Almost $8,000 In Prizes
IPA's first contest includes Amateur and Pro categories and is just in time for the holidays.

Keyport, New Jersey…October 1, 2010…International Press Association (IPA) has announced a unique photo contest to help launch their new Member Support Blog on their web site and encourage photographers and journalists not familiar with IPA to visit their website and see what they do.

The contest was the idea of IPA president Len Rapoport, who stated that "Our contest is meant to be an inclusive and fun contest, one meant to involve the photographer and their fans. We want them to go out and encourage voting so they can not only have a better chance to win, but also win by getting the exposure and credibility we at IPA believe is essential today for success. This is not just another photo contest because we really want it to motivate photographers and have a way for us to introduce IPA to the many photographers who don't seem to know how to make their work pay and who may have given up".

The Contest:
Unlike so many other contests, IPA states that this one is easy to participate in. There are no fees to enter, no contributions to the contests favorite charities, no restrictions on the subject matter (within reason of course), two levels of entry, pro and amateur and so many prizes that the chances of winning are quite good.

The winning entries will be determined by a formula similar to those used on the popular television talent shows. The contest will be using the viewer votes (25%) and the judges votes (75%) to determine the final winners. There will be first and second place awards, one in each, for each of the two categories, the professional photographer and the amateur photographer. Then there will be the Honorable Mention awards and a special Bonus drawing for the IPA independent staff members.

The Prizes:
First place winners will receive over $1800 in prizes each, second place winners receive over $500 in prizes and ten Honorable Mention winners will receive over $150 in prizes each. IPA members who make it to the top 14 winners will also receive Bonus prizes to include some of the cool IPA embroidered logo merchandise and other cool stuff.

Contest Dates:
The contest will begin on October 1, 2010 and final submissions will be accepted until November 31, 2010. Contest winners will be announced on December 15th. IPA has simplified the entry process with a simple email entry sent to their contest address: [email protected].

How To Enter:
Photographers may submit up to three digital images which will have to pass the first level of screening to move on in the contest. If they make it past the initial judging, they will then be published with their © and name on their entries in the contest galleries. IPA has designed the contest to encourage the heavy voting these types of contests receive. "Having viewer voting gets everyone involved in the contest. it is all planned to give our photographers the exposure they deserve and in some cases, may even get them discovered" stated Mr. Rapoport.

Complete information and Rules can be found on their web site.

Winners will not only receive mega prizes supplied by Alien Skin software, Manfrotto and International Press Association, but winner just may have have the prizes in time to shoot their holiday season photos.

Notice: Due to copyright and other legal restrictions, this contest is open for submissions from residents who reside in the United States and the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

The Judges:

Len Rapoport
A photographer for over 50 years who's early iconic photos of Neil Diamond has appeared in and on millions of album covers, books, and other publications. For over thirty years he has been a corporate executive, communications consultant, business owner, writer and photographer. You can view his full resume on the IPA blog.

Twenty years ago he realized the importance in offering independent photographers the education they needed to learn their skills and offered a number of local seminars and work shops. With the invention of the internet, YouTube and the digital age, he embraced the technology and created the first version of the IPA website and member organization. With the many new possibilities the IPA concept evolved to what it is today.

His leadership and vision keep IPA growing and his dedication to his members continues as it did 20 years ago when he first created this company. At 67 years of age, he continues to shoot and publish his works and still does some outside corporate commuication consulting. He resides and works from his home in a small community on the New Jersey shore.

Tom Welsh
Tom has been developing products at Alien Skin Software for 7 years. He has worked on Eye Candy, Snap Art, Image Doctor, Blow Up and Exposure. Before he worked at Alien Skin he did research in computer graphics and worked on a variety of projects in medical imaging and computer vision.

Jeff Foster
Has authored several technical, graphics and animation production books, has been an Adobe Certified Expert and has served as an instructor and featured speaker at conferences such as Photoshop World, Macworld, Adobe MAX and the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Post-Production Conferences. He has been producing and training for traditional and digital images, photography, illustration, motion graphics and special effects for the digital video and film industries for over 20 years.

Some of his clients include: Tribune Broadcasting, Motorola, McDonnell Douglas, Nestl?©, FOX Television, Spike TV, Discovery/TLC, Deluxe Digital, Universal Studios and Disney. He is also a 2010 Telly Awards recipient for his ‚"Documercial" video productions. Jeff is currently operating his informative blog and company PixelPainter from his studio in beautiful Ojai, CA.

The Sponsors:

About International Press Association
IPA is a 20 year old organization and completely web based for close to 15 years and has become a respected, credible and legitimate media outlet that receives millions of page views each year. IPA independent staff members are primarily international photographers and journalists of all skill levels.

IPA publishes their members photographs and articles on their main site and this member content also appears on the members IPA professional portfolio on the site. IPA has become known for not only its interesting and informative site content, but for supporting the thousands of members past and current who have achieved credibility and exposure by being part of IPA and publishing their articles and photos on the site. IPA is a firm believer that one of the best methods of teaching professional skills is by actually having the members learn how to gain the access and then do the work and publish the articles and photos from those assignments on the site. "Do The Work", has become the IPA mantra and their member support blog has informative articles that help the members do just that.

IPA maintains groups on many of the leading social networking sites including Facbook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and others and encourage all of their social networking fans and friends to enter their photos in this contest.

More information and benefits of membership can be found on the IPA website's new blog.

About Alien Skin Software
Alien Skin Software makes Photoshop plug-ins for photographers and graphic designers. We distill advanced math and cutting edge research into simple tools that render beautiful pictures. Our reputation for bug-free software and fast, friendly tech support has grown worldwide since 1993. For more information, visit our website at www.alienskin.com.

About Manfrotto
Based in Northern Italy at Bassano del Grappa, Manfrotto designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of camera and lighting support equipment for the professional photographic, film, theater, live entertainment and video markets. The product line includes an extensive range of camera tripods and heads, lighting stands and accessories.

Manfrotto products are sold by its own distribution companies, Manfrotto Distribution, in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus independent distributors in over 65 countries around the world! The unrivalled strength of the international distribution network and the team efforts between the company and the distributors is a key element in the success of the lines.

The group owned distribution companies provide direct access to the market, trends and requirements which is essential in keeping the company at the forefront of development and innovation.

About KATA
In 2005 KATA joined the VITEC Group plc and under its Imaging Division the company has expanded and flourished world wide working together with its sister companies; Manfrotto, Gitzo, Avenger and others. Today Kata is a well known and respected brand in the Video and Photo market, which is distributed in over one hundred countries around the world.

Kata produces advanced cases, bags, vests, and carrying systems for photographers, videographers and filmmakers. They are noted for their exceptional quality and are tough and lightweight. KATA products offer extraordinary protection for digital photo gear, video, audio, lighting and film equipment and unprecedented comfort for the user. The range of Kata products includes, everything from camera and photo bags of all sizes and kinds to computer and tripod/lightstand bags and cases.

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