Do I need to train?

No, we’re not athletes! But the greater your familiarity with your camera/phone the easier you’ll find it. Run between your photo locations if you must, or walk, or catch a bus, or stay in one place and take all 12 shots in your kitchen. It’s up to you. But enjoy it!

What will the challenges be?

The actual challenges are released throughout the day (in groups of 4 every 4 hours) but look on-line at other great photomarathon sites to get an idea what to expect. Topics are deliberately open to multiple interpretations. This being the Oxford Photomarathon, expect a subtle Oxford-inspired flavour to some of the topics.

Can I edit my photos?

Yes – some photomarathons have rules based on straight-out-of-camera, but we think photography is about creating images, so crop, convert to black and white, add filters and vignettes etc if that makes your image tell the story you want it to tell. But please, no AI generated images, this needs to be your work, based on an image you have taken. Submit as Jpeg, don’t edit the EXIF data, and make sure the date-time is set right on your camera before you start!

Can I take images in any order?

No, we need to keep some photomarathon traditions alive! So if you take the first six topics then spot something even better for topic 4, sorry, you’ll have to dump images 4-6 and reshoot them!

I’ve only got a phone, is that OK?

Are you kidding? Great photos are taken on phones every single day, and you have editing software like Snapseed built in, so you have an advantage over most “proper” cameras. Use whatever device you’re most comfortable with – the art of photography is about the images you create, not the camera you use.

Do I have to be located in Oxford?

No, absolutely not. We’d love people to participate wherever they are in the World (but in the same 24 hour time window), and submission will be on-line. But if you can join us in Oxford, please do – there’s a real buzz in a city on Photomarathon days as you meet up with other contestants, share ideas and help each other out. We hope there will be an extra prize for the best panel taken in and around Oxford, and we’d love to meet you at our HQ for the day (wherever that ends up being!)