With a closing date of July 15th, the entry period for one of the nation’s most exciting photographic Awards – the search for the UK’s Landscape Photographer of the Year for 2009 – is now underway.

Founded by leading landscape photographer Charlie Waite, Take a view has a prize of £10,000 for the overall winner plus runners-up prizes worth a further £10,000. A seven-week exhibition at the National Theatre in London, from early December, will show the winners' work, and a full-colour book featuring all winning and commended entries will be launched at the show.

The 2009 Awards are backed by The Sunday Times Magazine, Natural England and the English National Park Authorities.

Dr Helen Phillips, CEO of Natural England, says, “This competition is an important initiative to help people value and appreciate the enormous variety of landscapes in this country and the many challenges that they face. All landscapes matter – to people and to wildlife – and every photograph entered for this competition has the chance to emphasise this.”

Tips and hints for getting a good landscape

Crucial to landscape photography is the question of light. Exclusively for Times Online, three of the UK's leading landscape photographers give their advice to anyone who is interested in entering our competition

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Take a view is divided into four categories: classic landscapes, landscapes with people in them, 'your view' - a more personal & conceptual category and landscapes taken by camera phones. The awards encourage variety - the aim is to show the UK in all its many guises: urban, rural and suburban. Entries from young photographers are also encouraged and winners in the youth class will be able to attend a special workshop conducted by Charlie Waite.

Each entrant can submit up to 15 photographs and can enter from anywhere in the world, but all pictures have to feature scenes from the United Kingdom or Channel Islands.

Enter via: www.take-a-view.co.uk (entry fees apply)

The winners and a selection of entries from Sunday Times readers will appear in The Sunday Times Magazine and on Times Online.

A seven-week exhibition of the winning entries will be held at the Lyttelton exhibition foyer, National Theatre, London SE1 9PX, from December 5. The 2008 book, Landscape Photographer of the Year – Collection 02 (AA Publishing, £25), is still available at the BooksFirst price of £22.50, including postage and packing. Tel: 0870 165 8585. The third collection will be available from this autumn.

Click on the links in the panel on the left to see two slideshows of some of the stunning images from the 2008 Awards.

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