GCT's 2010 Photographic Competition

Entries are now open for the Galapagos Conservation Trust's
2010 International Photographic Competition.

What Photos to Enter
Select your most striking, unique, pin-sharp images of the flora, fauna and landscapes of Galapagos for inclusion in the Galapagos Conservation Trust's 2012 calendar.

We are looking for both iconic Galapagos images, and also photos of the less well-known or photographed species that inhabit the Archipelago. Winning photographs are likely to be ones that demonstrate flair, good composition and originality.

We encourage entrants to make a voluntary donation to the Galapagos Conservation Trust, where your much appreciated contribution will support one of our many projects in the Galapagos Islands.

It is easy to enter, simply complete an entry form then email us your labeled photos one at a time.

The competition closes at midnight on the 31 October 2010.

You can enter up to six images in any of the categories listed below. For example, photographers may enter all images in a single category or select different categories as long as the total submission does not exceed 6 photographs. We would encourage you to enter photos of a range of subjects, rather than six images of the same species. Photos must be of landscape orientation and may be colour or black and white. Only digital images greater than 2MB and 1,600 pixels on the shortest edge will be accepted.

 Categories

• Birds
• Reptiles
• Flora
• Marine
• Landscapes
• Other

Judging Process
A selection of the best images will be short-listed, and will be displayed on the GCT website in the month of December for our online voting. The image with the highest number of votes will become the "Public's Winner".

The short-listed photographs will also be judged by a panel of experts who will consider the originality, composition, clarity, technical excellence, overall impact and artistic merit of the shortlisted images and decide on the overall winning image of the competition - the "Judges' Winner" - and 10 other winning photographs for inclusion in the calendar. Photos are likely to be selected that provide a diverse range of interesting images for inclusion in the 2012 calendar. It should be noted that images similar to winners in previous year's calendars are unlikely to be chosen. The winning photographs and judges comments from previous years can be seen here by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page.

Two judges have been confirmed to date, more to follow:

Mark Carwardine - Zoologist, biologist, wildlife photographer and keen conservationist, Mark has been the Chairman of the judging panel for the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition since 2005.

Pete Oxford - Naturalist, biologist, photographer, conservationist, author and licensed National Park guide. Pete has written two books on the Galapagos and currently lives in Ecuador.

Tui De Roy - photographer, author and conservationist who grew up in the Galapagos Islands and has a huge wealth of experience photographing Galapagos wildlife and scenery.  Tui has written a number of beautifully illustrated books on the Galapagos,

Kieran Murphy - Managing Director of GCT Gold Club Members, Steppes Travel.  GCT are delighted to have Kieran on the judging panel and would like to thank Steppes for sponsoring the production of the calendar.

Prizes
The winning 12 photographs will be included in our popular Galapagos calendar. All winners will receive 2 free calendars, and the two overall winners from the public vote and judges vote will also receive 2 free tickets to our annual Galapagos Day event in London.

COMPETITION RULES AND SUBMISSION GUIDANCE
1. Images must be of Galapagos wildlife or landscapes.
2. Images should be of a landscape orientation only, to comply with the calendar design.
3. Each entrant may enter up to 6 photos in any of the categories listed above.
4. Any photos that have previously been entered in a GCT photo competition are ineligible.
5. Submissions must be received by midnight on the 31 October 2010.
6. How to Enter - Only digital entries are accepted. Each photo must be a high resolution image, with a minimum resolution of 1,600 pixels on the shortest edge, a minimum file size of 2MB and minimum resolution of 300 dpi. The maximum file size is 5MB. All photos must be in .jpg format. Entrants may be asked to supply the original photo file should they make it to the shortlisted round.
7. Each image file must be labeled with your name and the species and/or location of the photo. e.g. the file name might be "Joe Bloggs Land Iguana, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz". In each email please include your name, your address, your phone number, the location of the photo, and any relevant or interesting information about the photo.
8. Please enter the competition by completing an entry form, then email your photos to us as instructed on the entry form. Photos should be emailed one at a time. The email must have "PHOTO ENTRY" and your name in the subject line, e.g. "PHOTO ENTRY Joe Bloggs".
9. Digital Alterations - All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimisation will not be considered for the final round. Acceptable are adjustments to colour, contrast, brightness and sharpness; removal of dust and scratches; cropping; black and white conversions. Not acceptable are photo composites (combination of two or more photos, not of the same scene); the addition, duplication, deletion or moving of objects in the photos; or the use of artistic digital filters and effects. The competition organisers and the judges reserve the right to exclude any image they believe may have been excessively treated so as to alter its authenticity.
10. Please note - we may need to crop your photo to fit the dimensions of the calendar so it is preferable not to crop your photo too close to the subject matter as this may make it ineligible for inclusion in the calendar.
11. Photographer's rights  Your entry into this photo competition constitutes your agreement to grant the Galapagos Conservation Trust (a) a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the photographs you submit to the Galapagos Conservation Trust, for use in any Galapagos Conservation Trust publication or webpage related to the Photographic Competition, and to be used in Galapagos Conservation Trust promotions, including, but not limited to, advertising future photographic competitions, publications from GCT or other organisations, exhibitions, future marketing materials and campaigns, webpages, email bulletins; and (b) the right to use your name, occupation, city, state and country of residence in any publication. We will endeavour to ensure that your images are always duly credited but are unable to take responsibility should your name be omitted.
12. All entries must be the original work of the entrant, and must not infringe on the rights of any other party. The entrant must be the sole copyright in all photographs entered.
13. By entering this competition entrants will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by these rules and the competition organisers reserve the right to exclude any entry from the competition at any time and in its absolutes discretion if the organisers have reason to believe that an entrant has breached these rules.
14. A list of winners will appear on the website. The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. The competition is not open to GCT employees or their families.

Photographic Competition 2009 Winners