UP Photo Awards digital photography competition launched

The UP Photo Awards is a digital photography competition that seeks to visualize the overall experience of the University of the Philippines System and community during this time of pandemic through images captured by individuals from all walks of life.

People are encouraged to submit photographs that would be iconic and permanent records of this moment in our history. It was conceived by University of the Philippines President Danilo Concepcion as he intends to create a picture book about the UP Community during the time of the pandemic.

UP is the first-ever institution in the Philippines that adapted this digital photography awards where the jury process of tabulation is done automated and remotely.

The launch date was set for November 15, 2021, coinciding with the opening of the UP academic oval. The deadline is set for February 15, 2022. Image-makers interested in participating should visit https://www.upphotoawards.com/.

The contest will have five categories. Each category will have a winning photo. The winning photo will receive a cash prize of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (PhP25,000). Recipients of honorable mention awards will also be picked out from the five categories. All winners and honorable mention awardees will be eligible to compete for the Best Photograph Award. The Best Photograph in the entire competition will receive a prize of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP100,000). The images will be judged by a panel of distinguished jurors drawn from a variety of disciplines. The THEME is “UP in the time of pandemic".

The UP PHOTO AWARDS is the Philippines’ first-ever no-entry-fee online photo competition. It utilizes cutting-edge technology to accept entries from anywhere in the world and is judged by a panel of reputable jurors using a proprietary voting system. The competition accepts entries from any device that may take photographs including all kinds of digital cameras, smartphones, GoPro, and even drones, as long as the entry falls within the category guidelines.

The categories are People, Architecture, Nature, News, and Pre-Covid.

The People Category

This category shall be for people inside UP campuses. They may be images of the university’s employees, faculty, staff, utility workers, or just about anybody else inside the borders of the campuses.

The Architecture Category

This category is open for images of the university’s structures. They may be images of building edifices, complexes, and mostly empty hallways, lecture halls, and classrooms. We anticipate creative approaches in terms of rhythm and repetitions, patterns and shapes, as well as color and texture combinations.

The Nature Category

This category will feature images of the ecosystem of fauna and flora, and animals such as migratory birds, insects, and organisms that may be found inside UP campuses.

The News Category

The News Category is expected to be the most “action-packed” category, showcasing how UP dealt with Covid-19 beginning with long-term lockdowns. In this category, we expect photographs of UP Philippine General Hospital, and of events such as community pantries within the campuses, and rallies, among similar photographs.

The Pre-Covid Category

This category is for images captured from January 1, 2019 up to March 14, 2020, the day before the Philippine government instituted the first lockdown on March 15, 2020. This category is open for images that show the busy life on the campuses just before the lockdowns and quarantines.

To join in the competition, you can create an account on the website with the address at https://www.upphotoawards.com/.

Press release from UP Photo Awards