BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition Rules

The competition is closed.

NOTE: Please direct all questions related to the competition to kpkes@yahoo.com

1. As the judging will be blind, this contest is open to all photographers, amateurs and professionals alike. Period. The winning images will be published in a special edition Nature Photographer magazine iPad app and in a BIRDS AS ART Bulletin. The eleven category winning images (which will include the Grand Prize winner) will be published in a print edition of Nature Photographer magazine.
2. Entrants must adhere to the Competition Rules and may not infringe on the rights of any other person or photographer. Except for images entered in the Captive category all photographs must depict free, wild, unrestrained, and undisturbed birds. You may submit images of birds that you attracted into photographic range with food, bait, water, or the judicious use of recorded songs. Submitting images of birds on perches that you have set up is permitted. Images made by a photographer using a remote or wireless trigger where the photographer controls the release of the shutter are permitted. Images created using camera traps or infrared or other automatic triggering devices may not be entered.

   Winning photographers will be asked to document the conditions and circumstances at the moment of capture. It is expected that all winning photographers will provide true and honest accounts.

   Failure to follow any contest provisions or rules will result in disqualification.

3. The closing date for entries is April 30, 2012. The winning entries will be announced and the prizes awarded no later than May 31, 2012.
4. The entry fee is $25. You may enter up to ten images on a single registration fee and you may enter more than once. If you make a purchase totaling $1,000 or more from contest sponsor B&H PHOTO VIDEO using this link you will receive a single free contest entry. You must use this link to receive your free contest entry. Purchases of $3,000 or more will be good for two contest entries, of $5,000 or more for three entries, and of $10,000 or more for five competition entries. To receive your free entry (or entries) forward your B&H PHOTO VIDEO receipt by e-mail to staffbaa@att.net and cut and paste “B&H PHOTO VIDEO Contest Entry” into the subject line. You will receive registration instructions from us via e-mail.
5. You can pay your entry fee at the BAA On-Line Store by clicking here. You can call us at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand. You can send us a PayPal for $25 to birdsasart@att.net; please be sure to include the words “Contest Entry” in your PayPal e-mail. Or you can mail a check for $25 (US funds only) made out to “Arthur Morris” to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Please be sure to indicate “Contest Registration” on your check and please register here.

   Once you have registered and paid you will receive instructions for uploading your images via e-mail. Those who prefer to send a CD or DVD may do so provided that they register and pay in advance (or include a check; those sending a check still need to register). CDs and DVDs will not be returned; they will be destroyed.

6. The five judge panel is made up of Darrell Gulin, Arthur Morris, Chris van Rooyen, Andy Rouse, and Julie Zickefoose. To learn more about the judges click here.
7. Judging will be blind; the judges will not see the photographers’ names when considering the images.
8. The Overall Grand Prize will be awarded to the image judged to be best on the basis of artistic and technical excellence, originality, mood, and impact. These same standards will be used to judge all image categories.
9. The contest categories will be as follows:
   1. Bird Portraits (images that show the whole bird)
   2. Tight Portraits and Body Parts (head shots, feather detail, and more)
   3. Flight (dramatic images of birds in flight)
   4. Small in the frame/Environmental (images of a bird or flocks of birds in their natural habitats)
   5. Pleasing Blurs (pleasingly blurred images of a bird or a flock of birds; images in this category must be created in-camera.)
   6. Action (Photographs of a bird or birds in action)
   7. Behavior (Images that exhibit interesting avian behavior)
   8. Hand of Man (the composition must include man-made elements)
   9. Digital Creations (anything goes including the use of filters and effects as long as there is a bird or birds in the image)
   10. Youth (images submitted by young photographers born on or after March 31, 1994)
   11. Captive including zoos (photographs of captive, zoo, pet, or rehab birds)
10. There will be a winner, a runner-up, and a highly commended image chosen in each of the 11 categories.
11. All images entered in the contest must have been RAW captures. Film and JPEG captures are not eligible for this contest.
12. Digital Restrictions: Entrants are permitted to remove both major and minor distracting elements from an image so long as the natural history of the scene at the moment of capture is preserved. You may add canvas, a wing-tip, or a tail-tip. Compositional elements that were not present at the moment of capture may not be added. Dust-spotting is of course permitted as are adjustments to color, contrast, and tonality. You may crop your images. Cropping shall not exceed more than 50% of the width and/or the height of the original RAW image.
13. RAW files for all winning and honored images (except for those entered in the Digital Creations and Youth categories) will be requested via e-mail after the close of the contest. They must be submitted in a timely fashion. Instructions for submitting the required files will be sent via e-mail. Failure to submit the requested RAW files will result in the image being eliminated from the competition.
14. Submission Guidelines: please submit sharpened JPEGs at 96dpi with a maximum width of 1400 pixels and a maximum height of 900 pixels. Ideally these will be created from your optimized image files. Please name your images carefully as follows: the category name (please see below for the correct single word designations) followed by a hyphen and then by your first-middle-and last names separated by hyphens followed by a hyphen and your file number. Your filenames cannot include any commas, underscores, spaces, or periods (except for the one just before the file type designation). Your filenames should look like this: Tight-Samuel-Henry-Egensteiner-W3C4702.jpg

    Remember the category must come first and be followed by your name and then by the file name. All separated by hyphens. Note: most relevant is that your uploaded filename starts with the category, followed by a hyphen. Here is a tip for sizing your images in Photoshop: hit File/Automate/Fit Image and type in 1400 pixels for the width and 900 for the height and then hit OK.

    Please use one of these one-word category designations for your captions: Portraits, Tight, Flight, Small, Blurs, Action, Behavior, Man, Digital, Youth or Captive.

    The judges reserve the right to assign your image to another category.

15. If you have questions you may send an e-mail to samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
16. Your entry constitutes your agreement to allow your entered images, your name, your occupation, and your place of residence to be published in the special edition Nature Photographer magazine iPad app, in a print edition of Nature Photography magazine, and on websites owned by Arthur Morris and/or BIRDS AS ART or in any manner whatever to promote this or subsequent BIRDS AS ART International Bird Photography Competitions. Ownership of the images including the copyright and all other rights shall remain with the entering photographer. BIRDS AS ART alone shall determine winner eligibility. Your entry further constitutes that you agree that your images may be published during the contest without accreditation on websites owned by Arthur Morris and/or BIRDS AS ART as part of “Judges Picks” features. Such images will be copyrighted as follows: Image copyright 2011: in the name of the creating photographer.
17. With your entry you agree to release and hold harmless Arthur Morris and BIRDS AS ART from any and all liability for any injuries, loss, claim, action, demand or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition.
18. BIRDS AS ART is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate published information including but not limited to misprints or typographical errors. If, for any reason, BIRDS AS ART cannot complete the contest as planned, BIRDS AS ART reserves the right at its discretion to cancel, terminate, or modify it.
19. In no event will BIRDS AS ART, its affiliates, related companies, or sponsors be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind related to the contest. Be sure to check out your local laws as this contest is void where prohibited.