Seventh Annual Photography Contest
Official Rules and Conditions
The Gerace Research Centre (GRC) invites photographers from all levels of expertise to enter the Third Annual Photography Contest. We are looking for striking images of San Salvador Island, both on land and beneath the water's surface. These images may show ANY aspect of the island, including landscapes, wildlife, plant life, people, weather, architecture, local culture, or daily life at the GRC.
Who May Enter
The contest is open to ALL visitors to the Gerace Research Centre, including, but not limited to, students, researchers, professors, instructors, volunteers, and their family members. Contestants may be of any age. Employees of the GRC and their immediate family members are not eligible.
How to Enter
To enter, email your photograph and the required information to grcphotocontest@gmail.com. Required information includes your name, email address, city and state of residence, academic institution or volunteer organization, and photo title. Photographs should be submitted in accordance with the following set of instructions:
- Photographs must be in digital format. Only email entries with the photograph included as an attachment will be eligible. No print or film submissions will be accepted for entry. The photograph need not be taken with a digital camera; scans of negatives, transparencies or photographic prints are acceptable. All digital files must be in JPEG or .jpg format, and must be sized to accomodate a 5x7 inch printing format.
- Photographs must have been taken on or in the waters surrounding San Salvador Island within three (3) years before the date of entry.
- An image that combines the elements of more than one photograph or has elements removed is not eligible. Minor color correction and cropping are acceptable.
- The photograph must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the GRC, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content.
All entries must be submitted and received by May 31, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt.
Each participant may submit up to three (3) photographs. If a participant exceeds this limit, the GRC may at its absolute discretion either disqualify all the participant's entries or select at its absolute discretion entries to go forward for judging and reject the remainder.
Contest Prizes
Prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third place finishers. The First Place Winner will receive a GRC tee shirt, one GRC publication of his or her choice (such as a field guide or proceedings volume), and one other piece of GRC merchandise. The Second Place Winner will receive a GRC tee shirt and one GRC publication of his or her choice. The Third Place Winner will receive a GRC tee shirt.
Upon notification of the award, it is the responsibility of the Winners to provide the GRC with a valid address to which prize materials can be mailed.
No prize transfer or substitution by winners is permitted. If a prize (or part of a prize) is unavailable, the GRC, in its discretion, reserves the right to substitute the original prize (or that part of the prize) with an alternative prize.
Judging
The contest consists of two rounds of evaluation. In Round One, the GRC staff judges will choose ten finalists based on the originality, composition, photographic quality, and overall artistic merit of their entry. The entries selected in Round One will proceed to Round Two. In Round Two, the ten finalist entries will be displayed at the GRC's Joint Geology and Natural History Conference (June 2015). Conference attendees will be asked to vote for their three favorite photographs. The GRC Executive Director will tally the votes, and the finalists with the three highest numbers of votes will be declared the Winners.
In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by decision of the GRC Executive Director.
Winners will be chosen on or about June 17, 2015 and will be notified by e-mail within approximately one week.
Conditions
By entering, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules, and that the decisions of the GRC are final and binding with respect to all matters relating to the contest.
Participants warrant that his or her entry materials are original, do not infringe on any third party's rights, and that participant has obtained any necessary permissions from any third party if a third party appears in the photograph.
The GRC reserves the right to verify the validity and originality of any entry and/or participant (including a participant's identity) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Official Rules.
Entry to the contest also constitutes the participant's agreement to allow his or her photographs -- including name, photo title, academic/volunteer institution, and/or city and state of residence -- to be displayed as selected award winners at the GRC; published or used on websites owned by the GRC; and used for promotional materials of the GRC including, but not limited to, exhibitions, a photo contest calendar, a compilation book or electronic collection of photographs, and advertising materials. Participants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs.