These days, with smartphones having cameras, photography is a hobby anyone can easily take up. Social media also has many pages and groups where one’s pictures can be shown to friends or even to the rest of the world.
The stories that the pictures tell are countless and in a world full of visual stories, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) and Fujifilm Malaysia invite the public to share their pictures in the ‘Volkswagen Shutter Stories’ contest.
The themes
Naturally, the contest centres around the Volkswagen brand and instead of just asking people to take pictures of their vehicles, there are 5 themes provided, for which participants must submit one photo each. The themes, which represent the cornerstones of Volkswagen are: VW Love, VW Adventure, VW Motion, VW People, and VW Colours & Life.
Participants can interpret each theme according to their own creativity, but two out of 5 entries must include a Volkswagen model (and vehicles of other brands should not be visible in the pictures). All entries must not have been selected as a winner in other similar competitions prior to December 3, 2024. Also, the consent of the third party (if other persons are featured in the photo) must be obtained.
Only for amateur photographers
The contest is open to Malaysians and residents aged 18 years old and above. They must be amateur photographers and not professional photographers, defined as individuals whose primary source of income comes from photography on a full-time basis. No purchase nor registration fee is required.
You can use any type of camera but it must be an image taken on a camera and not generated, manipulated or enhanced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, editing and enhancing the images is permitted using Adobe Lightroom or similar software. A short description or explanation must accompany each of the 5 images.
The contest will run until January 5, 2025 and the winners will be announced at a special event in 2025. The judges are Joie Koo, a Fujifilm-X photographer, Denyu Bostandzhiev, Managing Director of VPCM, and Aaron Lee, a professional photographer who specialises in automotive subjects and events.
Click here for details of the terms and conditions of participation
What you can win
The Grand Prize winner will not only get a Fujifilm camera and lens set worth up to RM7,000 (with an additional RM3,000 Fujifilm voucher if he or she is a Fujifilm user) but will also be contracted for 1 year as a photographer for Volkswagen in Malaysia. Additionally, the winner will have a mentorship programme with Aaron Lee, who has extensive experience working with the Volkswagen brand.
There are also prizes for 2 runners-up, each of whom will win the latest Fujifilm instax Mini 99 with film (worth RM1,200) and Fujifilm instax Pal (worth RM588), as well as exclusive Volkswagen merchandise and extended test drives.
There will also be a ‘People’s Choice Award’ determined by public voting on social media, in which one winner will be selected to receive an array of exclusive Volkswagen merchandise.
“Volkswagen is a well-loved and iconic brand – not just with owners who have a deep affinity for their cars, but also for millions of others who have enjoyed the fun and emotional connection that our products represent. It’s only fitting that a photo competition like this aims to capture and celebrate love, beauty and adventure – everything the brand stands for,” said Mr. Bostandzhiev, who is also a photography enthusiast himself.
