Been looking for a new photography project to get your teeth stuck into? The new Canon Redline Challenge looks like a fine new opportunity – not least because it gives you the chance of winning a Canon EOS R5 and more.
Open to amateur photographers living in Europe, the Middle East or Africa, Canon's new competition isn't just for Canon fans – you can use any type of camera, as long as your snap has a 150DPI (Dots Per Inch) resolution and is 2000 pixels along the longest side.
The competition's first theme, which is open from today and closes on 31 May, is on the theme of 'Light in the Dark'. That gives you around two months to work up a winning photo that, according to the brief, explores the "exciting possibilities of shooting in low-light, capturing the ever-intriguing relationship between light and shadow, colour and contrast."
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- Or check out our guide to the best Canon cameras
- Read our in-depth Canon EOS R5 review
If that's still a little too broad for you, then it's worth watching the video below and also bearing in mind the main things the competition's judges (which include award-winning photographer Lorenz Holder) will be looking for.
These include creativity, or "making sure your entry is fresh and original", and impact, with Canon looking for the "emotions or reactions" that are evoked from your snap. Although the competition is aimed at amateurs, Canon will also be looking for technical prowess – in other words, "has the image been captured in a way that demonstrates an understanding of the abilities of the camera and the subject?".
And that's pretty much it. The only other real rules are that you can only enter up to 20 different images per person, and that none of them have been "previously published or won an award or prize". Pro snappers, or anyone "earning more than 20% of their annual income from photography", are also barred from entering, which helpfully gives everyone else a chance.
Canon fodder
So what prize is on offer exactly? The winning entry will get a Canon EOS R5, plus three lenses: the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM, RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM, RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM. That's a pretty tasty setup that'll have you covered in most shooting situations.
You'll also get a Canon Image PROGRAF PRO-1000, which is a 17-inch large format printer, and the superb, weather-sealed Speedlite EL-1 flash. In total, that brings the prize value to €14,000 (or around £12,000).
That's a pretty tasty photographic carrot, though it's worth bearing in mind what you might be giving away in return. The terms and conditions state that you grant Canon a "non-revocable, worldwide, royalty-free and free of charge, sublicensable licence to publish, republish, display and use" your images for all purposes connected to the competition "for up to one year after the competition ends".
If you're happy with that, though, then Canon's Redline Challenge looks like a fine new project to help give you a photographic release from pandemic-based monotony.
