The Atlanta Audubon Society invites amateur photographers to enter the Photography Competition. Please read the following rules carefully before submitting any photos!

The competition is open to ALL amateur photographers, except employees of the Atlanta Audubon Society and the immediate family members. By amateur photographer, we mean any beginning, amateur, or experienced photographers who do not receive a significant part of their income from nature photography.

Images can be submitted in one of four categories:

Birds in Motion (abbreviation: BIM)
Birds in Portrait (abbreviation: BIP)
Habitat (all living creatures, other than birds; no man-made elements)
Animals (flora and fauna in their natural environments, landscapes, or panoramas)

A word about the bird categories: Obviously, a photograph freezes movement. The first category should clearly convey the original dynamic motion of the bird or birds. This category covers birds in flight. The second category, for example, may show nesting, stalking, or roosting activity.

Images will be judged on...

Originality Overall impact Composition Technique Presentation Difficulty

Judge’s decisions will be final.

For inclusion in this photo contest, photos entries...

Must be taken either in Calendar Year 2008 or in the period in 2009 up to the deadline for submission.
Must be submitted in digital format. Printed photographs will not be accepted.
The file size should not exceed 5 megabytes per image (the 2006 Grand Prize Winner was less than one tenth that size).
Submitted as jpg images, with the proper filename format.
Minor digital enhancements to crop, filter, and correct are permitted, but images that have been judged to be significantly altered will be disqualified.
Must be assigned to a category by the contestant and can only be entered into one category.
There will be a fee of $2.50 per picture (see Payment section below).

All submissions and payment must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM (EST) on Monday, February 23rd, 2009. Contestants will automatically receive verification by email that their photos were received (if an email address is provided). READ THE DETAILED SUBMISSION (INSTRUCTIONS BELOW) BEFORE SENDING PHOTOS!

Winners will be announced and awards presented at a special meeting of the Atlanta Audubon Society either on Saturday, March 21rst or Sunday, March 22nd, 2009. Further details of venue will be announced. In a departure from prior years, all recipients of an award, ribbon, or Honorable Mention will receive prior notice that they will receive at least one of those three.

The Fine Print Your entry to the contest constitutes your agreement to allow your photographs - and your name, city and state of residence - to be published as selected award winners on the website owned by the Atlanta Audubon Society. Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs. Atlanta Audubon shall have the right to verify, in its sole judgment, winner eligibility. Please do not include photographs of pets or domestic animals. Images of captive animals photographed in game farms will be disqualified. Previously published material for which non-exclusive rights were granted may be entered as long as you still warrant full rights. You must disclose when and where the photo appeared previously upon submission. Entrants must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person or submit images that involve the willful harassment of wildlife or damage to the environment by the photographer. All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization (removal of dust, cropping, adjustments to color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified.

Detailed Submission Instructions...

Only submissions that include pictures in the proper format, tracking information (Entry Form, Microsoft Word format or PDF format), and payment will be eligible. Up to a total of 20 photos are permitted per entrant for 2009. All submissions must be postmarked or transmitted no later than 11:59 PM (EST) on Monday, February 23rd, 2009. Contestants will automatically receive verification by email that their photos, forms, and payment were received, if an email address is provided.

The following are procedures to be followed any of the provided methods to submit.

A computer program automatically posts the pictures. Improperly formed filenames take about twenty times longer to post and may be disqualified.

Each attached JPG file must be in the form of ##-<last name>_<first initial>_<category>.JPG. A second digit for the middle name can be used to distinguish family members who are applying and who live at the same address.

Examples of correct filenames:

01_Smith_J_BIM.JPG Birds in Motion
09_Jones_S_Habitat.JPG
01_Smith_JA_BIM.JPG Spouses with the same first letter of the first name Birds in Portrait
01_Smith_JZ_BIP.JPG

Examples of incorrect filenames sent in 2007:

01-Smith-J-Birds.JPG (hyphens rather than underscores)
01_Smith_J_Birds.JPG.JPG (extension or file type duplicated)
01_Smith_J_Birds.JPEG (JPG, not JPEG)
01_Smith_J_Habitats.JPG (It’s Habitat, not Habitats)
Smith_J_Habitats.JPG (missing number)
1_Smith_Birds.JPG (single digit 1 not prefixed with ‘0’)
Sand_Crane_Viewed_from_House.JPG (not in correct format)

All submissions must include a copy of the Entry Form (Microsoft Word format or PDF format). Full contact information must be entered unless otherwise specified.

Name
Full Address
Email to be contacted
Phone (optional)
Amount of payment to be sent

Following this, each submitted picture should be listed in the Form.

File name (see above)
Category (BIM, BAR, Animals, Habitat)

There are three methods to submit pictures, forms and payment. Be aware that currently there is no provision to send funds electronically.

Method I. Send Images on CD with Payment and Form by U.S. mail (snail mail).

Place up to 20 images and the Entry Form on a CD. Enclose the CD in a CD mailer. Also enclose payment in the mailer. Send to:

Michael Clifford
3212 Saybrook Drive
Atlanta, GA 30319

This is the most “goof proof” approach, but one that requires access to a CD burner. Please write your name on the CD, using a felt tipped pen. If possible, enclose the Entry Form in electronic form on the CD in addition to a paper copy.

Method II. Send images and the Entry Form (Microsoft Word format or PDF format) using the YouSendIt service. Send payment and a (paper) copy of the Entry Form by U.S. mail or you may also PayPal (see Payment section below) instead of sending a check or cash.

This is a web service that allows sending of large files.
Instructions for Using YouSendIt to Transfer Audubon Files.

Method III. Send images and the Entry Form (Microsoft Word format or PDF format) by email. Send payment and a (paper) copy of the Entry Form by U.S. mail or you may use PayPal (see Payment section below) instead of sending a check or cash.

Send up to 20 photo images as attachments with an Entry Form to mjclifford@hotmail.com.

Each emailed photo must be submitted as an attachment. If you are asked to choose between a Photo attachment and a File attachment, choose File (otherwise, many of these mail services modify your photo). DO NOT PASTE THE PHOTO INTO THE BODY OF THE EMAIL!

Multiple photos may be zipped into a single attachment, but be aware of file size limitations imposed by your email carrier. NOTE! At this time, the Hotmail account destination does not permit a single email transmission be larger than 10 Megabytes (twice the 5 MB size limit per picture). Thus, you may need to break up the pictures into multiple submissions. Each submission should include a copy of the Entry Form.

The subject line should be “Atlanta Audubon 2009 Contest”.

Payment...

The fee to enter each image is $2.50, cash, check or credit card via PayPal. Again, up to 20 photos are permitted. Photos for which payment has not been received are disqualified from judging. Please make checks payable to the Atlanta Audubon Society.

Please enclose a copy of the PayPal receipt with your pictures.

Submit payment for photo entries via PayPal   (be sure to enter the number of photos that you intend to enter in the Quantity box and hit the Update Totals button)

For further information, contact Michael Clifford, mjclifford@hotmail.com