International photography competition receives nearly 20% more entries

Solms, Germany (March 29, 2011) - Leica Camera AG announces a record number of entries for the 32nd annual ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award,’ an international professional photography competition. After the deadline for entries closed on March 1, 2011, the jury recorded over 2,000 submissions from photographers in 89 different countries, up from 1,700 entries in 2010. The majority of this year’s submissions came from Germany, the United States, China, France and Russia.

The ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ is a highly respected competition for professional photographers. The number of entries continues to grow from one year to the next and within the last three years alone, the number of entries has almost doubled. The increased value of the winners’ prizes in this year’s competition plays a decisive role in this record number of entries. For the first time, the winner of the ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011’ will receive a Leica M9 camera and lenses worth 9,500 euros (approximately US $13,000), in addition to a cash prize of 5,000 euros (approximately US $7,000). The prize value for the ‘Newcomer Award’, the section of the competition open to all (aspiring) professional photographers aged 25 and under, has also increased with the winner of the first prize awarded a Leica M9 and lenses.

The winners will be chosen during a jury session to be convened on April 12, 2011. This year, the jury members include Leica photographer Stanley Greene, Mark Rykoff, Picture Editor at TIME.com, Anna Gripp, Editor in Chief at Photonews, Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Creative Director of the Leica Gallery in Salzburg and Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Leica Camera AG. The jury will be supported in an advisory role by Tina Wiesner, responsible for cultural projects at Leica Camera AG. The winners will be announced in June 2011.

For more information, please visit: http://www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com.