica Women Foto Project to the United Kingdom and open the award to talented photographers across the country," said Lydia Beagelman, head of marketing for Leica UK.
"With the Leica Women Foto Project, we want to shine a light on the female perspective and the importance of capturing moments that bear witness to how we see and interact with our world."
Since its inception in 2019, the Leica Women Foto Project has served as a platform to cultivate a diverse and inclusive community through photography. Its mission is to encourage photographers to demonstrate the importance and impact of a woman’s point of view, serving as a catalyst to reframe how we see, think, and express our visual narrative.
"Photography has the power to give reason for hope: Don't look the other way, shake things up, express and advocate for change – the connection to humanity and our responsibility to bear witness to its moments is at the heart of Leica’s culture – from the Leica Oskar Barnack Award to the Leica Women Foto Project Award," said Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, art director for Leica Galleries Worldwide and Leica Women Foto Project juror.
"With these initiatives, we recognize and celebrate the courageous photographers and the stories they express through their unique lens"
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Applicants are requested to submit a photo story made with any make or model camera that bears witness to humanity as expressed through the female perspective. Submissions will be selected by a diverse group of jurors renowned in the world of photography which consists of:
• Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Director, Leica Galleries Worldwide
• Amanda de Cadenet, Photographer, Author, and Media Personality
• Liz Johnson Arthur, Photojournalist & Editorial Photographer
• Natalia Jimenez, Senior Picture Editor, National
• Elizabeth Krist, Former Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic
• Kate Kuo, Director of Photography LA Times
• Whitney Matewe, Photo Editor, Time Magazine
• Mary McCartney, Photographer
• Renee Mussai, Senior Curator and Head of Curatorial & Collection, Autograph ABP
• Nikki Reed, Actress, Photographer, Writer
• Laura Roumanos, Co-Founder, Photoville
• Sara Rumens, Features Picture Editor, The Times
• Jennifer Samuel, Photo Editor, National Geographic
• Maggie Steber, Documentary Photographer & Guggenheim Grant Fellow
• Sandra Stevenson, Associate Director of Photography for CNN.
Candidates must be legal residents of the US, Canada, UK or Mexico, and 21 years or older at the time and date of entry. Leica will announce the winners on March 08 2023, via Leica USA and UK’s respective websites, newsletters, and Facebook and Instagram accounts.
For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
