Falklands Exposed! - The Falkland Islands launches an international photography competition

The Falkland Islands Tourist Board is inviting visitors to the Falklands to send in their best snaps to a new online photography competition - Falklands Exposed. With top prizes up for grabs including cameras, travel photography books and photography magazine subscriptions, it’s open to anyone with a keen eye and traveller’s spirit, with three entry groups; amateur, youth and professional.

Photographers can submit images across six categories including the aptly named ‘Face from the Place’ where judges are looking for an outstanding shot of an islander and the ‘Wildlife’ category where entrants to the competition can showcase their shots of penguins and other island wildlife.

A dedicated website www.falklandislands.com/exposed has an easy-to-use upload system, with helpful tips from renowned travel photographer Steve Davey and inspiration from Islanders on where to find unusual places to take shots of the landscape or ideas for subjects and compositions.

Situated 400 miles off the south-eastern tip of South America, the Falklands are well known for the abundance of penguins which can be viewed at close proximity across the Islands but there are many other points of focus. Colourful buildings, diverse landscapes, ever changing light, and dramatic shipwrecks. With a rich heritage, interesting events and rugged terrain perfect for outdoor activities – there is plenty to photograph all year round. The playful antics of penguins, seals and birds around the coastlines of the Islands make great subjects but delicate yet hardy flora and fauna can also make a good backdrop. Throughout the season there are different points to snap including fighting seals during the breeding season and windswept settlements during the winter months.

Entries must be high quality, digital images taken in the Falklands in the last two years. So anyone that has visited the Islands as part of a cruise itinerary, visited friends or relatives, holidayed or been stationed there can join local residents in entering their snaps. The competition is open for entries until the end of March 2010 with winners announced in April 2010.

The competition is sponsored by a host of travel industry partners including Footprint travel books and Outdoor Photography magazine.

For more information, top photography tips, Terms and Conditions and to enter go to www.falklandislands.com/exposed

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Media enquiries should be directed to Suzanne Holiday and Tryphena Greenwood at Keene on 020 7839 2140 or falklandstourism@keenepa.co.uk.

Notes for Editors:
•    Falklands Exposed is sponsored by Footprint travel books and Outdoor Photography magazine.
•    The categories for the competition are wildlife, landscapes, heritage, Island life, active/outdoors and a face from the place.
•    For a full list of entry guidelines visit www.falklandislands.com/exposed and click Terms.
•    The Falkland Islands have a raw, unspoilt quality that entices locals and tourists back time and again.  Visitors to the Islands are spoilt for choice with more than 227 species of identified birds (including several of the world’s largest endangered breeding colonies), as well as whales, dolphins, elephant seals, sea lions, delicate flora and rugged geographical formations.
•    The best time to visit the Islands and experience the local culture and wildlife is October to April. The average summer temperature (December to March) is 15º Celsius (59º Fahrenheit) and the Falklands has more sunshine hours and less rainfall than the UK.
•    There are over 40 international tour operators offering tailor-made packages and escorted tours to the Falkland Islands. See www.falklandislands.com for the latest list.
•    Visitors can reach the Falklands on the weekly LAN Airways flight via Chile or the charter flight operated twice weekly from RAF Brize Norton in the UK by the Ministry of Defence.