Travel Photographer of the Year awards are open for entries - whatever your age or ability

HIGHLY COMMENDED, NATURE, WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION PORTFOLIO Roie Galitz, Israel.

Open to amateur and professional photographers from all ages and geographic locations, the Travel Photographer of the Year 2024 awards are now open for submissions. 

Founded in 2003, the competition encourages and celebrates everyone and anyone who is interested in travel photography, with previous entrants ranging from 88 to just five years old. 

From May 31 to October 6, the competition is encouraging photographers to enter their work into the four portfolio categories:

• Faces, People, Cultures
• Planet Earth
• Landscapes, Climate and Water
• Nature and Wildlife

There are also four one-shot single image categories:

• Cities, Towns and Streets
• Escape
• Festivals and Celebrations
• Women in World Cultures

 Taken in the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, Israeli photographer Roie Galitz photo entitled 'The Last Embrace' received a Highly Commended in the Nature, Wildlife and Conservation category in 2023.  Roie used a Nikon D850, 180-400mm lens, f/5,1/200s, ISO 1000. (Image credit: Roie Galitz / www.tpoty.com)

In addition, there is also the Young Travel Photographer of the Year, which is open to photographers aged 18 or under, and has awards in two different age groups, and the theme is ‘Travel Experiences’. Entry fees start from £12.

For the first time, this year's competition will also include a Rising Talent award for amateur or semi-professional photographers, or those who have only been professional for up to two years.

Sponsors of the awards include SheClicks, the community for women photographers, and Eye for the Light, the free online photography, travel and adventure e-magazine.

The judges this year will include the multi award-winning nature and wildlife photographer Ellie Rothnie, who was appointed a Canon Ambassador for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2023.

The overall winner of the Travel Photographer of the Year will be the entrant who submits the best two portfolios across any of the four portfolio categories.

2023 winner of the People and Cultures portfolio Athanasios Maloukos, from Greece, captured this image on Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia.  "The Buryatian shaman Vitalli performs a ritual to connect with the spirits on frozen Lake Baikal, with the sacred Ogoi (Dragon) cape in the background." Maloukos used a Canon EOS R5 , 15 35mm lens, f 18 , 1/125s, ISO 100 (Image credit: Athanasios Maloukos / www.tpoty.com)

10 winners will receive a cash prize, imaging software and online photography training, membership to the Royal Photographic Society, as well as a portfolio review from one of the judges. Two of the ten winners will receive an additional portfolio review from New York photographer’s agent Frank Meo, and Rising Star winners will get a place on the awards upcoming mentoring scheme.

On top of the prizes, winners will also gain widespread media exposure and have their work featured in UK and international exhibitions. Currently confirmed exhibits include Banbury Museum and Gallery in Oxfordshire, UK (29 MArch - 6 July), Foto Festival Manzana 1 in Bolivia (November 20 - 24), Xposure Festival of Photography in Sharjah, UAE (February 20 - 26 2025).

UK based Sam Turley placed runner up in the 2023 Nature, Wildlife, and Conservation portfolio.  "Wild is Life Sanctuary, Harare, Zimbabwe Mateo smiles as Marimba nestles into her safe place, tucked under Mateo's chin. Marimba, a ground pangolin, was around a year old when her mother was poached for her scales." Turley used a Fujifilm X-T3 , 16 - 55mm lens, f/2.8 , 1/500s, ISO 1000. (Image credit: Sam Turley / www.tpoty.com)

If you'd like to enter or try your hand and this type of photography, check out our guide to the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best trail cameras. 

We've also put together a guide to the best travel cameras around.