Call of the wild: from the deepest ocean to the tallest mountain, the search for the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 has begun.

Originality, a love for the natural world and a camera are all it takes to enter the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, the world’s longest-running and most prestigious wildlife photographic contest. Entrants stand to win an impressive £10,000 prize if they become the overall individual winner of the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year – the highest prize ever offered in this competition. Category winners and runners up will also share in the £23,550 prize pool.

Originality, a love for the natural world and a camera are all it takes to enter the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, the world’s longest-running and most prestigious wildlife photographic contest. Entrants stand to win an impressive £10,000 prize if they become the overall individual winner of the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year – the highest prize ever offered in this competition. Category winners and runners up will also share in the £23,550 prize pool.

Open to both amateurs and professionals of all ages and nationalities, the competition last year attracted more than 18,000 entries from 55 countries. Entry opens on 20 January 2007 and all images must be submitted by 23 March 2007 (postal) or 30 March 2007 (online) to have a chance of taking home the coveted title of Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Not only is there an impressive new prize, but organisers have also added a new award and category to the competition in a bid to attract even more amateur and professional photographers. The One Earth Award will be given to the image that best highlights the interaction between man and the natural world and the new adult category – Wild Choice is for fresh and new images that entrants feel don’t have a place in other categories.

Zoologist Mark Carwardine is an award-winning writer, columnist, widely published photographer, BBC Radio 4 presenter, consultant and lecturer. This year marks his third year as Chairman of the Judging Panel and his main tip for photographers is to focus on originality.

’There are no hard and fast rules to explain why one photograph wins a competition and another doesn’t, but there is one key ingredient - originality. The judges are looking for something that stops them in their tracks.

‘Imagine you are a judge looking at thousands upon thousands of photographs. Many of them are technically flawless - well exposed, perfectly sharp and pleasantly composed – and, after a while, you take these key ingredients for granted. You become desperate for something really creative, fresh and surprising to leap out from the screen. The pictures that do leap out are the ones that win.’

Göran Ehlmé, from Sweden, won the overall title Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006 for his dramatic image of a walrus whipping up the sediment at the bottom of the sea as it gorged on bivalves. Rick Stanley, from the USA, became the Shell Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006 with his image of a Hispaniolan treefrog, caught in the jaws of a green vine snake. Any category winner could carry off the grand title. Categories range from Animal Behaviour and Wild Places, to the Underwater World, and Urban and Garden Wildlife, and there are three age categories for photographers 17 and under.

Winning photographers not only receive a cash prize, they also see their images featured in a special supplement to the November issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine. The winning images – those considered the most outstanding and memorable of all entries – together with at least 50 commended ones, will go on display at the Natural History Museum, London, from 27 October 2007 before touring the UK and worldwide. They will also feature in a hardback commemorative book by BBC Books.

Open to both amateurs and professionals of all ages and nationalities, the competition last year attracted more than 18,000 entries from 55 countries. Entry opens on 20 January 2007 and all images must be submitted by 23 March 2007 (postal) or 30 March 2007 (online) to have a chance of taking home the coveted title of Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Not only is there an impressive new prize, but organisers have also added a new award and category to the competition in a bid to attract even more amateur and professional photographers. The One Earth Award will be given to the image that best highlights the interaction between man and the natural world and the new adult category – Wild Choice is for fresh and new images that entrants feel don’t have a place in other categories.

Zoologist Mark Carwardine is an award-winning writer, columnist, widely published photographer, BBC Radio 4 presenter, consultant and lecturer. This year marks his third year as Chairman of the Judging Panel and his main tip for photographers is to focus on originality.

’There are no hard and fast rules to explain why one photograph wins a competition and another doesn’t, but there is one key ingredient - originality. The judges are looking for something that stops them in their tracks.

‘Imagine you are a judge looking at thousands upon thousands of photographs. Many of them are technically flawless - well exposed, perfectly sharp and pleasantly composed – and, after a while, you take these key ingredients for granted. You become desperate for something really creative, fresh and surprising to leap out from the screen. The pictures that do leap out are the ones that win.’

Göran Ehlmé, from Sweden, won the overall title Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006 for his dramatic image of a walrus whipping up the sediment at the bottom of the sea as it gorged on bivalves. Rick Stanley, from the USA, became the Shell Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006 with his image of a Hispaniolan treefrog, caught in the jaws of a green vine snake. Any category winner could carry off the grand title. Categories range from Animal Behaviour and Wild Places, to the Underwater World, and Urban and Garden Wildlife, and there are three age categories for photographers 17 and under.

Winning photographers not only receive a cash prize, they also see their images featured in a special supplement to the November issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine. The winning images – those considered the most outstanding and memorable of all entries – together with at least 50 commended ones, will go on display at the Natural History Museum, London, from 27 October 2007 before touring the UK and worldwide. They will also feature in a hardback commemorative book by BBC Books.

From 20 January 2007 you will be able to enter online at www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto. If you are entering by post, an official entry form must accompany all entries. These will be available in English, German, French and Spanish from the competition website from 20 January and (in English only) in the February issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine (on sale 18 January), or the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition Office: The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD.

"The Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition is owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, and is sponsored by Shell’.