A photomarathon is a

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

in which participants must take a series of photographs on predetermined subjects in a set period of time, typically 12 to 24 hours. On most competitions, part of the rules is that photos should be handed in "straight out of camera" -with no post-editing or production allowed. Photos are typically judged using criteria that combine photographic technique and creativity in interpreting the theme. There are over 74 competitions worldwide which use some variations of the rules above.Fotomarathons around the world
Fotomarathon.de, accessed 2017-05-04 The photomarathon concept started in Madrid in 1985, before being taken up in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, where a competition has been taking place annually since 1989. In 2014 the Danish competition took place in Copenhagen and

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

, with separate competitions lasting 6, 12 and 24 hours, for both digital cameras and mobile phones. Since 2016, Photomarathon Sheffield has taken place in the city of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, UK, with a virtual edition in 2020 due to the pandemic.

History

The photographic marathon is an idea generated by Eduardo Soto Perez, Antonio Bolivar Sanchez Cañete, who then were called Collective Cartela (along with Juan Antonio Manzano Aróstegui and Luis Alvarez Gallovich), in late 1983. In 1984, presented to the Youth Department of the City of Madrid (Spain), where Chema de Mingo and Chus Medrano considered the interest of its sponsorship to the cultural dynamism of the city. They obtained the support of Kodak Spain and Albacolor laboratories. In 1985 they managed to launch the first edition in Madrid with a surprising success participation (2500 photographers). This competition would be quickly imitated in cities across Spain and many others around the world. The Collective Cartela itself organized 4 successive editions in Madrid. Also held in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and later, with his partner, Antonio de Juana, in Lisbon (Portugal). For 24 hours the photographers had to make 24 photographs with themes that were provided to them 4 by 4, at checkpoints that were performed every 4 hours. The first edition included 2512 participants, the film was in black and white. Participants should pass 6 dynamic controls plus the final film's collection point. This structure was established as a functional dynamics for subsequent editions. Several version came later, half marathons of 12 hours or even less were made. Given the impossibility that existed in Spain to properly register an idea, Eduardo Soto Perez and Antonio Bolívar, now as the company Mil Millones, SA, they proceeded to register Photographic marathon at the Legal Deposit (M-28891-1986) being subsequently also registered in the Registry of Intellectual Property of Madrid with the number 02482. The idea triumphed and soon spread in cities across Spain and other countries, photographic marathons were and are still held in many cities. In 1987 a first Photo Marathon was held in New York, in Stockholm in 1988. In 1989 hold his first Copenhagen Photomarathon, following Berlin in 1998. Both events continue to organize annually. Photomarathons and the European Month of Photography In 2010 Photomarathons were first represented during the European Month of Photography, with a joint exhibition in Berlin, under the theme "Time travel". The exhibition was a retrospective of the 10 years of the Photomarathon in Berlin, and included the three winning series of Copenhagen and Cardiff photomarathons. In 2012, the photomarathons in the cities of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

shared the same topic, with the winning photographs in each city being exhibited in the others.

Keys

One reason for the massive success of this contest was to combine photography and action: conducting urban photographic adventures. The proposed themes stimulate the creativity of the participants (for example: "They come from abroad"), thousands of photographers concentrated in certain parts of the city in a precise moment (“Walking by Puerta del Sol at twelve o'clock when I decided to take a picture of the clock"), or filled parks with excited reporters trying to capture the image suggested ("Elf, a costumed character who must be locate and photograph in the Buen Retiro Park”). This opened a new dimension to photographic competitions introducing ingenuity, spontaneity, active participation and creativity, and perseverance and physical and mental strength to complete 24 hours of the contest. The photographers competed but also made friends, had fun and acquired a better knowledge of their city, museums, places and services. In addition the organization prepared in each control artistic and cultural activities (small plays of theater, exhibition of short films, musical performances, art exhibitions, participatory structures, mazes, swimming in a public pool at dawn, etc.) all that were organized exclusively for the photographers during the contest. Some of the topics that were proposed along 4 editions held in Madrid: "Self Portrait," "Music, music, music", "News of the Day", "Sunrise in Madrid" "Morning Sport", "Nature, flora and fauna", "Madrid`s Cocidito", "Will jump to 12.00 from the top of the Torre de Madrid", "Stumble", "Untitled", "Farewell", etc. The jury, choose among photographers and artists of renown (Ouka Lele, Miguel Trillo, Ciuco, Jorge Arranz, etc.) and, from the second edition on, incorporating the winners of the previous editions (Daniel Font, Amador Toril Jose Antonio Red, etc.). The awards were given at a mass party followed for an exhibition of photographs of the winners.

Ancillary purposes

The photomarathon has also been used by some educationalists as a study aid.

Photomarathon around the world

There are over 80 photomarathons held around the world in over 30 countries. The vast majority are throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. In

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

there is a competition in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and since 2014 in

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In Africa a photomarathon is held in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

References

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External links