Canon Photo Marathon back to Hanoi with a bang!

The one-day photo competition tests participants on their photographic skills, creativity, endurance and ability to perform under pressure and has attracted an ever-growing number of photo enthusiasts in Vietnam. The contest of this year will experience the biggest number of contestants ever in Vietnam, breaking the record with 2,500 registers in Hanoi and around 3,000 ones in Ho Chi Minh City.

As with the usual proceedings of Canon Photo Marathon, each contestant will receive three given topics of varying themes and will have three hours to complete each one. Getting underway at 7.30am, competitors will have a limited time to create and select their choice of photos to be handed over to the organizers before being informed of the next topic. The winning photos will be those that best express a theme in the allotted time. The names of the winners will be announced and awarded at night on the September 24.

Originally conceived by Canon, the first Photo Marathon was held in 2003 and has since become a regional contest. Organised for the first time in Vietnam in 2006, it has a strong following amongst that country’s photographers and has become one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. By taking part in this year’s competition, photographers of all ages and levels of expertise will be given the opportunity to show off their talent for photography.

Following the event in Vietnam, Canon Photo Marathon will come to Ho Chi Minh City on October 1. The two winners of the grand prize from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be rewarded with a product kit, which includes Canon EOS 7D kit, photo printer PIXMA Pro 9000 MarkII, and the opportunity to participate in an 8-day all expenses paid photo clinic in Tasmania, Australia - the Island of Inspiration.

With its unspoilt nature and vast wildlife, together with a diverse mixture of flora and fauna, this will certainly inspire all winners from Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and India. Coaching them on this photo clinic will be professional photographer Triston Yeo, dubbed one of the “Best Photographers of the Decade” by Asian Geographic magazine.

Attending the 6^th Canon Photo Marathon in Vietnam this year, Triston Yeo- a Singaporean photographer- one of three judges of the contest this year said: “I’ve got so many Vietnamese friends, most of them are photographers, both professional and amateur ones. They are so young, enthusiastic, smart and sensitive. Coming to Vietnam this time, it impresses me with the huge number of registers. Thus, I believe Canon Photo Marathon will be a soulful game not only for contestants but also for our judging panel”.

This year, besides the grand prize, winners of each topic will be rewarded with a number of valuable Canon products, including sets of Canon cameras and photo printers such as the IXUS 220 HS/115 HS, PowerShot A1200, Selphy CP800 and PIXMA iP2770.