YR. 1 is a high-profile photography event designed to create a portrait of Britain. It's the largest ever UK photography competition, bringing together the work of both professional and amateur photographers in a quest to find the defining image of Britain. Working across various media and initiatives (channel, website, exhibition and broadsheet), it's an enquiry into what photography is, and can be, in the digital age.

You have until March 31 to enter your photographs. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony to be broadcast live on Channel 4 on Sunday 1 July 2001.



The Prizes
The winning photo in each category will win £1,000 and be put forward for the grand prize of £10,000. Many of the entries will be posted in the gallery on this website and hundreds of selected photos will be on show at three separate exhibitions across the UK. Several of the entries will also be featured in The Independent newspaper and on their website.

Categories
Photos will be judged in five categories: Home, Work, Play, Beauty and Fame, and each category will be judged by a famous British photographer. You can be as creative as you want in interpreting these categories. The most important things to remember is that all images submitted must be taken in Britain during 2000 or 2001 and entries must be received by Friday, 30 March 2001. You may enter a maximum of three images across three different categories and you can not enter the same image into different categories.



How to Enter
You can print out the entry form and post your photographs with the form to YR.1 Competition, PO Box 197, Twickenham, TW2 5FH.

Alternatively, you can enter your photograph digitally on this website. The advantage of entering the photograph this way is that if your image is accepted, then you will have the option of putting it forward to the online gallery where you could win a separate online competition which will run from April. Channel 4 will be scanning in some photographs entered by post to the gallery, where requested. However, places in the gallery for postal entries can not be guaranteed.

Unfortunately no entries can be returned. Entries which do not comply with the Terms and Conditions will be disqualified.

YR.1 on Channel 4
The first YR.1 programme was broadcast on Channel 4 on 14 January. There will be two more programmes on:

Sunday 18 February
This programme looks at what the future holds for photography.

Sunday 1 July
This is the live broadcast of the YR.1 Awards Ceremony

YR.1 will also be broadcast on The Slot during February and May.



YR.1 on the Website
The Website is an important part of YR. Not only does it enable you to enter all your images online, but, for those who wish to take part, our online gallery means that you can enter a separate competition on the website in April. All those who enter the on-line gallery vote on each other's photographs / for their favourite photograph, and the images with the most votes wins a separate prize.

The website will keep you up to date with the main competition where the winner takes home £10K, as well as our online competitions and, over the next few months, there will be a variety of chat rooms, photography news and web chats with different photographers.

YR.1 Sponsors
YR.1 is produced in association with Unisys.

For over a century Unisys has been dedicated to developing the technology and expertise to power the things we take for granted. Every day, flights are booked, cheques are cashed, newspapers are written and telephone calls are made using our technologies and solutions. Around the world, Unisys technology and people are part of the fabric of everyday life, touching lives, making things happen.

As an active member of your community, Unisys is proud to sponsor the YR.1 photography competition - a competition that gives us all the opportunity to record and define life in Britain in the first year of the new millennium.

The media partner is The Independent.

The Independent newspaper is proud to support a competition that invites all of us to capture a defining image of where and how we live in this our new millennium. Through our editorial coverage we strongly support the issues affecting the lives of people living in the UK. Also, through our own award-winning photography, we promote the photographic medium as an effective and essential method of communication. The Independent is pleased to be involved in what is set to be the biggest photographic competition of the year.



Win the chance to be a trainee photographer!
The Independent newspaper is offering you the chance to kick-start your photographic career. If you are aged between 18 and 21 you can enter Channel 4's Year 1 photography competition and win the opportunity to work with The Independent's award winning team as a trainee photographer.

The Independent is renowned for excellence in photography. Our excellent staff team includes David Ashdown , Sports Photographer of the Year, David Rose, Photographer of the Year (British Press Awards 1998), and Tom Pilston, winner of the 25th Nikon Press Awards.

The winning entry will receive a three-month paid placement at The Independent.

Exhibitions
Hundreds of images submitted to the YR.1 competition will be exhibited in the summer of 2001 at the following galleries:

8 June - 22 July 2001
The Photographers' Gallery
London 020 7831 1772

26 May - 7 July 2001
Open Eye, Liverpool
0151 709 9460

19 June - 14 July 2001
Stills Gallery, Edinburgh
0131 622 6200

Further Questions
If you have any further questions, please read Frequently Asked Questions. Otherwise call us on our local rate enquiries number 0845 111 0003 between the hours of 9:30am - 5:00pm, Mondays to Fridays, until Friday 6 April 2001. Please note we can not confirm receipt of entry.

Terms and Conditions
Before entering the competition, you will need to read the Terms and Conditions and comply with these