Sony launches new soccer - photography campaign, Soccergraphy

Sony has officially launched the Soccergraphy campaign in commemoration of Sony's official partnership with FIFA for the 2010 FIFA South Africa World Cup. Soccergraphy is commencing with an open invitation to photographers from around the world to share their views of soccer in a global photography competition.

As part of the campaign, Sony is calling all amateur and professional photographers from around the world to share their views on soccer in a global competition showcasing the vitality and universal nature of the sport. Open to creative interpretation, participants are free to submit any images related to the soccer theme so long as the photograph fetures at least one football. Submission of images is open from now until end October 2009.

The best photos from the 'amateur' and 'professional' photographer categories of the competition will be featured alongside works of world-renowned photographers in a specially created photo book to celebrates the spirit of soccer.

Grand prize winners in both categories will be rewarded with a trip to South Africa to see the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. In addition, the overall winner of the 'amateur' category will also win a state-of-the-art 700 camera, 16-80mm lens, 70-300mm lens and 50mm 1.4 lens.

Similarly, the overall winner of the 'professional' category will take home Sony's flagship 24.6-megapixel D-SLR camera, 900, complete with 24-70mm lens, 70-200mm lens and 50mm 1.4 lens.

On top of prizes, the best amateur entries will  also be featured in a specially created photo book alongside works from world-renowned photographers.

National Geographic's Steve McCurry, Mike Yamashita, as well as Magnum Photos' Abbas Attar and Michael Freeman, are a few of the well-known photographers that Sony has invited to contribute their perspectives on soccer. The photo book will be available in selected Asia Pacific countries from May 2010, coinciding with the launch of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.