As photo contest turns 16, Beni Trutmann gets political edge

The Formentera Council's Office of Culture reports that now to April 13, submissions will be accepted to the Beni Trutmann photo competition. Entering into its sixteenth year, the contest has become a fixture on the island.

The photo contest is a tribute to Beni Trutmann, a prodigious Swiss photographer who fell in love with Formentera on a visit and went on to spend 44 years on the island, during which time he took upwards of thirty thousand photos, each a demonstration of his love for the island and its natural spaces...which explains why Beni Trutmann the photo contest is all about nature—landscapes, fauna and humans interacting in the outdoors—not to mention a commitment to defending our environment, and spreading Trutmann's legacy to generations of youth.

Colour / Black & White
In the colour and black & white categories, participants can submit up to three prints (analog or digital) in square, digital, classic and panorama format. Contestants must also state which prize—first, second or third, with cash prizes of €500, €300 and €200, respectively—they wish to compete for.

Political engagement
This year, organisers have added a new category—fotodenúncia—for photography that is political in nature, seeking to denounce injustices, demand change or encourage reflection on a particular environmental issue. Cash prizes for the first-, second- and third-place winners are €500, €300 and €200, respectively.

Smart shots
Tuned for youth aged 12 to 18, another category that has become increasingly established with time is for photos snapped with smartphones. These submissions can be emailed to concursfoto@conselldeformentera.cat. Contestants are asked to include no more than three photos taken with their smartphone.

Submissions
Photos should be submitted to the Formentera Council together with a blank envelope with the contestant's full name, physical and email address and a telephone number written inside.

Envelopes will only be opened in the event of a winning submission. Organisers will ensure the anonymity of participating photographers by assigning each a registration with number at the time of submission. The number will be included on the blank envelope, the back of each submitted photo and the proof of registration so that contestants can retrieve them later.

The pair of envelopes should be sent via certified mail to the Formentera Council, plaça de la Constitució, 1, 07860 Sant Francesc Xavier, Formentera. One of the envelopes must contain another sealed envelope identification of the contestant.

Jury
A panel of judges will be made up of a spokesperson from the local chapter of the Balearic association for birdwatching and the defence of nature; one representative of the local chapter of Obra Cultural Balear; three individuals renowned for their work in the visual arts; plus a chairperson and secretary.

Winning submissions will be included in Formentera's image and sound archive, the AISF, and become property of the Council, which reserves the right to reproduce them as it deems fit (on posters, signs, internet-based campaigns, etc), though not for profit.

History
In its 16 years, the competition has amassed a valuable archive of roughly 1,200 photos from 300 participants. No better proof of the contest's growth can be found than the participation of photographers from as far away as mainland Spain and other countries in Europe.

Exhibition and awards ceremony
To crown the contest's sixteenth edition, from Monday, April 30, a selection of some fifty photos will be displayed in the municipal gallery, the Sala d'Exposicions, and during a special ceremony selected photographers will receive their prizes. The exhibition will continue through May 12.

For more information and to see submission conditions, visit the Formentera Council website: https://goo.gl/8VNLMW