WildArt Photographer of the Year 2023 - Competition Rules
Entry into the WildArt Photographer of the Year 2023 competition is subject to the rules as set out below. In addition, details of WildArt Photographer of the Year’s Privacy Policy can be viewed here.
Eligibility
1. The competition is global and open to professional and amateur photographers of all ages and nationalities, subject to the payment of the required entry fees.
2. Employees or agents of WildArt Photographer of the Year, Freeze Frame Images Ltd, their families or other persons connected with this promotion (excluding the sponsors and supporters) are not eligible to enter. Should prospective entrants be in any doubt as to their eligibility, then confirmation from the Promoter should be sought by emailing info@wildartpoty.com.
3. By submitting an entry, each entrant (and the entrant's parent or guardian in the case of entrants under the age of 18) agrees to these rules, that their entry complies with these rules, and that they will be liable to the Promoter and their licensees in respect of any damages or losses incurred as a breach of the Rules. Payment is required to enter the competition and this, together with the uploading of photographs, will be taken as acceptance of these terms.
4. Entrants must be aged 18 or over on 31 October 2023 (the closing date of the final monthly contest of the competition). Entrants aged under 18 years on 31 October 2023 must gain the permission of a parent or guardian to enter the competition. It is the responsibility of each entrant (and the entrant's parent or guardian) to ensure that they have read and will abide by these rules and terms and conditions.
The WildArt Young Photographer of the Year Award is only open to photographers under the age of 18 on 31st October 2023.
Contest Categories
5. The competition will comprise 10 individually themed monthly contests as follows:
1. March - Light
2. April - Wet
3. May - Airborne
4. June - Colour
5. July - Tiny
6. August - Abstracts
7. September - Naturescapes
8. October - Space
6. All of the above categories will open for entries from 13th February 2023. The categories will each close at midnight UK time on the last day of the month they represent. For example, ‘Light’ will close for entries on 31st March 2023, ‘Wet’ will close for entries on 30th April 2022, and so on.
7. Entrants may enter as many or as few of the categories as they wish – winning the overall WildArt Photographer of the Year does not require entry into all eight categories, but the winner will be selected from the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Founder’s Choice winners from each of the eight competition categories, representing the best overall image from the competition as chosen by the judging panel.
Entry Fees
8. The competition is subject to the payment of an entry fee. Payment of the entry fees must be made as directed through the competition website. Payment packages vary in cost depending upon the overall number of images they allow entrants to enter. Entrants may purchase multiple entry packages at any time during the call for entries period. Entrants may enter as many times as they wish, subject to the purchase of the necessary entrance package/s.
9. Entry fees are charged in Pounds Sterling (GBP), or your local dominated currency via credit card or debit card. The exchange rate between currencies will be decided by the banking system at the time of purchase.
10. The entry options are as follows:
· £6 – 1 Image
· £15 – 5 Images
· £20 – 10 Images
· £35 – 20 Images
· £45 - 30 Images
· £65 – 50 Images
11. Entrants under the age of 18 on 31st October 2023 should choose a Young entry package charged at £8 which will allow the entry of 5 images, or £10 which will allow the entry of 10 images. Entry fees to the WildArt Young photographer of the Year section of the monthly contests must be paid online by the entrant’s parent or guardian via credit card or debit card.
Submission Rules
12. Entries will only be accepted online if sent via our dedicated online entry system as directed in the competition entry process. No entries will be accepted by email or post. Only digital entries will be accepted.
13. The entry system allows the upload of images to a gallery corresponding to each of the competition categories. Entrants may swap images between open categories (up to the limit of their total image allowance) until the category closing deadline. Once the deadline has passed, then the images in the category gallery will be entered into that category and can no longer be changed.
14. Images may be taken using any type of camera, including mobile phones, subject to the minimum file size being available as outlined in these rules. Digital scans from a transparency or negative are also permitted if they meet the competition’s minimum technical requirements.
15. Photographs of wildlife taken anywhere in the world are eligible for entry. There is no time restriction on when the images were taken.
16. Images that have previously won a national or international photography competition are eligible for entry, although it should be remembered that the competition judges will be looking for new and innovative images. Our judging panel consists of experienced and respected wildlife photographers from around the world who are likely to have seen images that have previously done well in other competitions.
17. Images submitted for entry to any of the monthly contests (with the exception of ABSTRACTS - see rule 18 below) should be the result of a single image produced in-camera, with the exception of focus stacking, HDR and stitched panoramas (produced either in-camera or with post-production software) as long as the resulting image is a true representation of the scene and subject photographed. A copy of all the original files used to produce the image may be requested to confirm authenticity. Photographers may make reasonable use of digital darkroom techniques which enhance quality but do not distort the photograph. Any major alterations should be avoided. Images should be provided without borders or watermarks of any kind.
18. The following rule applies to images submitted within our ABSTRACTS category only. ABSTRACTS will allow the combination of multiple images provided that the process is completed in camera to produce a single output file. Entrants should be able to provide a single image RAW or original jpeg output file, plus the original combined images.
19. Adjustment to levels, curves, colour balance, colour saturation, dodging and burning, selective adjustments using layers, conversion to black and white, and blemish and dust spot removal are all examples of acceptable manipulation.
20. You may crop your images in the interests of composition, correcting horizons, etc. However, the resulting cropped image must be large enough to provide a file with at least 2,500 pixels on the shortest side (without the aid of interpolation or upsizing software) should your image/s be shortlisted or awarded.
21. Cloning out/removal of elements within the image, and replacing backgrounds are all examples of processes that will invalidate an entry in all categories (with the exception of blemishes such as dust spots caused by dust and other debris on the camera sensor).
22. Any changes to the original photograph not itemised here are unacceptable and will render the photograph ineligible for a prize. A copy of the original camera file will be requested for all images shortlisted in our category Top 100 selections. In addition, images from a sequence either side of the submitted image may be requested during the verification process. The Promoter reserves the right to eliminate entries where such a request is ignored or where it is suspected that the rules have been infringed.
Preparing your images - Image file entry specifications
23. A low-resolution file is required for initial entry into the competition sent via our online entry system.
24. Images for initial entry should be at least 800 pixels on the shortest side at 72dpi and saved in low to medium settings in the sRGB colour space. Each file should not exceed 4MB in size. No borders, frames, watermarks or signatures should be included. Please ensure that you are able to provide a higher resolution file of at least 2,500 pixels on the shortest side at 300dpi (without the aid of interpolation or upsizing software), as these will be requested for images shortlisted for an award position.
25. A caption will be required for each image entered and will be requested at the point of entry. This caption can be as brief or as detailed as you wish, however, it should be remembered that information about the circumstances surrounding the capture of images is often requested by judges during the initial judging process. Detailed captioning can be a benefit during the initial selection process. Detailed information will be requested for all shortlisted images.
26. Removal of the EXIF data from the entry file/s (camera and lens model, settings, etc) will invalidate your entry.
27. No digital files will be returned.
28. The Promoter will accept no responsibility for images that are incorrectly submitted.
Permissions and Ethical Policy
29. Entrants are reminded that they are responsible for obtaining any necessary licences that may be required to photograph protected species or areas. Proof may be requested by the Promoter and entries disqualified where it is suspected the relevant permissions have not been obtained.
30. Although photographs of captive wildlife are eligible for entry, entrants are obliged to disclose this information in the image caption at the point of upload, as the judges will need to take the circumstances of the image capture into consideration.
31. The Promoter and its Sponsors and Partners expect all photographers to adhere to an ethical code of conduct when obtaining the images entered in the competition, ensuring that the practices employed do not: inflict any form of cruelty, stress or suffering to another living animal; the behaviour of the wildlife is not adversely affected; nothing has been destroyed or damaged; there is no detrimental effect on the environment of any kind. The use of tape luring, live baiting, chilling, or any other act that, in the Judges’ opinion, detrimentally alters the behaviour of any subject to obtain a photograph, is expressly prohibited and will result in the image being disqualified. Any image which includes a subject which the Judges suspect is deceased and posed as alive will be immediately disqualified from the competition. Full disclosure of the techniques employed to obtain an image should be provided at the point of image upload in the image description and will be requested for all images shortlisted for an award. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any entry where they suspect either full disclosure has not been made, or where the methods employed by the photographer are judged to breach the competition rules and ethical code of conduct. It is the responsibility of the Entrant to ensure that the relevant permissions have been obtained when photographing on private land.
32. Although the use of drones is permitted, entrants are expected not to have compromised the wellbeing of any wildlife or habitat resulting from their use. The Promoter will immediately disqualify any images where there is any possibility the welfare of any wildlife or habitat has been compromised.
Prizes
Please refer to our prizes page for full information.
33. Each of the ten monthly contests will be awarded prizes for Gold, Silver and Bronze positions as follows:
· Gold - £250 (or sponsored goods to the value of at least £250)
· Silver – Sponsored by Cotton Carrier. G3 Binocular and Camera Harness.
· Bronze – A copy of WildArt Photographer of the Year collection 1 book.
34. There will be additional images in each Category awarded ‘Highly Commended’ and ‘Commended’ status from the judges at their discretion - there is no prize associated with either of these. In addition there will be a Founder’s Choice, for which there is no prize.
35. Overall WildArt Photographer of the Year Winner. Each of the monthly contest Gold, Silver, Bronze and Founder’s Choice Award winners will go forward to the final judging round where a single image will be chosen and the title of ‘WildArt Photographer of the Year’ will be presented to the winning photographer together with equipment from OM System to the value of $5,000 (or cash equivalent at their discretion).
36. WildArt Young Photographer of the Year Award. Each of the monthly category young winners will go forward to the final judging round where a single image will be chosen and the title of ‘WildArt Young Photographer of the Year’ will be presented to the winning photographer together with a Swarovski Optik CL Pocket 8x25 binocular. Please refer to our Prizes page for further information.
37. In the event the prizes as stated are not available for any reason, The Promoter reserves the right at their discretion to replace the prize with another of equivalent value.
38. All monetary category prizes will be paid in Pounds Sterling (GBP) via PayPal or bank transfer: payment of foreign currencies will be subject to the exchange rate offered at that time by the banking system used.
39. The declaration of prize monies paid and any resulting tax due are the sole responsibility of the recipient.
40. Entrants outside the UK must ensure that their country of residence allows the acceptance of any prize money won. The Promoter reserves the right to withhold payments that are prohibited by law and no alternative prize will be offered.
41. Prizes are not transferrable.
42. In the event that reasonable attempts to contact any winner via the email contact details provided at the point of entry fail, then the Promoter reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant.
Competition Judging
43. Each of the monthly contests will be judged online by a judging team chosen from the judging panel. An initial online round carried out with a scoring system will produce a shortlist for further discussion, from which the winners and awarded positions will be selected. Entrants with selected images will be contacted within 30 days of the contest closing for entries and will be required to provide high resolution files within 14 days of request, in line with the guidelines already outlined. Failure to provide acceptable files within the stated time frame will result in the image/s being eliminated from the competition.
44. WildArt Photographer of the Year and its Promoter cannot be held responsible for the non-delivery of emails to entrants resulting from their security settings or email provider’s restrictions. Please ensure that you have added info@wildartpoty.com to your email contacts list to reduce the chance of this occurring.
45. Once the eight monthly contests are complete and the winners selected, the overall WildArt Photographer of the Year. Founder’s Choice Award and WildArt Young Photographer of the Year will be selected as previously described during a group discussion involving the judging panel.
46. In the unlikely event that the standard of entries does not meet the requirements of the WildArt Photographer of the Year competition and its judges, the Promoter reserves the right not to award prizes.
47. The Judges’ decision is final and binding in all matters and no correspondence will be entered into under any circumstances.
48. At no time should entrants contact competition judges directly (via social media, email, or any other method) in connection with any aspect of the competition and the judging process. Any questions regarding the competition should be directed to the competition organiser via email.
Please refer to our Judges page for more information on the Judges.
Timing
49. Monthly contest winners will be announced and displayed on the competition website within 60 days of the closure of entries for that contest. The overall WildArt Photographer of the Year, WildArt Portfolio Award and WildArt Young Photographer of the Year will be announced on or before 31st December 2023.
Copyright and Permissions
50. All imagery MUST be the total and exclusive work of the submitting photographer and may not include any element that is the copyright of another. The Copyright for each image entered will remain with its respective photographer. By entering the Competition and submitting your photograph(s), you hereby grant WildArt Photographer of the Year, the Promoter and its sponsors a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to use your photograph(s) for any purpose connected with the Competition, including (but not limited to), promoting the Competition within printed and online media, the inclusion within printed and digital versions of the Competition book, the inclusion within printed and digital versions of the Competition calendar and other merchandise, display at exhibitions, use in press, promotional and marketing materials, social media networks and for the promotion of any future photographic competition in both print and online media. All images will be credited to the photographer where used.
51. WildArt Photographer of the Year, the Promoter and its Sponsors respects the rights of all the competition entrants and does not claim copyright on any of the images entered.
52. Entrants will retain full copyright of their images and every effort will be made by the competition and The Promoter to ensure that all images used in line with the guidelines as set out here include the correct image credit. WildArt Photographer of the Year and the Promoter will not be liable for any credit omission or error.
Publicity
53. Entrants who are awarded and/or shortlisted agree to actively participate in publicity related to the competition and the awarded image/s, including (but not limited to) the use of their name and likeness for the purposes of the promotion of the competition without additional compensation.
Liabilities
54. WildArt Photographer of the Year, The Promoter and The Sponsors are excluded from liability for any loss, damage or injury which might occur to the winner arising from his or her acceptance of the prize. The entrant will indemnify the Promoter for all liabilities, including legal costs, in relation to any action or complaint taken by any third party against the Promoter in relation to the entrant’s photograph(s).
Refunds
55. Images entered in the competition may not be withdrawn unless The Promoter is notified of a legitimate permissions problem. Withdrawal of the image(s) will be made once The Promoter is satisfied with the evidence supplied. No refund will be provided.
56. Once an image entry package has been purchased, no refunds will be provided should none or all of the image entry allowance be unutilised. Unutilised image entry allowances will not carry over into subsequent annual contests.
57. If Entrants believe they are entitled to a refund for any reason, then they must contact The Promoter via the email info@wildartpoty.com and explain the circumstances of the request. Any refunds will be given entirely at The Promoter’s discretion. Any refund will be credited via the original purchase payment method, less any fees that may be due to the payment provider.
General
58. The Promoter reserves the right to amend the Competition Rules and the Terms and Conditions at any time for any reason and at their discretion. Any changes will be published on this website, and it is for Entrants to check for themselves for any changes by visiting this web page regularly. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by English law. When a photograph is submitted and its upload is successfully completed, the entry cannot be changed or withdrawn. No refunds will be given. Entry to the Awards shall be deemed full and unconditional acceptance of the terms & conditions.
Force Majeure
59. The Promoter reserves the right to modify, cancel or terminate the competition under exceptional circumstances beyond its control, including (but not limited to) computer viruses, equipment failure, outbreak of war and Acts of God.
The Promoter
60. The Promoter is Freeze Frame Images Ltd, 38 Bridge Street, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 1BW.
Rule Changes
The above rules are new for the 2023 WildArt Photographer of the Year competition as of 10 February 2023. Any changes to the rules from this date will be detailed below.