Defenders of Wildlife's Photo Contest

Win prizes worth a total of $5,000, including a grand-prize photo tour to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks with expert wildlife photographer Jess Lee.

Share your best photos of wildlife and habitat with us, and get a chance to see them printed on the pages of Defenders magazine! Plus, winners will be eligible for a range of prizes, including a week-long guided nature photography trip with Defenders magazine contributor Jess Lee.

You can submit as many as five images in each of two categories: wildlife and wild lands.

Contest deadline is March 12, 2010. Winners will be announced in April 2010, and winning photos will be published in the summer 2010 issue of Defenders.

Table of Contents

Official Contest Rules
How to Enter
Eligibility and Judging
Deadlines
Prizes
Frequently Asked Questions
More Questions?

Official Contest Rules

Defenders of Wildlife is pleased to announce its first annual photography contest and invites photographers to enter. The grand prize winner will receive a seven-day photo tour of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, courtesy of Defenders of Wildlife and Jess Lee Photo Tours.

Please read the following rules, terms and conditions before submitting any photos.

The Defenders of Wildlife photography contest (the "contest") is open to everyone at least 18 years of age, except employees and board members of Defenders of Wildlife and their immediate families.

YOUR RIGHTS: You will retain the copyright and all other rights to photographs you submit except for those rights specifically listed below:

You are granting Defenders of Wildlife a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license to publish the photographs you enter in editorial, educational, promotional and other uses. You also grant Defenders of Wildlife the right to use your name in connection with the photograph as well as in promotions and other publications associated with the contest.

WHAT TO ENTER: The contest has two categories: wild lands and wildlife. We are looking for outstanding photographs of wildlife and wild lands that highlight the beauty and wonder of life on Earth. Your photographs may be portraits of animals in the wild, natural landscapes or shots of animal behavior. You may enter a maximum of five photographs per category.

This is a contest of images of wild lands and wild animals. Do not enter photographs of pets or domestic animals. Also do not enter photographs of captive animals taken in zoos and/or commercial game farms. If people appear in any of your photographs, you must be able to provide model releases to Defenders of Wildlife.

Photographs should accurately reflect the reality of the subject matter and the scene as it naturally appeared. Slight digital adjustments of color, contrast and exposure are allowed, as is cropping. However, photos that have been heavily digitally altered and/or digital composites, as determined by the sole discretion of the judges, will be disqualified.

When entering via e-mail, provide caption information about the subject and location of the photograph, as well as contact information for the photographer. Also, please clearly label animals as wild in the caption information.

All published photographs will be credited with the caption "© Photographer's Name."

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How to Enter

All entries must be submitted electronically using one (and only one) of the following two methods, Via E-mail or Via Flickr.

Via E-mail

To submit your photos via e-mail, please do the following:

E-mail the photo(s) as an attachment (in JPEG form) to photocontest@defenders.org. (You can send more than one e-mail if your photo file sizes are large and/or you are entering photos in both categories—but the total number of photos you send should not exceed five per category.) Your e-mail(s) must contain the following items to be considered for the competition:

Subject line: Indicate "wildlife" or "wild lands" depending on which category the photos are in. 

Body of e-mail:

1. Your name (first and last)
2. Your e-mail address
3. Your home address
4. Your phone number
5. Subject and location
6. Affirmation that any included animals are wild

NOTE: This information will be kept private and viewable only by Defenders of Wildlife photo contest staff except as noted in the YOUR RIGHTS section above.

NOTE: Please refer to the section above on YOUR RIGHTS to see the rights you are granting Defenders of Wildlife.

Via Flickr

To submit your photos via Flickr, please follow these steps:

1. Use your Yahoo! ID to log into www.Flickr.com. If you do not already have a Flickr account, you can sign up for free at www.Flickr.com. (Flickr and Yahoo! are trademarks of Yahoo, Inc.)
2. Once you have logged in, upload the images you would like to submit to your account by clicking on the blue letters that say "upload photos and video now" or "upload first images."
3. The next page will ask you to "choose your photos." Click on that link.
4. Select your photo or photos to be uploaded from your personal files. If you want to add more photos, click on “add more” at the bottom of the box. You may upload five photos per category ("wildlife" and "wild lands").
5. Once you have selected all the photos you want to upload, click on the phrase "upload photos and video" in pink.
6. You will see a link asking you if you would like to add a description to these photos. Click on this link. On the top of this screen, directly underneath the pink type that says “batch operations” is a gray box entitled “add tags.” In the tag box, type the phrase (including the double quotation marks) “Defenders photo contest 2010.” This tag is required for your photo to be eligible.
7. Below each picture you will see a title box. Please enter the category ("wildlife" or "wild lands") in this box. In the description box, type a brief caption, including the subject and location of the image as well as confirming that any animals in the photo are wild. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “save.”
8. To ensure that we are able to judge your photos at their highest resolution, your global downloading setting must be set to “anyone” (which is the default when you set up your Flickr account), “any Flickr user” or “your contacts.”  If your photo cannot be downloaded at a resolution of at least 3000 pixels at its longest side, it will not be eligible for our contest. We suggest using a camera that can take photos between 6 megapixels and 12 megapixels to achieve maximum resolution.
9. To check your global downloading setting, simply click on your screen name in the upper right portion of any page. This will take you to a new page where you can edit your account settings. Click on the phrase “privacy and permission” next to the phrase “personal information” in pink. The first question you can see will be “who can download your stuff.” Click on “edit” and double-check that it is set to “anyone,” “any Flickr user” or “your contacts,” and click “save.” If you choose "your contacts," please ensure that you have made Defenders of Wildlife your contact.
10. To make Defenders of Wildlife a contact, click here and make sure you are logged into Flickr. On the page that loads, move your cursor over the Defenders of Wildlife logo to the left of our name and you will see a small arrow appear on the right side. Click on the arrow and the first option from the drop-down menu will be "add Defenders as a contact." Click this and in the pop-up window agree to make us a contact. 
11. Add your photo to the Defenders of Wildlife Photo Contest 2010 Flickr group. There you can see other entries, as well as read frequent updates from Defenders of Wildlife regarding the contest.

NOTE: Please consult Flickr help files or message boards if you have any further questions, as they are quite detailed and frequently updated.

NOTE: Defenders of Wildlife is not responsible for any issues or problems you encounter while trying to upload a photo on Flickr.

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Eligibility and Judging

All entries must be JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) file format and have a resolution of at least 3000 on its longest side, preferably 3000x2000 and above. We suggest using a camera that can take photos between six megapixels and 12 megapixels to achieve maximum resolution.

Entries may originate from film or digital files but must be submitted electronically as JPEGs.

Photographs will be judged on the following criteria: artistic value, content, composition, originality and technical expertise. A team of Defenders of Wildlife staff members who select images for our various publications will judge the contest. This is a skill-based contest, and chance plays no part in the determination of the winners.

The team will select 10 finalists, divided into the two categories: wildlife and wild lands. The prize winners and honorable mention winners will come from this group. The finalists will then be placed online for our readers to vote. The voting by our readers will determine the grand prize winner as well as the first, second and third prize winners for each category.

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Deadlines

Entries can be submitted via e-mail or Flickr starting 12:01 am EST on January 16, 2010. Deadline for submitting entries is 11:59 pm PST on March 12, 2010.

Winning photographs will be posted on the Defenders of Wildlife Web site on or about April 5, 2010. Winning photographs will be featured in the summer issue of Defenders magazine, which is published on or about July 17, 2010. Winning entrants may be asked to submit a paragraph about the story behind the photo.

Defenders of Wildlife reserves the right to adjust deadlines as needed due to circumstances beyond our control.

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Prizes

The grand prize winner as determined by our readers will receive a seven-day photo tour of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks that runs from September 18 to 25, 2010. Defenders of Wildlife will pay for transportation to and from the parks for the winner. The tour, courtesy of Jess Lee Photo Tours, includes lodging, ground transportation, guiding and field instruction. For more information, visit Jess Lee Photography's Photo Workshops and Up Coming Trips page.

The other prize winners will receive gift certificates to B&H Photo Video in New York. The first-prize winner in each category will receive a $750 gift certificate, the second prize winner in each category will receive a $250 gift certificate, and the third prize winner in each category will receive a $75 gift certificate. Honorable mention winners will receive a Defenders of Wildlife hat.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

How strict are the dimension requirements? My photo isn't quite 3000 pixels on its longest side.

We strongly suggest your photo be as close to 3000 pixels on its longest side as possible. If your photo is close, but slightly under, please don't hesitate to submit it.

Is the contest open to international participants?

Yes! Anyone can enter, from any location. However, the Grand Prize trip to Yellowstone includes domestic travel only. Should our winner be living in another country, they would be responsible for getting to and from the United States. Defenders will still provide transportation to and from Yellowstone from within the United States.

Can I submit photos taken within national parks or wildlife refuges?

Yes! These wild lands are preserved to be just that: wild.

Do the "wild lands" have to be within the United States?

Not at all! Just like our wildlife category, photos of wild lands can be from anywhere in the world.

What type of animals can be photographed?

Any and all wild animals: birds, mammals, marsupials, amphibians, insects, reptiles, etc. They all are acceptable and welcome.

Do the animals have to be from the United States?

No. As long as the animals in the photo are wild, they can be from anywhere in the world.

My child is not 18, can they still enter?

No. Our contest is open to persons 18 years of age and older.

Can I mail physical photos in to the Defenders headquarters for judging?

No. Defenders will only accept digital submissions via email or Flickr.

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More Questions

Questions and inquiries about contest rules can be e-mailed to photocontestquestions@defenders.org. 

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