Photomarathon.eu

Update your links

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:34:00 +0000

We had to due some moving due to policy changes over at Blogger.

Visit the homepage of the site and fetch an updated RSS feed.

Miami is on a roll

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:49:00 +0000

On Sunday, March 28, 2010 Fotomission and Tropicolor will host the 6th South Beach Photomarathon at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. As with previous Miami Beach photomarathons, the term 'marathon' is used loosely, this time only six topics needing to be photographed over a period of five hours.
As usual, the topics will be kept secret until the event day and will be purposefully vague to give the contestants plenty of room for self-expression. The best photos from each topic will be selected, and from those the first, second and third place winners will be awarded cash and other prizes. The top twenty-five entries will also be exhibited at the Tropicolor Gallery during the month of May.

More info and registration at the fotomission website. Registration fee is a hefty $50, $30 for students.

Sleepless in Miami

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Fotomission.org is organizing an overnight photomarathon, hence the 'sleepsless' theme, on November 7 in Miami beach. Though only requesting 3 themes, making it not quite a proper photomarathon, participants are allowed to submit 24 photos.

Prizes are significant, including a 1000 USD cash prize. And registration is free!

Copenhagen on August 29

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:35:00 +0000

Copenhagen is doing it this year on August 29. All digital. Update: Not just Copenhagen, but Odense and Aalborg as well (thanks to Jonas for pointing that out).

They're hardcore, as besides the 12 hour marathon, there's also a cool 24 hour marathon. Cool potatoes!

If you sign up now, the cost is 250 DKK, which comes in at a quite hefty 34 euros. You do get a memory card for your digital camera as part of the package, though.

More info at fotomarathon.dk.

Cardiff is back

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:19:00 +0000

After taking a break in 2008, the Cardiff photomarathon is back on June 20th this year.

It's 12 photos of 12 given subjects with only a 12 exposure film, just one chance for each shot, taking place over 12 hours.

Following the marathon, every entrant's work is processed and presented in a free public exhibition at Cardiff Old Library from 25 July to 9 August.

Entry is £15 and includes film, processing, free bus and train travel around Cardiff on the day and private invite to exhibition launch in July. But you have to bring your own camera. More info on the website.

I'm a big fan of Torchwood, which is set in Cardiff, but am currently based in east Asia, meaning I'm unlikely to participate in the event. I'm jealous of those who will!

South Beach on March 22

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:14:00 +0000

South Beach, Miami, will see a photomarathon on Sunday, March 22. It's going to be 6 themes in 5 hours. More information on their website.

Berlin photomarathon exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:47:00 +0000

~~I'm not sure if they took a cue from the Johannesburg photomarathon, but~~ Like every previous year, on the 11th and 12th of October, the organizers of the Berlin photomarathon are exhibiting all, yes, all, submitted photos from their marathon in August. With 3024 photos by 126 participants, this is no mean feat. And, in comparison to Jo'burg's relative puny number of 69 participants and some 800 photos, very impressive.
In fact, if laid out in one single line, the photos would stretch a combined length of more than 3 kilometers. So, if you're going, bring your hiking shoes.

What's more, not only will they have two prizes awarded by 'the public', they've got prizes, worth a very impressive 5000 euros. In funny money, that would be around 7500 USD, today.

You can read up on the exhibition at the Berlin photomarathon website (in English).
There, you can also find a lovely description of the August photomarathon, with all 24 themes hidden in the text.

Thanks to Andrea Figari for keeping me posted!

Romania and Austria in October

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:00:00 +0000

In Iasi, Romania, a 12 hour photomarathon with 12 themes is happening on the 11th of October. More info at their website (in Romanian).

Two weeks later, in Vienna, will see participants wade through 24 themes in 12 hours. Sure to be a tough event. There, participation will set you back 20 euros, but that includes a free roll or film or a free memory card, depending on what format you'll be shooting in. More info over at their website (in German).

In other news, it seems that September 13 saw a photomarathon in Bogota, Colombia.
Online information is very limited, but the concept seems slightly different from a conventional photomarathon: 20 themes over two days with the participants getting all themes upfront.
There's an upcoming exhibition in December, with works submitted by the participants exhibited in the streets of the city.
So this might mean that Bogota was the first city in South America which hosted a photomarathon.

Chamonix does 'photocross' on January 9

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:03:00 +0000

One of the tasks for which the Academie francaise is responsible, is to create local version of foreign words to avoid contamination of the langue d'amour. However, in the case of the upcoming photocross in Chamonix, early next year, it's actually the Russians who came up with their name for 'photomarathon', simply because when the first photocross was organized in 2004, none of the organizers knew of the descriptive term photomarathon.

That said, they have been more diligent than most. After having been born in Moscow, they opened Photocross branches in 36 cities all around Russia, with about 5 events every year in Moscow and upto 10 events per year in other cities in the largest country in the world. On their most recent event in Moscow, no less than an amazing 1500 people participated!

Next up is Chamonix, on the ninth of January, where the first Photocross event was organized outside of Russia in 2006.

More on Photocross at photocross.fr as information becomes available.

Thanks to Elya for keeping me up to date.

Berlin on August 30th

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:17:00 +0000

Berlin is organizing its 9th photomarathon this year, on August 30th. Get ready! Registration can be done online, and you'll be joining adventurists from not only Germany, but also Belgium, Holland, Austria and the UK.

In fact, organizers of the UK photomarathon, where people have to miss out this year, have itchy fingers themselves and are joining the peeps in the city of which David Bowie said "The greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine...". Now, take that from David!

Last year, the limit on participants was 250. No talk of a limit this year... yet. So you better hurry, just in case...

Not in UK, but yes in Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:42:00 +0000

A short while ago, the British photomarathon team announced they're not organizing an event this year. What probably has been the biggest photomarathon event for the last few years won't be this year.
Last year saw two photomarathons happen simultaneously, both in Cardiff (incidentally the setting for the excellent Torchwood series) and in Glasgow.

Toronto

Meanwhile, Toronto is doing it again on July 5th. A whole 24 hours of it. Goodie goodie.

For now, no photomarathon in Chiang Mai

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:20:00 +0000

Together with CityLife, Photomarathon.eu was to organize a photomarathon in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with a tentative date set for May 25.
Unfortunately, Canon came in at the last minute and spoiled the fun, organizing a photography competition just a few weeks earlier, and calling it a photomarathon. Not that they're really organizing a true photomarathon, but at least they call it that, meaning that organizing another photography event and calling it a photomarathon isn't too appropriate, at least for now.

So... watch this space!

Photomarathon rules

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:53:00 +0000

Below are the rules used for photomarathons organized in cooperation with Photomarathon.eu. If you're organizing your own photomarathon, you're very welcome to copy the rules below for your own purpose. The text on this page is released under a creative commons attribution license.

Before you begin, you will have paid your registration fee, either at pre-registration or on the day of the event. The registration fee is clearly communicated, well before the start of the event.
The different types of contests will be communicated, well before the start of the event. Contests could be analogue, digital and video and could encompass a period of 12 or 24 hours.
After registration, on the day of the event, you'll be given a participant ID and a registration token. You will need that token at the different venues to pick up a new set of themes.
Shooting digital? Take your pictures at the highest possible resolution. Only JPGs are accepted, no RAWs. And, if you're wondering, one camera per participation! If you're participating multiple times, you can use a different camera for each participation.
Shooting analogue? Only regular 35mm films are accepted. For the initiated, we only accept films that can be processed through C-41. Learn more about C-41 at Wikipedia. You have to bring your own roll of film.
Shooting video? We only accept digital content. Each video can be, at maximum, one minute long. Bring your own setup to convert your videos to digital content or shoot direct to DVD, card or hard disk.
Shoot your first picture or video of your photographer ID.
Shoot your other submissions in the order of which we hand out the themes. In the end, the number of your submissions is equal to the number of themes, plus one (for your photographer ID). For digital photographers, it is considered VERY bad form to rename pictures and/or change their order and if we catch you, you could be disqualified. The digital pictures and videos will be ordered by file name.
You have to visit all venues to stand a chance to win the prize for best series. If you miss a venue, you can still submit your pictures and stand a chance to win the prize for best picture. So, always make sure you get to know which themes we hand out.
Don't arrive too late at the different venues. We might have gone.
You hand over your roll of film or your digital work at the last venue. We'll have a card reader available to read the most common types of cards. If you're not sure we'll be able to read yours, bring a card reader or a cable (and possibly a software driver). Analogue photographers can get their negatives back, a few weeks after the event, typically at the opening of the exhibition.
It is not allowed to (digitally) manipulate your submissions in any way.
A jury will decide on the best series and the best individual submissions in each category which is up for a prize, though the jury is at liberty to select winners at their discretion. The jury's decision is final. All pictures will be judged anonymously.
You remain the copyright holder of your pictures. But as a participant, you give Photomarathon.eu the right to use your pictures for PR activities, related to Photomarathon.eu, typically in relation, but not limited, to future photomarathons. Your picture might just show up on our website or with a newspaper article.
We can't accept any liability for damage, loss or theft. Be responsible and reasonable. Consider finding a buddy photographer.
Photomarathon.eu can make changes to the rules without prior notification.

Another photomarathon in Miami

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:29:00 +0000

While here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we'd set a date for a photomarathon, only to have Canon mess with us, fotomission is organizing a short photomarathon in Miami Beach on April 20th.

Six themes, five hours. Enjoy!

Photomarathon.eu absorbs PhotographySA.com

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:45:00 +0000

That's right! Absorption baby!

While living in South Africa, I organized two photomarathons, one in Johannesburg, one in Pretoria. Both were facilitated through the website PhotographySA.com. There's a chance I'll move back to South Africa this year, but I decided to merge that and this website anyway.
With the Photomarathon.eu brand, it's easier to organize photomarathons without the domain name being bound geographically.

If you registered on PhotographySA.com, your registration info was moved to Photomarathon.eu. No information was handed out to anyone, as the same person operates both PhotographySA.com and Photomarathon.eu; Me!

Photomarathon.eu will remain on the lookout for the world's photomarathons. Keep on submitting them!

Slovakia does it too!

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:07:00 +0000

On September 22nd, last year, saw the Bratislavsky fotomaraton 2007 in one of my favorite central European cities, Bratislava. They 'did' 12 photos in six hours and had no less than 300 photographers run around the town. Well done!

Keep your eyes peeled as they're set to do it again this year.

First ever photomarathon in Madrid, 1985

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:01:00 +0000

It's hard to research relatively obscure information from before the advent of the web. One such example, trying to trace down the first ever photomarathon.
Up till recently, I was under the impression the Danes beat us all to it, having their first photomarathon in 1989 in Copenhagen, going strong ever since. They actually mention their first photomarathon on their website.

Not so, however.
I was contacted by Antonio Bolivar who says he was one of the organizers of what seems to have been the first ever photomarathons, in Spain and Portugal. He also sent me three copies of the posters used to promote the Madrid photomarathons in 1986, 87 and 88. These posters are accompanying this article.

Here's Antonio in his own words:

We organized the first photomarathon, in Madrid, in 1985, in cooperation with the Madrid council and with a significant number of participants, around 2500 people. We came up with the concept from scratch.
Later, we did 4 consecutive editions and also organized events in several other cities, such as Santiago de Compostela and Lisbon.

So there. That not only puts the earliest known photomarathon in 1985 (March 1, in fact), what's more impressive is the number of participants, some 2500 crazy photographers running around Madrid for 24 hours, trying to shoot 24 pictures. I wish I'd been there!

Antonio also managed to send me copies of some of the original registration forms. Apparently, the first prize in 1987 was no less than 180.000 pesetas. Now, as a European, it's been a while since I handled pesetas, but web-based currency converters think that equaled over 1000 euros. No small fry indeed.

snap snap around the world

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:41:00 +0000

It's called Snap-Shot-City, but reading the little information available on their website and taking a look at last year's submissions, it basically looks like a photomarathon: You get themes and you have to shoot pictures.

However, it is a bit more than that: you typically participate in teams and the same event is happening in multiple locations around the globe. The sign up form seems to suggest that literally everyone and anyone can participate, wherever you are. All you need to do is upload your submission to the Snap-Shot-City website before the deadline. No mention of time zone restrictions, though.

Still, it's very good to see that with events like this, the concept of photomarathon is seeping into the mainstream.

Photomarathon Rotterdam on 20 October

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:11:00 +0000

The guys in Rotterdam have decided to postpone their marathon by four weeks. Now, the event, all 24 hours of it, will be held on the 20th of October. Check out their great website.

Also, Pretoria recently put all their results online. They've got the exhibition and announcing of the winners on September 28.

Photomarathon in Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:48:00 +0000

September seems to be the month for organizing photomarathons. There's one scheduled for the 22nd of September in Berlin. And they're doing well, with loads of sponsors, including everyone's favorite photo sharing site Flickr.
Participation fee is hefty, however, at 27 euros. Then again, the main prize is a Leica camera and everyone who finishes the photomarathon gets a 'free' Flickr pro account.

Berlin's photomarathon, this year in its eighth edition, has finally joined the rank and file and moved digital. In fact, you can now only submit digital work.

It's promising to be quite a show, with a maximum(!) of 250 participants.

Here's (most of) the press release:

8th Fotomarathon Berlin 2007 - 1. digital edition

The photo competition under special circumstances

>> quick >> clever >> spontaneous >> confident

1 Camera. 12 Hours. 24 Topics.

When: Saturday 22.09.07, 12.00 pm
Where: Podewil, Klosterstrasse 68-70 Berlin Mitte

Number of participants: Limited to 250 Registration Via internet www.fotomarathon.de

Fee: 27 euros Press info to download at: www.fotomarathon.de >> Presse >> Dowloads

The challenge to 250 creative, stress-resistant and ambitious photographers is back in Berlin on September 22nd 2007 at 12.00 in Podewil. This eight Berliner Fotomarathon will step on digital territory, for the first time just digital photos will be accepted.

As in the past years, under a general theme, 24 ambiguous topics will be given to the participants to test their interpretation skills. The topics should be covered within twelve hours and strictly respect the given chronological order. The winner is not the one who arrives first but the one who takes the best and most consistent series of 24 photos in 12 hours.

The Fotomarathon starts at noon Podewil (Klosterstrasse 68-70, Berlin Mitte) and unfolds along three other stations located through all the city until midnight. The stations are located around the inner Berlin city and can be reached easily either through the public transport or by bicycle.

The Fotomarathon is not only about photographic performance it is also about developing a new point of view in the truest sense of the word. Only one chance is available for each shot: every decision counts. After a careful choice of places for the stations, the Fotomarathon also serves as an unrivaled city tour in Berlin for everyone, even for those who think of themselves as Berlin experts: a 12 hour trip to unchartered territory for Berliners and visitors alike! Registration is underway online at www.fotomarathon.de and the number of participants is limited to 250.

The award ceremony will take place three weeks later, within the framework of an exhibition, where all photo series from all participants will be exhibited. Place and time will be announced later. After te event, participants can also share their photos in an official Flickr Fotomarathon Group, and reach out to a worldwide public.

The participation fee is 27 euro which includes: Prints of the whole 24 photo series and free entrance to the exhibition and the award ceremony

Main sponsors of the Fotomarathon are www.Leica-Berlin.de and www.Flickr.com. Prizes include a Leica C-Lux digital Camera and Flickr Pro Accounts for all participants who successfully complete the Fotomarathon. Leica Camera brings best German engineering and a special culture of the picture to the Fotomarathon. Flickr is one of the world's leading online Foto sharing communities, where photo fans discover, manage and share photos with people worldwide, bringing an ideal platform for Fotomarathon participants.

If you can't make it to Berlin, try Pretoria (8 September), Zagreb (15 September), Rotterdam (22 September) or Vienna (8 September).

Canon's going wild in Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:20:00 +0000

After sponsoring events they call photomarathons in Singapore in 2005 and 2006, Canon is now seemingly going at it alone, organizing 6 events in 5 East Asian countries. I'm a bit reluctant to call them photomarathons, as participants get 3 hours per theme and only 3 themes total.
Compared to, say, the upcoming Zagreb photomarathon, where you have 12 hours to shoot 24 pictures, that's nothing.

Anyway, if you're in the area, I'm sure it's going to be fun. Here are the dates:

Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City): 18 August
Vietnam (Hanoi): 25 August
Malaysia: 26 August
Philippines: 15 September
Thailand: 6 October
Singapore: 20 October

And a link to their website.

I'm a bit annoyed by all the photomarathons I'm just missing out on: The Vienna one by four weeks, the Zagreb one by three weeks, the Rotterdam one by two weeks, the Thailand one by one week. *sigh*

The bug is spreading to Zagreb

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:56:00 +0000

On September 15, you can enjoy 12 hours of goodness at a photomarathon in Zagreb. You'll be burdened to shoot no less than 24 pictures, so I imagine it will be fun and tough.

If you're in the area, don't hesitate to go; Zagreb is one fine town to explore.

Here's a link to their website. It's mostly in Croatian, but they've got a small blurb in English.

Rotterdam is doing it again on September 22

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:55:00 +0000

Rotterdam is having its third annual photomarathon on September 22. Don't hesitate to register but prepare for a tough day, as this will be a 24 hour challenge.

The BBC joins in, so can you

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:04:00 +0000

It's not exactly a photomarathon, but in spirit it comes quite close. The BBC News service runs a competition where you can submit photographs on predefined themes. The first deadline is 8 July, the last 16 September. Themes include 'Blue', 'Look down', 'Heritage' and 'Time' and per theme, you're allowed to submit three images.

After a few selection rounds, the winner will get a pretty Nikon D40x.

Here's a direct link to the competition page.

Belgium goes wild

noreply@blogger.com (Babak Fakhamzadeh) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:04:00 +0000

FNAC, pretty much Belgium's largest electronics warehouse, is sponsoring another round of photomarathons in Belgium. Like last year, it's 'on' in Antwerp, Brussels, Gent, Leuven and Luik. And, like last year, finding decent info online is mighty tough. There's a little bit of information up on FNACrendezvous.be.