UPDATE: Entries are rolling in for our photo competition “Snapping the Black Dog”. This is your chance to win a Nikon D5000 Digital SLR. Entries close on 18 June so get your fingers clicking!

Check out some of the entries so far.

The Black Dog Institute and Nikon Australia has launched a digital photographic competition with the theme – Snapping the Black Dog: A Photographic Competition about Hope and Resilience in the Fight against Depression.

The Institute’s Executive Director, Professor Gordon Parker, said that the purpose of the competition was to capture the essence of depression through the eye of the lens.

“While we recognise the seriousness of mood disorders and their impact on the lives of thousands of people, the Institute is looking for images as a way of providing hope and inspiration to show there is light at the end of the tunnel,” according to Professor Parker.

Check out the full competition details.

“While some people may feel it appropriate to include a dog in their photograph, it is not a condition of entry. Others may find more meaning by looking at capturing images and scenes emerging from the experience of depression that will provide hope to others to put their lives back together,” according to Professor Parker.

Entries

Each entry needs to capture one of the following key messages:

• Hope and resilience
• Everyone deserves peace of mind
• Understanding depression and resilience
• Exercise for mood benefits
• Destigmatise and Inspire
• Light at the end of the tunnel

The Prizes

There are three prizes for the winning photographs to be awarded, donated by Nikon Australia.

First prize

A Nikon D5000 digital SLR camera plus 18-55mm, plus55-200mm lenses valued at $1699

Second prize

A Nikon COOLPIX P100 camera valued at $599

Third prize

A Nikon COOLPIX S4000 digital camera valued at $299.

The Black Dog Institute

The Black Dog Institute is an educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders – a range of disorders that include depression and bipolar disorder (formerly called ‘manic depression’). The Institute is attached to the Prince of Wales Hospital and affiliated with the University of New South Wales. Visit www.blackdoginstitute.org.au to learn more.

Footnote

Black Dog is a term used to describe depression. Sir Winston Churchill, the former war-time British Prime Minister, used it to describe his own depression. While Churchill was not the first person who referred to his depressive episodes as the Black Dog, he popularised the term.