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This will be the 3rd edition of the TBIFF Photography Competition. The competition will run from July 2026 to October 2026, with a different theme each month. Contestants may enter for as many months as they wish. Participation is FREE.
WINNERS & PRIZES
Winners
The judges will select 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners each month (12 winners in total in 4 months).
The judges will select up to 3 runner-up entrants each month (under 12 runners-up in total in 4 months).
An overall Grand Prize winner will be selected by the judges, chosen from 12 monthly winners.
An overall 2nd Place and 3rd Place winner will also be selected from all monthly winners.
Prizes
The overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will each receive cash prizes (TBC).
The overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will each receive full film festival passes for TBIFF-27 (running 29 January – 7 February 2027).
The overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, and all monthly winners, will receive Certificates of Honour.
All monthly winners and runners-up will have their images printed and exhibited in the TBIFF Photography Competition Exhibition (29 January – 7 February 2027).
RULES FOR PARTICIPANTS
On the first day of each month, we will post the theme for that month on our Instagram account (@thebayfilmfestival) and website (www.thebayfilmfestival.com).
All images entered should be of, or taken in, the Morecambe Bay area. All entries must be new photographs taken during the month of submission.
Entries are accepted using any available camera, including film, digital and smartphones.
To enter, post your photo(s) on your Instagram account and copy the following text into your description*:
📷 With this photo I am taking part in the photo competition for the best photo of Morecambe Bay organised by @thebayfilmfestival #TBIFFphotocontest26 #morecambe #morecambebay #bayphotography
Each participant may submit not more than 3 photos per monthly round. Please do not submit multiple photos in an Instagram carousel - if you do, only the first photo will be accepted.
If it is not clear from your photo that it was taken in the Morecambe Bay area, please state the location in the description.
If it is not clear from your Instagram account, what is your name, please state your name in the description.
Please check that your photo has received a LIKE from the TBIFF account on the first day of the month following your submission. If it has not, it is possible we have missed it - please contact us as soon as possible.
At the beginning of each month, following judging, the results will be posted on our Instagram account. Photographs will be judged on the merit and creativity of their interpretation of the monthly theme by our panel of judges (details TBA).
Entrants under the age of 16 must have parent or guardian consent to enter.
* Important: if you do not copy this text, we will not see your entry. Do not add this description to photos posted before the month began - we follow the hashtag’s new photos each month and older posts are likely to be missed.
MONTHLY THEMES
In keeping with the spirit of the Film Festival, this year each month is dedicated to the distinctive visual style of one iconic film director. Head to Morecambe Bay and show us the world through their eyes. Each month's theme will be announced on the first day of each month on social media and here.
July: Through the Eyes of Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick’s world is one of geometric precision, long empty corridors and an unsettling, eerie stillness. Think The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon. In July, find that same controlled, hypnotic tension around Morecambe Bay. A long straight pier stretching to a vanishing point. A boat reflected in still water. A lone figure dwarfed by vast, indifferent architecture. Think bold perspective, dramatic light and shadow, and a sense that something monumental (or slightly ominous) is just out of frame.
Photos for this theme should be submitted in July only.
August: Through the Eyes of Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson’s films are a feast of perfect symmetry, pastel colours and quirky, deadpan charm. Think The Grand Budapest Hotel or Moonrise Kingdom. In August, we want you to find the Anderson in Morecambe Bay. Look for the perfectly centred doorway on a painted terrace, the faded seaside hotel in blush pink, the lone figure standing exactly in the middle of the promenade. Seek out symmetry, flat compositions and those wonderfully sun-bleached colours that the Bay does so naturally. Bonus points for anything slightly absurd.
Photos for this theme should be made and submitted in August only.
September: Through the Eyes of Greta Gerwig
Gerwig's films are warm, human and full of feeling - sunlit, a little nostalgic, and always centred on people. Think Lady Bird, Little Women, and, of course Barbie. September in Morecambe Bay is a month of endings and beginnings: the last of the summer light, empty beaches after the holidays, school shoes back on. Look for friends huddled on a bench, a bright coat against a grey promenade, a bedroom window lit against the dark, hands holding chips on a cooling afternoon. Seek out golden light, bold pops of colour (some more pink?), and small ordinary moments that feel like the middle of somebody's story.
Photos for this theme should be submitted in September only.
October: Through the Eyes of Tim Burton
Burton's vision is gloriously gothic: twisted, dark, beautiful and a little bit strange. Think Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Big Fish. October in Morecambe Bay is the perfect month for it. The light gets lower, the mist rolls in off the water, and the architecture starts to look decidedly gothic. Find the crooked chimney, the gnarled tree silhouetted at dusk, the pier stretching into grey autumn mist. Don't be afraid of drama, shadows, or the wonderfully weird.
Photos for this theme should be made and submitted in October only.
OUR JURY
Jonny Gios is a Kendal-based documentary and portrait photographer, awarded the Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS) in 2024, whose community-focused work is driven by a commitment to capturing everyday life with honesty, care and connection. He is a part time photography tutor at Lancaster and Morecambe College, teaching photography to adults.
More about Jonny here - https://www.jgios.com/
Astrid Edwards is an experienced TV/Film Producer & Documentary Director across music video, commercials, documentary, longform entertainment and film. Notable work includes: LIVE EARTH (BBC), FROM THE BASEMENT (Sky Arts), RADIOHEAD’s multi-award-winning IN RAINBOWS film, BEYONCE’s BLACK IS KING feature (Disney) for which Astrid won a Grammy, SONGS FOR THE RIVER premiered/shortlisted Best Feature (Sheffield Doc Fest) & GRID (EA Games) a world first feature shot entirely in virtual production. Astrid has a BFI-supported drama feature UP YOURS! based on the early life of punk icon Poly Styrene of XRay Spex in pre-production shooting 2027. Her passions are music, photography & film.
Danil Lysenko is a still life photographer, mixed media artist and production designer whose multidisciplinary practice spans set design, art direction and commercial imagery, with commissions ranging from music videos and film posters to retail store interiors for a major international jewellery brand.
More about Danil here - https://danlysenko.com
Yan Hui Chew is a Singaporean-born Preston-based photographer and videographer with a background in Applied Drama, Psychology, Film and Sociology, whose award-winning work captures honest, behind-the-scenes storytelling on set and in performance.
More about Yan Hui here - https://www.yanhuichew.com
Maryam Ghorbankarimi
Award-winning filmmaker (Bina film) and film scholar (Lancaster University), focusing on the representation of women in film.
Simon Price is a Glasgow-based high-end television and film location manager and scout, trained at Screen Academy Scotland and Edinburgh Napier University, whose credits span Shetland, Outlander, Trust Me, Guilt and Deadwater Fell, with the Netflix comedy Eurovision.
Yan Harlan a special guest jury member for the first round (Kubrick). Jan, the executive producer and brother-in-law of Stanley Kubrick, has been a key guest and participant at The Bay International Film Festival in Morecambe in 2023 (inaugural first edition).
MONTHLY WINNERS: July (Kubrick)
MONTHLY WINNERS: August (Anderson)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering this competition, the copyright of your photo(s) shall remain with you. You agree that The Bay International Film Festival has the right to exhibit your photo(s) and to share them on social media. You will be given full credit as the photographer.
You confirm that the rights of the photo(s) entered belong to you.
You agree for your photo(s) to be used in marketing materials and press releases announcing the exhibition.
You agree to provide the best available quality digital file of your photo for printing, if selected for the exhibition.
You confirm that the photo was taken in the Morecambe Bay area.
This competition is searching for sponsors. If you want to support - please contact info@thebayfilmfestival.com
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