The Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016 competition is now accepting entries. There is a dedicated category for underwater images titled Under Exposed, which was won by Craig Parry of Australia in 2015 for his split image of humpback whales. The winner of the competition will also be sent to the Arctic for a photo assignment.

Press Release

Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016 – Final call for entries

With less than two weeks until entries for the prestigious Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016 competition close, Outdoor Photography magazine, in association with legendary Swedish outdoor gear manufacturer Fjällräven, invite all amateur and professional photographers to submit their best images.

Now in its sixth year, the competition has once again teamed up with Fjällräven but this year there is an exciting new twist to the prize for the overall winner. They will be off on an Arctic photo assignment to capture all the beauty, drama and action of the Fjällräven Polar dog sled expedition in spring 2017! All category winners will receive a superb Fjällräven No.2 Black Edition backpack and £200 cash.

Once again, we will also be producing a beautiful photography book of the winning, commended and selected other entries from the 2016 competition – showcasing the photographers’ work to a global audience. This will be available in March 2017.

Another exciting development for this year is that the winning and selected other images from the competition will feature in the Outdoor Photographer of the Year exhibition at The Photography Show at the NEC in Birmingham from 18-21 March 2017, where the overall winner will be revealed live on the main stage. It’s the UK’s biggest photography event, with over 30,000 visitors, ensuring a big audience for the exhibited images.

Open to amateur and professional photographers from around the world, the competition covers all genres of outdoor photography – from landscape and adventure travel to wildlife and the underwater world. There is also a free-to-enter category for photographers aged 18 or under.

The fee to enter each of the eight adult categories is £8, and photographers can submit up to eight images per category.

Closing date for entries: Midnight GMT on Wednesday 2 November 2016.

For more information and to find out how to enter or pre-order Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016 book, visit www.opoty.co.uk

Images are copyright Steve Watkins, and can be only used in direct connection with media coverage of the Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016 competition.