Leica has announced the opening of its annual ‘Leica Oskar Barnack’ photography competition.

The competition is International and aimed at professional photographers. This year, however, sees the introduction of a ‘Newcomer Award’, aimed at all prospective professional photographers aged 25 and under.

The winner of the competition will be decided by an international judging panel, and will be someone ‘whose powers of observation capture and express the relationship between man and the environment in the most graphic form in a sequence of ten to twelve images’, according to Leica.

All photo series entered will be displayed in a dedicated gallery on Leica’s web site, while the winner of the main prize will scoop Ä5,000 and the newcomer winning Ä2,500.

The closing date for entries is 15th March, and for full details on how to enter visit the Leica Oskar Barnack Award website.