Famous National Geographic photographers; Gabby Salazar and Joe Riis, will be the jury for the EOS Young Photographer Awards as it opens for a first time to Malaysian youth.

The official announcement was made during the launch of the competition held by the National Geographic Channel, FOX International Channels and Canon in Publika Damansara today.

This is the first year FOX International Channels and National Geographic are organizing such a competition under the “A Celebration of Colour” theme.

Joe, who is a wildlife photojournalist with the National Geographic approaches his photography as a way of portraying science and biology through wildlife.

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Joe Riis

Meanwhile Gabby has travelled throughout North America and to over 15 countries around the world taking photographs of nature and wildlife.

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Gabby Salazar

Joe and Gabby also held a photography workshop here in Kuala Lumpur for a few days with students from the selected universities to provide guidance and tips on photography.

"We do not see much creativity among the young photographers in Malaysia, but we look forward to seeing it at the workshop later and during judging the competition" said Joe to the media.

According to the FOX International Channels Territory Head Anthony Yeap, participants who are interested to take part in the competition can upload as many photos as they wish and they can use any type of camera to take pictures of nature's best.

“Most of young Malaysian photographers interested more on portraits and weddings. So we hope that this competition can attract more young people to nature" said Anthony.

EOS Young Photographer Awards is open to those aged from 13 to 25 years old until June 3. The competition will see participation from some other countries such as Brunei, Thailand and Korea.

The grand prize will be a Canon EOS 60D DSLR Camera with an 18-55mm IS II lens and the winner will also receive a once-in-lifetime opportunity to attend a weekend National Geographic photography in Washington DC.

Contest details can be found in the http://celebrationofcolour.com.