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2008 Digital Photo Challenge:
Trails, Walking and Biking
Subissions for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 2008 Digital Photo Challenge are CLOSED. (September 1, 2008)
This summer, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy begins its quest to find the best digital image of a rail-trail within the United States. The goal: capture and highlight the incredible diversity of life on and around the country's rail-trails. We want it all. Skylines and mountain ridges, horseback riders and fishermen, families and pets, waterfronts and windswept prairie, commuter pipelines and pebbly escapes, urban bustle and rural quiet, rail-trails as routes to work or the store, and as playgrounds—if the scene moved you to take the photo, odds are we want to see it. Get your cameras ready!
RULES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS
You must agree to the following rules, terms and conditions as part of your participation in the Contest.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's 2008 Digital Photo Challenge (the "Contest") is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age, except employees of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and their immediate families and/or paid consultants or contractors of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The contest is open to all participants regardless of residence or citizenship, so long as the laws of their jurisdiction allow participation.
YOUR RIGHTS:
You will retain all rights to any photograph you submit—including ownership if applicable—other than those rights licensed in the next sentence. By entering the contest, you hereby grant to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (i) a nonexclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, publicly display and publicly perform the photographs you submit to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and (ii) the right to use your name, city, state and country of residence in promotions and other publications.
WHAT TO ENTER:
We are looking for the best digital image of a rail-trail within the United States, but that image may include a broad range of perspectives and subjects. Entries may include, but are not limited to: open landscapes of or around a rail-trail, as long as the photo references the rail-trail; wildlife activity on or recognizably near the rail-trail; people involved in any exercise or activity* on or visibly near a rail-trail—fishing, riding horses, kids playing, cycling, inline skating, etc…; urban trail settings—bicycle commuters, kids walking home from school, families pushing strollers or walking dogs, grocery shoppers; and any other image of rail-trail use that captures the personality of a rail-trail and the communities it passes through.
You may submit as many images as you wish for consideration.
All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared, and have a clear relationship with a rail-trail or connecting trail system. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization (removal of dust, cropping, adjustments to color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified.
To find the location of a rail-trail near you, visit our trail-finder Web site, TrailLink.com (powered by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy).
*Entrants must not submit images that involve illicit or illegal activity, the willful harassment of people or wildlife, damage to the environment by the photographer, or infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person. If you choose to include people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary releases from the individuals depicted, and must be able to provide copies of those releases to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy upon request.
DEADLINES:
All entries must be submitted no later than August 31, 2008. Online entries can be uploaded starting May 20, 2008, and must be uploaded no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on August 31, 2008.
Entrants may be asked to submit a paragraph about the story behind the photo anytime after August 1, 2008. Finalists will be announced on www.railstotrails.org on or before October 1, 2008. The Grand Prize Winner will be announced in the Winter 2009 issue of Rails to Trails magazine (publishing the early November 2008) and on www.railstotrails.org on or before November 1, 2008.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s).
WINNING PHOTOS:
At least 25 photos will be selected as Finalists. One Grand-Prize Winner will be chosen.
- Finalists will be featured on the www.railstotrails.org Web site. There is no retail value for this prize.
- The Grand Prize Winner will be determined by the judging panel from Finalists selected by the judging panel. The Grand-Prize winner's image will be printed in the 2009 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy calendar. All entrants featured in the calendar will receive a copy of the calendar. The retail value of the calendar is $30.
All finalists and grand-prize winning photographs will be credited with the caption "© Person's Name." Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has final approval of any language that appears on its Web site with any of the photos and will not promote or endorse third-party products or services.
HOW TO ENTER:
Each photo must be submitted electronically, by one (and only one) of the following two methods:
- Via Flickr™ -- To share one or more images, follow these simple steps:
- Join Flickr™ or login to your already existing Flickr™ account. If you do not have an account, you can sign-up for free at www.flickr.com.
- Once you are logged in, join the RTC 2008 Digital Photo Challenge group.
- The "You" menu at the top of every page provides an easy way for you to start uploading photos. Follow the directions provided by Flickr™ to upload your photos to your account.
- READ THIS CAREFULLY: When you've uploaded your photos, name or "tag" them with:
+ the state name;
+ the name of the trail where you took each photo; AND
+ "RTC08-PhotoChallenge"
For example, a photo taken on Florida's Withlacoochee State Trail would be tagged with: Florida, Withlachoochee State Trail, RTC08-PhotoChallenge.
- The easiest way to add your newly uploaded photos to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's free, public RTC 2008 Digital Photo Challenge group is to go to your photo page, click the "Send to Group" button above the photo you want to share. Choose the group you want to send it to.
- Once your photos are uploaded, tagged and sent to the RTC 2008 Digital Photo Challenge group, fill out this online submission form.
- If you do not upload your photo to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's RTC 2008 Digital Photo Challenge group on Flickr™, do not tag your photo with an appropriate tag or do not complete the online submission form, it will not be considered for the competition.
- You're done. You can now see your photos and others on the RTC 2008 Digital Photo Challenge group page.
*If you have trouble using Flickr™, please consult their online help files.Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is not responsible for and cannot provide technical support for any issues or problems you encounter while trying to upload a photo on Flickr™.
- Via Manual Submission Process -- If you choose not to use Flickr™ to submit your image, you may complete our
online submission form and e-mail your photo to the email address specified after you complete the online submission form. You must complete the form for EACH photo you submit.
Photos e-mailed from an e-mail address different than the one used on our online submission form cannot be attributed to the photographer properly, and therefore will not be considered eligible for the contest.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy reserves the right to upload photos submitted through this process to its public group on Flickr™ and/or to the associated trail record on its trail-finder Web site, Traillink.com (Powered by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy).
ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING:
Entries must have a resolution of at least 3 million pixels (3 megapixels) in order to ensure eligibility for the contest. Resolution can be calculated by multiplying the pixel width with the pixel height of the image. For example, a photograph taken with a 3 megapixel camera set for the highest resolution and best quality produces images that are 1536 pixels by 2048 pixels, which are acceptable under the rules (1536 x 2048 = 3 million). Images that do not meet this standard may or may not be judged at the judging panel's sole discretion.
Entries may originate in any format—including, but not limited to digital files, digital prints, color transparencies, color prints, or black and white prints—so long as they are submitted electronically as a digital file. We will NOT accept hard copy entries. Previously published material for which non-exclusive rights were granted may be entered as long as you still maintain the right to grant us a license (see "Your Rights" above). You must be able to disclose when and where the photo appeared previously to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy upon request.
Images will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact and artistic merit. The judges are a panel of Rail-to-Trails Conservancy staff members familiar with photography and responsible for selecting images for various RTC printed and online marketing and membership materials.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. All decisions made by the judges are final.
LEGAL CONDITIONS:
By entering this contest, you agree to certain legal conditions. Click here to read the legal conditions.
QUESTIONS:
Questions and inquiries about contest rules can be emailed to online@railstotrails.org.
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