There is a $10 entry fee per photographer. (This is a flat fee and is unaffected by the number of images submitted.)

SPONSOR: The 2010 Refuge Photo Contest (Contest) is sponsored by the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA).

We also acknowledge the generosity of our Contest Partners: Southwest Airlines, Zenfolio, Wild Bird Centers, HaberVision and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in supplying prizes for this contest.

ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open to amateur and professional photographers who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia and are 18 years or older at time of entry, except for Contest judges and employees of the Sponsor and of the Contest Partners, their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and advertising, promotion and production agencies and their immediate families and members of their households.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Each photographer may enter up to 5 images taken on national wildlife refuges. Images must meet the Submission Requirements to be eligible. Entries not meeting these requirements will not be considered. The Contest reserves the right to request unaltered or RAW images to verify image integrity as it pertains to submission requirements.

JUDGING:

• Winning entries will be selected by two rounds of judging. The first round will to be to select approximately 200 images to be included in the NWRA Refuge Image Library. The second round will result in the selection of the Top Prize winners.
• Entries will be judged on reflection of theme, technical excellence, visual impact, and composition.

All decisions of the judges on all matters relating to the competition are final.

PRIZE DETAILS: Top prizes will be awarded to first through fourth place winners. 15 honorable mention winners will receive a prize as well.

• One (1) first prize: Two thousand dollar ($2,000) cash prize, two (2) round-trip tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines, two (2) pairs HaberVision sunglasses (First Prize Approximate Retail Value "ARV": $3,125).
• One (1) second prize: One (1) pair of binoculars courtesy of Wild Bird Centers of America, one pair HaberVision sunglasses (“ARV”: $363)
• Three (3) third prizes: one (1) birdfeeder courtesy of Wild Bird Centers of America, one pair HaberVision sunglasses (“ARV”: $263).
• Four (4) fourth prizes: One (1) pair HaberVision sunglasses (“ARV”: $163).
• Fifteen (15) honorable mention prizes: The book, “Bayshore Summer” by Pete Dunne, book courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (“ARV”: $24).

Total ARV of all Prizes: $5,287. No prize substitution or cash redemption allowed by winners. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value.

Each contestant will receive a complimentary one year membership in NWRA.

The Sponsor is not responsible for entries that cannot be processed due to network, hardware or other technical failures or lost e-mails. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel the Contest if it becomes technically corrupted or because of unauthorized human intervention. In the event of cancellation, the Sponsor reserves the right to judge the eligible entries received prior to date of cancellation and award the prizes outlined.

AWARDING OF PRIZES: The determination of the prize winners will be made no later than 11/1/10. The First through Third place prize winners will be notified by e-mail and phone; the remaining prize winners will be notified by e-mail. If a prize winner does not respond by e-mail to claim the prize within 15 days of notification, the prize will be forfeited. If a prize is returned as undeliverable, the prize will be forfeited. At the discretion of the Sponsor, any forfeited prize may be awarded to an alternate winner. No photographer will be eligible for more than one of the Top Prizes described above. However a photographer may have more than one image in the NWRA Refuge Image Library.

GENERAL: By entering, entrants agree to be bound by these Contest Rules and Procedures, the Terms and Conditions on Use of Images, and the decisions of the Sponsor and judges, which are final and binding on all matters. This Contest is void where prohibited and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. Any applicable taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners.

RELEASE: By participating, entrants release the Sponsor and the contest partners, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries and their agents, respective officers, directors, employees and agents from any and all liability or responsibility for any claim arising in connection with participation in the Contest or any prize awarded.

WINNERS LIST: The Top Prize winning images and the names of the Top Prize winning photographers will be posted on this website prior to November 1, 2010. For the names of the winners (available after 11/1/10), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Contest Winners, National Wildlife Refuge Association, 1250 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Requests must be received by 12/15/10. Images selected for inclusion in the NWRA Refuge Image Library will be online by 1/1/11.

PRIVACY: The National Wildlife Refuge Association does not sell, trade, or barter names, e-mail addresses, or other personal data that we collect on our website. For more information, see our privacy policy.

If you have any questions regarding the contest, send us an e-mail.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Images must meet the following requirements to be eligible.

• Photos must be taken at a refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System or at a refuge-associated Waterfowl Production Area. Visit the Refuge System website or use this map to find a national wildlife refuge near you.
• The photo must have been taken on or after August 1, 2007.
• To be eligible, entries must be submitted in digital format by upload through this website. E-mailed entries, or images sent by disk through the mail will not be accepted. Photos may be submitted by upload after 9 AM Eastern time August 14, 2010. Uploads must be completed by Midnight Eastern time on September 24, 2010. No late submissions accepted. The Sponsor is not responsible for any circumstances that interfere with timely uploads.
• Photographs will be accepted only from the original photographer who must be the sole author and the owner of the copyright for photos submitted.
• A photographer may submit up to 5 digital images.
• Up to one(1) non prize-winning entry from any previous NWRA Refuge Photo Contest may be resubmitted per contest provided it meets all current contest requirements. ("Prize-winning entries" are not eligible and include: first through fifth place, honorable mention, special recognition or people category images; "non prize-winning entries" are eligible and include: semi-finalist images accepted into the Refuge Image Library, non-winning images.)
• Each entrant will be asked to provide the following information in order to process the $10 entry fee:

A Visa or Mastercard Credit Card Number
Card Verification Number
Card Expiration Date (Month, Year)
Card Holder Name - If the name on the Credit Card and/or Billing Address is different than the name of the Photographer please enter Photographer Name in the Special Instructions Field.
E-mail address
Billing Name (First, Last)
Mailing Street Address
City, State, Country, Postal Code
Phone Number

Note: NWRA respects your privacy - please read our privacy policy.

• During photo upload, EVERY entrant will be asked to provide the following information:



Photographer Name

• During photo upload, EVERY entrant will be asked to provide the following information for EACH image (up to five) submitted:
  
  
  
  • Location of image [state, individual refuge]
  • Description, max 200 words (species, scene, activity) and any camera/equipment information you wish to include. Specific camera information and date of photograph will be collected automatically.
  • Categories (choose all that apply from the following: Bird, Mammal, Fish, Insect, Other Wildlife, Plant, People, Scenic)

• Digital image entries may be color or black and white, horizontal or vertical format.
• Limited image modifications are allowed. The intent and effect of any modification must be to produce a more natural looking and accurate photograph.


• You may submit images taken with a digital camera or images taken with a film-based camera and scanned into a digital format. Your digital image must be of sufficient resolution to meet the criteria required by the Judging Procedures outlined below.
• Digital camera add-on lenses, filters, and scopes are permitted without restriction.
• Images may be cropped as long as a rectangular format is maintained. Images may be resized as long as aspect ratio is maintained.
• Watermarks, Signatures, or Copyright Notices detract from the natural appearance of photographs and are not permitted on entries for this contest. Remove any such markings prior to submission.
• Do not add any elements or objects that do not exist in the original scene.


• The images must be in the digital format and size outlined in the following Judging Procedures.
• The Contest reserves the right to request unaltered or RAW image files for the purposes of verifying image integrity meeting the qualifications listed above. Failure to provide unaltered images upon request may result in Contest disqualification.

Judging will be conducted in two rounds.

First (Semi-Final) Round: All eligible entries received by midnight Eastern time on September 24, 2010 will be screened during the Semi-Final Round. Approximately 200 images will be selected as semi-finalists based on reflection of theme, technical excellence, visual impact, and composition. These images will be included in NWRA's Refuge Image Library. Images will remain in the Library indefinitely at NWRA's discretion.

To be considered in the Semi-Final round, images must be submitted by upload through this website at 300 dpi JPEG format no smaller than 8x10 inches (2400x3000 pixels) and no larger than 12x14 inches (3600x4200 pixels).

Second (Final) Round: The Final Round judging will determine selection for first, second, third, fourth place and honorable mention prizes. A photographer may have more than one image in competition in the Final Round, but no photographer will be eligible for more than one prize among first, second, third, fourth place and honorable mention. The Final Round will be judged on the same criteria listed above.

• Participants must accept the Contest Rules and Procedures (above), including the Terms and Conditions on Use of Submitted Images, before uploading an image for entry in the contest.