All professional photographers, Vietnamese and foreigners alike, are welcomed to take part in the 2013 Vietnam International Artistic Photo Contest.

The biennial contest, organized by the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA), has expanded globally to provide exchange opportunities between Vietnamese photographers and their foreign counterparts as well as promoting Vietnam’s culture, and people to the rest of the world.

Unlike previous seasons that featured freestyle categories for color and black-and-white photos, this year’s contest welcomes entries in four categories, namely freestyle, nature, tourism and artistic portraiture.

Entries must be submitted by August 31 either by sending emails to contestvn2013@gmail.com, uploading them onto the contest’s website www.contestvn2013.com (to be activated from July 1) or by sending via airmail the CD or VCD containing the competing works to VAPA.

Results will be announced in October. Prize-winning photos will be on display at an exhibit to be held at the Van Mieu- Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) in Hanoi in November.

In 2011, the contest saw the participation of 1,600 photographers including 300 foreign ones, who sent in more than 11,000 entries to compete.

VAPA has also launched a national photo contest for all Vietnamese photographers called “Sac mau cac Dan toc Viet Nam (Hues of Vietnam’s Ethnic Groups) 2014”.

All entries must be submitted by July 30 next year.