Up to 500 photographers will have their work exhibited.

Amateur, professional and budding photographers are set to unite during Photomonth, the annual international photography festival based in East London.

Over 100 exhibitions and events are lined up for this year’s festival, which takes place during October and November, and up to 500 photographers will exhibit their work in more than 60 galleries and spaces.

Exhibitions will examine diverse themes including war, modern slavery, domesticity, religion and bourgeois culture.

The festival, founded in 2001, is open to the public and aims to demonstrate the diversity of contemporary photography and reach the widest possible audience.

Lectures, seminars, workshops and tours will be available to the public, as well as talks by the artists themselves.

Over 100 exhibitions and events are lined up for the festival.

The keynote Photomonth lecture will be held at the Whitechapel Art Gallery and given by Tom Hunter, the first photographer to have an exhibition at the National Gallery in London.

London Metropolitan University will play host to the workshops, and the Photofair, featuring up to 12 photographers’ works per day, will take place at Spitalfields Traders Market.

The Photo-open and Photomonth seminar will be featured at the Dray Walk Gallery, Old Truman Brewery.

Admission is free except where stated. There are fees for some talks and events. For full details see the Photomonth website.

Times Aerial, New York 2008. © Tom Leighton

With over 500 photographers exhibiting their work during October and November, here are our top five must-see exhibitions:

1) Bombay Mix - Nov 6 2008 - Nov 16 2008

Viewfinder Photography Gallery, Peyton Place, Greenwich, Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 12noon-4pm Tel: 020 8858 8351

A selection of photographs taken in India or by Indian photographers exploring issues of migration, journeys and displacement.

2) Tom Leighton - Reifer - Sep 30 2008 - Oct 21 2008

Cynthia Corbett Gallery The Maverik Showroom, Redchurch Street Open daily 11am-8pm Tel: 020 8947 6782

A solo exhibition exploring the theme of urban environment with backdrops of London, New York, Paris and Berlin. He uses symmetry and repetition to create illogical but believable spaces.

3) Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles - Oct 4 2008 - Jan 4 2009

V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, Open daily 10am-5.45pm

A pioneering photojournalist, Pitcairn-Knowles captured the leisure activities of people in Northern Europe during the Edwardian period, from kite-flying torabbit racing.

4) Karsh Centenary Exhibition, Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) - Sept 15 2008 – Mar 14 2009

Camera Press, Queen Elizabeth Street, London, Mon-Fri 9.30am-6pm

Marking the centenary of the legendary photographer Yousef Karsh, Camera Press showcases this special exhibition with photographs of outstanding personalities of the 20th Century, including Albert Einstein, Bridgette Bardot and 12 U.S presidents.

5) War and Photography - Gerda Taro - Oct 17 2008 – Jan 25 2009

Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, Open daily 11am-8pm, Admission £8/£6 concessions

An exhibition showcasing works by the groundbreaking German-Jewish photographer, the first woman to photograph war. Her brief but dramatic career was spent at the front line of the Spanish Civil War alongside lover Robert Capa. She died in action aged 27.