The International Conference for YOUNG Marine Researchers - ICYMARE is a bottom-up initiative completely organized by volunteers and offers a powerful and inspiring international set-up for an excellent network opportunity and some first conference experience in your early career.

What is special about ICYMARE:

• ICYMARE is an annual on-site conference for young marine researchers with changing locations and hosting support.

• ICYMARE is a chance to present and discuss your research in the monthly Online Forum.

• ICYMARE is an opportunity to build your network of young marine researchers in a professional as well as easy-to-talk-to atmosphere.

• ICYMARE offers you the chance to engage in our community to become a part of the ICYMARE family.

Here, ICYMARE calls for the submission of iconic photos of young marine researchers and early career ocean professionals to the ICYMARE Photo Competition.

• My research - wet and dirty: Photos of your marine field research. Beautiful sunsets at sandy beaches? Sometimes - but most often not.

• Ugly? So what!: Show us your research pet species. You have a special relationship, meet every day and know it inside out? But to others it looks "ugly"? Normal situation for marine researchers, here you can show it off!

• Back to the future: Got an extraordinary experimental set-up? Show us your fancy equipment.

• Those are examples: You are welcome to give us a special insight into your research.

Submitted photos should not be older than 5 years and you should be prepared to provide a title and a brief background story. All photos will be evaluated by four independent jurors which are well known actors in science photography and communication.

What winners receive

• 1000, 750, 500, 400, 300 Euro

Win an ICYMARE PHOTO GRANT of 1000, 750, 500, 400 or 300 Euros! The best photos will be featured on the ICYMARE homepage and the homepage of our media partner, the ECO Magazine. Furthermore, about 30 photos will be included in the ICYMARE Photo Exhibition, which will be shown at ICYMARE conferences and, from winter 2021/2022 on, will be available for display on demand.

Thus, submit your photos, show them to the world and enrich the ICYMARE Photo Exhibition.

We look forward to receiving your photos and to creating an amazing exhibition of what (y)our research looks like!

Your ICYMARE organization team

Cover image by Morgan Bennett-Smith

Ester Horvath (https://estherhorvath.com): Prizewinning photographer and writer of the Alfred Wegener Institute, received the World Press Photo Award, Environmental single category in 2020

Tom Vierus (https://www.tomvierus.com): Prizewinning photographer and filmmaker, marine biologist, and CEO of the production company Pacific Media House (http://www.pacificmediahouse.com/) 

Susanne Brahms (https://constructify.media/#our-team): Prizewinning free journalist and documentary filmmaker, CEO of blindCat Documentary, and president of Constructify.Media

Fritz Habekuß (https://www.zeit.de/autoren/H/Fritz_Habekuss):
Prizewinning environmental journalist of the weekly newspaper “Zeit” and author of, e.g., “Über Leben”, a bestseller book that suggests solutions to stop biodiversity loss.

FAQ

I never attended an ICYMARE event. Am I eligible to submit photos to this call?

Yes, as long as you define yourself as "young marine researcher" or at the "early career stage" ocean professional, you are welcome to submit. We do not have an age restriction.

I am PostDoc. Am I still "early career"?

Yes, you are still early career then. We do not have an age restriction.

What should be in the image description?

The description should answer the following questions: who is in the photo?, how was the situation?, what is shown?, where was the photo taken?, when was the photo shot? The description should not be longer than 300 words.

I took my picture some years ago. Can I still submit it?

The focus lays on early career research activities. If you took your photo as a young marine researcher, it is still eligible.

I took a photo of people which I don't know. Can I submit those?

If your photos show up to four well visible people, we ask you to provide the names of the people shown in order to assure us that they consented to be photographed. If people cannot be recognized individually or the group is larger than 4 people, individual names are not necessary.

I fed the photographed animals to get the photo, is that photo eligible to be submitted?

No. Wildlife animals should not be fed or manipulated in order to take photos. Great white sharks attacking the photographers iron cage under water are a prime "no-go example". However, it is okay, if animals have been fed under certain circumstances, e.g., in the course of aquaculture rearing or an experimental set-up.

I saw a nice sunset during a research expedition. Can I submit the photo?

No. The submitted photos should show your research and/or the context of it. Sunsets, etc., can also be photographed during a vacation anywhere on the world. Here, we want to showcase your research activities.

What happens with my photo after the contest?

During the competition, the winners will be determined. The winners and their photos will be featured during the ICYMARE reception on 11 October 2021 in the dinosaur hall of the Natural History Museum in Berlin, Germany. The best photos will also be featured on the ICYMARE homepage and the homepage of our media partner, the ECO Magazine. The photos, but also other submissions will find their way into an ICYMARE Photo Exhibition, which will be developed in autumn and winter 2021. This exhibition is curated by the Bremen Society for Natural Sciences from 1864 (in German: Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein zu Bremen von 1864, short NWV). The society and the ICYMARE Organization Team will organize exhibition locations. Additionally, the exhibition will be available for exhibition on request, in part or completely, given that costs for transportation and set-up/take down are covered. For requests, please refer to: hello@icymare.com.

Depending on the submissions, we might consider preparing an illustrated book, which features the research activities of your early career researchers and ocean professionals.

For both cases, we might ask you if more photos similar to your submitted ones are available.

I have lots more good photos, should I send them already?

No. Please do not send us photos via mail or without us requesting them. We will approach you, if we feel that some other perspectives or additional material will help in the photo exhibition of the illustrated book.

I cannot come to Berlin for the ICYMARE reception but I am pretty sure that I would win. Should I submit?

Yes. There is no need to be Berlin in person.

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