Cash Prizes Offered for Photos Showing Light, Light-Based Technology

BELLINGHAM, WA--(Marketwired - Sep 4, 2014) - The SPIE International Year of Light 2015 Photo Contest is underway, offering entrants the chance to win up to US$2,500, with a total of US$4,500 in prize money offered. Photographs from four winners will be featured in an issue of SPIE Professional, the membership magazine of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

SPIE Professional is sponsoring the contest to increase public awareness of the important and exciting technologies of optics and photonics, in conjunction with the United Nations International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL2015).

With optics and photonics encompassing fields such as medical imaging, renewable energy, astronomy, laser, telecommunications, and optical engineering, the contest is drawing photographers as well as science and technology enthusiasts to participate in capturing the remarkable properties of light.

Contestants may submit up to two photographs demonstrating how light or light-based technology is a part of everyday life.

Besides the first prize of US$2,500, entrants have the chance to win US$1,000 for second place, US$500 for third place, and US$500 for the publicly voted People's Choice award.

Because winning photos will be featured in the print magazine, only print-quality submissions of size 5MB to 20MB will be accepted.

Only minimal digital enhancement is permitted, and photos should demonstrate real-life scenarios in which light or light-based technology is an essential part of life. The contest website (www.SPIE.org/IYL) has complete entry information.

Entries must be submitted by 30 September. Winners will be announced in 2015.

Photos will be judged by a panel of 43 judges including optics and photonics researchers, prize-winning photographers, and student leaders on the basis of scientific interest, artistry, creativity, overall appeal, and how well they illustrate the IYL2015 theme.

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 256,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided more than $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2013.