Sponsored by Richmond Camera, Wild Virginia’s first annual photography contest is now open for entries! Spring is just around the corner, even though it hasn’t been the harshest of winters, what a great time to start capturing the beauty our Virginia landscapes and wildlife have to offer. Every person who enters not only honors their own work, but also supports the conservation mission of Wild Virginia, which is dedicated to protecting and connecting Virginia’s wild places.

Wild Virginia celebrates the power of photography to advance conservation, promote local photographers, and connect viewers with wildlife or beautiful imagery. Entries must encompass the theme of ‘Wild Virginia’ and only entries that are of wildlife, landscapes and/or culture found within the state of Virginia will be accepted. 

Wild Virginia’s photography contest will be judged by award-winning, wildlife photographer, Ken Conger, and entries must be submitted between Sunday 8th March 2020 and Sunday 19th April 2020. 

Rules of entry:

• Entries for Wild Virginia’s photography contest must encompass the theme of ‘Wild Virginia’. Only entries that are of wildlife, landscapes and/or culture found within the state of Virginia will be accepted. Any wildlife photographed in a zoo, game farm or captive situation is prohibited. Entries must be submitted via the online entry form or via Instagram using the hashtag #WildVirginiaPhoto2020.  Entries submitted using the online entry form should not exceed 2MB in size (per photo). The organizers cannot be held responsible for entries that do not arrive due to an entrant’s internet security settings or restrictions placed by their internet service provider, or that are incorrectly uploaded by the online form or that do not include #WildVirginiaPhoto when entering through Instagram. Entries must be submitted between Sunday 8th March 2020 and midnight (EST) Sunday 19th April 2020.  Winning entries will be announced before the Wild Virginia Film Festival in early May. Multiple entries are permitted (up to 3 per person). The photographer must be the author of the pictures submitted in their name. Must be uploaded in JPEG format. Wild Virginia may request RAW and high-resolution photos, if these are required. No borders, watermarks, websites or text are permitted on photos submitted. All pictures must have descriptive captions in English. Only single exposure and single frame pictures will be accepted. Stitched panoramas, composite or other multiple exposure images are not accepted. Entries that have previously, or at any time prior to the finalization of this competition, won other national or international photographic competition/s will not be considered. The content of a picture must not be altered by adding, rearranging, reversing, distorting or removing people and/or objects from within the frame. You may crop images. Adjustments of color or conversion to grayscale that do not alter content are allowed. All entrants retain copyright of their work and grant Wild Virginia unlimited non-exclusive use of pictures for activities in all media. Any images used by Wild Virginia will be credited to the entrant. The copyright holders represent and warrant that submission of the pictures does not breach any law, and further that no third party can hold any claims or any objections regarding the rights granted to Wild Virginia specified in article 15. The copyright holders will hold Wild Virginia harmless of any claims from third parties related hereto. The conditions set out in these Entry Rules are binding, and Wild Virginia reserves the right to refuse or exclude any entry at its own discretion. By entering the contest, participants confirm that they have agreed to the rules of the competition. Any entry found not to comply with the rules may be disqualified at any stage of the competition and any prizes will be forfeited. The prizes are non-transferable. The organizers reserve the right to substitute the listed prize with an alternative of equal monetary value (but the entrant shall not have any right to demand this).

Ethics: Entrants to the contest must ensure their pictures provide an accurate and fair representation of the scene they witnessed. As an entrant, you:

• Should be aware of the influence their presence can exert on a scene they photograph, and should resist being misled by staged photo opportunities.
• Must not intentionally contribute to, or alter, the scene they picture by re-enacting or staging events.
• Must not pay their subjects, either in money or goods.
• Must maintain the integrity of the picture by ensuring there are no material changes to content.
• Must ensure captions are accurate.
• Must ensure the editing of a picture provides an accurate and fair representation of its context.
• Must be open and transparent about the entire process through which their pictures are made.

Judging:

• The contest will be judged by award-winning, wildlife photographer, Ken Conger.
• The judge will award a first, second, and third prize.

Prizes:

1st place winning entry will receive: A signed copy of judge Ken Conger’s ‘Wildlife’s Greatest Connection – A Mother and Her Young’, a $100 gift card for Richmond Camera, and Wild Virginia merchandise.

2nd place entry will receive: A $50 gift card for Richmond Camera and Wild Virginia merchandise.

3rd placed entry will receive: A $25 gift card for Richmond Camera and Wild Virginia merchandise.

1st, 2nd & 3rd placed entries will also be printed and displayed at the Wild Virginia Film Festival: Hidden Rivers in May.

Selected entries will be featured in a digital gallery at the Wild Virginia Film Festival in May, as well as across Wild Virginia social media platforms.