Leica News and Rumors reports
that Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG
and majority shareholder of Leica Camera AG, has acquired a 25.1% stake in the
Internet platform “I-shot-it”. For a small fee, www.i-shot-it.com enables
photo-enthusiasts—from amateurs to professionals—to take part in photographic
competitions. An independent jury of internationally acclaimed photographers
selects the prizewinners and in the open competitions, members of the
“I-shot-it” community select the prizewinners by direct online voting.
Dr. Andreas Kaufmann
“Many amateur photographers,
and professionals, too, think our platform is great, because this is where
their work finds the recognition they would otherwise often never find”,
explains “I-shot-it” founder Hartmut Hennige. “The majority of photo
competitions are so restrictive or have such strict rules that many photo enthusiasts
are barred from entering right from the start. We let everybody try their luck.
The jury members, all independent, acclaimed photographers, know nothing about
the entrants or the camera they used to take the pictures.” According to
Hartmut Hennige, around five million pictures have been uploaded so far. Around
one half of these were submitted as competition entries.
Winners of the online
photography competitions receive cash prizes –financed by the charges due for
uploading image material—and a Leica camera. The current thirteen categories
include genres such as wildlife, landscapes, black and white, cars, transport,
flowers, street photography, sports, food and more.
The majority of visitors to
the “I-shot-it” Web site come from the USA with more than 132,000 visits and
1.85 million page views. Dr. Andreas Kaufmann from ACM in Salzburg, Chairman of
the Supervisory Board at Leica Camera AG, reckons with high growth rates in the
coming months. “There has been a tremendous upswing of interest in photography
over the past few years. The wish to be able to present your own photos to a
virtually unlimited number of people in competitions is widespread”, says Dr.
Kaufmann. “The growing numbers of fans and users shows just how enormous the
demand is amongst photographers around the world. We intend to satisfy this
demand.”
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