2010 SANParks Photographic Competition has begun!
Okay, this isn’t Botswana, but if you visited Chobe, there is a fair chance you visited one of the South African parks and have an image you may want to submit. Here is the vital information for this year’s contest:
The 2010 SANParks Photographic Competition is now open for submissions! Last year, the competition received 1 043 entries and this year we’re hoping to surpass that.
Photos from 2009 competion:Portrait "Lazy Lion" entered by David Odeldal
So, you may be pondering why enter this competition – well you have the opportunity to bathe in much admiration and fame…but what else? Prizes of course…the winners of each category will receive a voucher for two nights catering for two adults in any National Park of your choice. Now that’s a prize worth aiming for!
Last Years' entry in B&W category by Chris Miller "Stripes"
So, what are you waiting for – go on – get all the info on rules, resizing of images and much more…
Just remember entries must reach the moderators before 31 March 2010. Only e-mailed submissions will be accepted. The address is sanparks.moderator@gmail.com. May the best photos win!
Last year we had 1043 entries, many of which would be good enough for a coffee table book. If you doubt that, have a look at the entries.
What can you win besides the eternal fame and recognition?
The winners of each category will receive a voucher with 2 nights for 2 adults in any SANPark of your choice. For SA residents the voucher will be valid for 6 months, for the winners from overseas it will be valid for 1 year.
There are restrictions:
No exclusive accommodation like guest houses and such.
The voucher will only be valid for a mid-week break, and not on public holidays.
So read the rules and instructions below while digging out your best photos. May the best photos win!
Competition Rules 2010
Please read these carefully, they have been slightly altered from last years!
"Playing Lions", a 2009 B&W entry by George Jooste
1. Entries must be digital images, taken between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009. Scans or prints are not permitted. No picture may be entered in more than one category. Series shots are not allowed, please submit one image from any series. You can crop images before submission, but please ensure the image quality is maintained.
2. SANPark employees and moderators are not allowed to enter the competition.
3. The number of entries per member is limited to two (2) pictures in each section, per entrant.
4. Digital guidelines
Format
You can enter by sending the photo(s) via mail to sanparks.moderator@gmail.com.
The original capture as it was recorded by the camera with no manipulation applied (eg *.DNG, *.JPG, *.NEF, *.CR2, *.CRW) may be requested if your image reaches the final stages of the competition and if requested must be supplied to us.
File size requirements
The photos must be sent in jpeg format, resized to a maximum of 800 pixels on the longest side. See below for a quick manual on how to do that if you are unsure.
Calibration and colour
For the best result please submitted Images colour profiled/corrected using a correctly calibrated monitor and utilising Adobe RGB 98 colour space before submission. Entries will not be dismissed if the colour management is not according to our request. But we can not be held liable for not accepting images of poor colour.
Allowances will not be made for poorly colour managed/corrected images, in particular please ensure your images are not over saturated and faithfully represent the subject.
Adjusting your image
Digital adjustments are only acceptable if limited to minor cleaning work, levels, curves, colour, saturation and contrast work. The faithful representation of what you saw at the time of the shot being taken must be maintained.
Compositing and multiple exposures are not allowed. Sharpening is allowed. Cropping (for instance to make a panorama-like photo) is allowed, but please ensure the image quality is maintained.
Borders and copyright
Borders are not allowed. The photo has to carry it’s own weight, without the need for borders.
A small copyright notice in a non-distracting place is no problem.
Barry Tanner's 2009 Landscape Entry (with ellie bum)
Labelling
This is an important bit, it will save us tons of time, avoids confusion and avoids the photo being entered in the wrong category!
The following categories exist:
Landscapes (1)
Portrait (2)
Animals and Insects (3)
Human activity (4)
(This must be legal activity and it must be artistically interpreted. It can include things like being stuck at ellie roadblocks, traffic jams with lions, doors, windows, palm trees, lonely benches with the river in the background etc.)
Plants (5)
Black and white (6).
The files should be named as follows:
<DSLR/Compact>.<Category (number)>.<first name>.<last name>.<1 or 2>.jpg
So if I was allowed to enter a photo into the Human activity category the filename I would send would be:
dslr.4.duco.quanjer.1.jpg A second one for that category would be dslr.4.duco.quanjer.2.jpg
Other information required
Hardware details (ie name of camera) should be mentioned in the mail, and if possible in the EXIF-information of the jpeg.
5. Copyright
You must be the sole author and owner of the copyright for all images entered. By entering your images into the competition, you grant South African National Parks a non-exclusive licence to publish the images for any purpose in connection with the competition including, but not limited to, the following purposes:
* judging the competition,
* display in the galleries,
* inclusion within promotion of the competition and exhibition organised by SANParks.
Credit will always be given to the photographer of course.
6. Subjects
The photos should be taken in one of the SANParks managed parks in South Africa. If in doubt, look at this page to check. Pilanesberg is not one of these parks!
Domestic animals (cats, dogs, farm animals, etc) and cultivated plants (species or hybrids grown in a cultivated setting) do not count as wildlife and are not eligible subjects. You must declare at the time of submitting if a picture has been taken in captivity or conditions that are unnatural (eg if live bait has been used). Details of the subject and location must be provided in the file info.
7. Other competitions/publications
A picture that has already won a prize in a major competition (one receiving more than 500 images) is not eligible for entry. Please avoid entering images that have been widely published in the past 12 months or entered into other nature photography competitions.
8. SANParks and the moderators have the right to refuse any entries which they deem unfit for display as part of the competition.
9. Manipulation
The faithful representation of what you saw at the time of taking the shot must be maintained. Sandwich shots, double exposures, photographs which consist in any way of more than one separate image and images that have been digitally manipulated outside of rule 4 are not eligible.
10. Judges
The moderators and a professional photographer will make a preselection of 5 photos per category. The forum members will choose the winner via a blind poll. There will be no discussion about the preselection.
Should the quantity of entries in a particular category fall below a set amount, SANParks reserve the right not to award prizes.
11. Notification
Winners and commended photographers will be notified in July 2010. All the entries will be published on the competition gallery.
12. Closing date
Closing date for entry is 31 March 2010.
How to enter?
You must e-mail the moderators your entry before 31 March 2010. Only e-mailed submissions will be accepted. The address is sanparks.moderator@gmail.com
Along with your entry, which should have the subject line read – Forum Amateur Photo Competition 2010, please remember to:
- Specify which category you are entering. You may enter the competition for Digital Compact cameras or the competition for Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras (DSLR). If you are not sure of the difference, pm a mod and we will help you out.
- Your full name and forum name
- Your e-mail address
- A contact phone number
- A postal address
- Information on where and when your entry/entries was/were taken.
Sample Landscape shot from last years competition by Ivan (last name unknown)
Nice to see that our competition gets some fame.
Just remember that it’s a members only competition, but registration is free and easy. (And we send you no other mail than the registration one!)