Canon PhotoMarathon (CPM), an exhilarating photography event held across 13 regions in Asia-Pacific, returns at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) Hall 1A on Sunday, 25th September, challenging photography enthusaists with instant photo missions that last for all day. Enrollment for the competition will start on 6th July, offering contestants with a different experience in photography race, personalized souvenir, and the chance to win attractive prizes. Brand new elements: Day-and-night shooting with checkpoint surprise CPM is the only photo competition of its kind in Asia-Pacific, with the photo mission announced instantly and to be completed within one day. Celebrating its 8th running this year, the competition is expecting to bring contestants with extraordinary photography experiences. Aside from the usual challenge of completing photo missions within a time limit, this year’s competition will extend to night time for the first time, contestants from both Challenge and Open Category will be able to leverage the scenery change from day to night, capturing the beauty of darkness to create photos with enhanced diversity. Introduced to the competition two years ago, the checkpoint had been an essential element challenging contestants’ time management skills, and bringing the real “Shoot for Hong Kong” experience by engaging them in the community. This year’s checkpoint will be transformed into The Secret Market, offering delightful and inspiring experiences to contestants. Two enrollment phrases for Challenge and Open Category Growing in popularity each year, CPM 2016 is inviting a record quota of 2,800 contestants to take part. Starting from 6th July, the enrollment will take place in two phrases on CPM’s official website, followed by ballot and donation procedures: Category: Challenge Category No. of Contestants: 1,400 Enrollment period: 6th – 12th July 2016 Category: Open Category No. of Contestants: 1,400 Enrollment period: 25th July – 1st August 2016 The first personalized souvenir Every year, CPM contestants always enjoy receiving exclusive souvenirs. The “Canon PhotoMarathon 2016 Special-edition customized camera strap” this year is the first personalized souvenir to be introduced, allowing contestants to create the best camera accessory by customizing the text on the strap. Encourage photographic and cultural exchange while giving back to society In order to promote cultural and technical exchange in photography across the Asia-Pacific region, the professional judging panel will select two Grand Award winners from the Challenge Category and Open Category respectively. The Grand Award winner of Challenge Category will have the exciting opportunity to attend a Canon Photo Clinic tour in 2017; while the counterpart from the Open Category will represent Hong Kong at the CPM 2017 in Taipei. These valuable experiences will broaden their horizons through sharing and exchanging ideas with other photography enthusiasts. Each year, the enrollment fee of CPM HK would be donated, with no deduction, to a charitable organization. To ensure the efficient use of donation, Canon Hongkong is currently in a three-year partnership with St. James’ Settlement. The enrollment fee raised in 2014 – 2016, amounting to approximately HK$1,500,000, will be used to support St James’ Settlement for their Viva Blue House Revitalization Scheme, a project for cultural preservation and community development of the Blue House Cluster in Wan Chai. The Viva Blue House Revitalization Scheme is Hong Kong’s first project that embraces the mission on “retention of both residents and the building”, targeting for sustainable community development. The first batch of the revitalization scheme was completed in May 2016, and the entire scheme is expected to be completed by end of this year. For more details about the competition, please visit: CPM’s official website: www.canon.com.hk/photomarathon Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/CPM.HongKong