Yet another amazing record: by 15 February, 260 professional photographers had already submitted their work. Last time round, barely 100 submissions had been received at this stage in the contest. Strikingly, Russia leads the table for the most submissions, with Iran in third place, with Ukraine and Kazakhstan among the top ten.

If the trend continues, the approximately 1,300 submissions from 2015 will also be exceeded. This is despite the fact that the award team had amended the entry conditions this year in order to encourage higher entry standards. “It’s not about the quantity of entries for us,” stressed Michael Dannenmann, president of the jury. “What matters to us is achieving and sustaining high quality standards for the Felix Scholler Photo Award over the long term.”

A striking feature of this year’s contest is the high number of submissions from Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union, alongside those from Iran and India. The organising team reacted immediately:  the entrance rules and the upload tool are now available in eight languages. “These steps also help to ensure that our quality standards are met, as potential entrants have the chance to appreciate the detailed entrance requirements in their own language,” explained Dr. Friederike Texter, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Felix Schoeller Group. “From past experience, we know that this will reduce the number of invalid entries from the outset.”

The contest will be open for entries until 31 May 2017.