The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Photographers Ron Leonetti and Christopher Jordan © Photo courtesy Christopher Jordan

Your Judges

Judging this photo contest will be esteemed photographers Ron Leonetti and Christopher Jordan. Ron and Chris' work can be frequently found in various publications of The Nature Conservancy as well as text books, calendars, periodicals, posters and corporate marketing materials.

If so, enter the Indiana Chapter’s Photo Contest! Your original digital photos of The Nature Conservancy in Indiana’s lands, waters, plants, animals and people in nature could be the winning image!

The Nature Conservancy in Indiana invites friends and members to enter its Photography Competition.

You must read the following rules, terms and legal conditions before submitting any photos!

PHOTO CONTEST RULES
The Nature Conservancy in Indiana Digital Photography Competition (the "Contest") is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age, except employees of The Nature Conservancy and the immediate families of such employees. The contest is open to all participants regardless of residence or citizenship, so long as the laws of their jurisdiction allow participation.

WHAT TO ENTER:
We are looking for striking digital images of nature, highlighting the diversity of nature within The Nature Conservancy of Indiana’s preserves . Categories of entry are:
Landscapes (fall, winter, spring, and summer)
Nature Close-Ups
People in Nature

Contest participants may enter up to 10 photos.

Please do not include photographs of pets or domestic animals. If you choose to include people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining a signed Release from the individuals depicted, and must provide copies of those Releases to The Nature Conservancy with your submission. Entrants must not submit images that involve the willful harassment of wildlife, damage to the environment by the photographer, put any individual or animal in danger, or infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person.

All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization (removal of dust, cropping, reasonable adjustments to exposure, color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified. Multiple exposures that have been combined to produce a single "High Dynamic Range" image are acceptable. Images that do not meet these requirements may or may not be judged at the judging panel's sole discretion.

Photo captions must accompany all submissions, and must include the subject of the image, the location the image was taken, and the full legal name of the photographer(s). Please clearly label animals as wild in digital caption information to assist judges in determining eligibility. If any of the photos include images of people, a fully executed Photo Release Form from the individuals depicted must be included with your submission.

HOW TO ENTER:
For each photo, please include:

• Your full legal name
• The name of your photo, and
• The Nature Conservancy preserve where the photo was taken.

Each photo must be submitted electronically, by one (and only one) of the following two methods:
1) Email the photos to inphotocontest@tnc.org. Each photo must be sent in a separate email.
2) Mail a digital copy of the photographs (on a CD, DVD, or flash drive) to:
The Nature Conservancy of Indiana
Photo Contest
620 E. Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202

ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING:
To ensure eligibility for the contest, all entries must have a resolution of 6 million pixels or greater (6 megapixels) to be made available upon request. Images that do not meet this standard can still be judged, but may not be honored as a finalist in the competition (at the judges’ sole discretion) if the photographer is unable or unavailable to provide the proper resolution when asked.
Resolution can be calculated by multiplying the pixel width of the image with the pixel height. For example, a photograph taken with a 6-megapixel camera set for the highest resolution and best quality produces images approximately 2832 pixels by 2128 pixels, which are acceptable under the rules (2832 x 2128 = 6 million).

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. 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" below). You must be able to disclose when and where the photo appeared previously to The Nature Conservancy upon request.

Submissions may be watermarked if desired, but the watermark should be inconspicuous enough to not interfere with the judging of the photo. A watermarked photo might not be honored by the competition (at the judges’ sole discretion) if the photographer is unable or unavailable to provide a pristine, watermark-free version of the image when asked.

Images will be judged on originality, composition, overall impact and artistic merit. The judges are nature photographers who have photographed for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana.
The Nature Conservancy shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. All decisions made by the judges are final.

DEADLINES:
Online entries can be submitted starting 12:01 pm Eastern Standard Time on November 13, 2012. Deadline for submitting entries is 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on November 1, 2013.
Entrants may be asked to supplement their submission (such as a paragraph about their photo, the highest resolution version of their photo, or a watermark-free version of their photo) anytime on or after November 13, 2012. Winners will be announced in December 2013.

The Nature Conservancy reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control.

WINNING PHOTOS:
Each category’s winning image will be printed in The Nature Conservancy in Indiana Newsletter, Nature Matters. All entrants featured in the newsletter will receive a copy of the newsletter.

YOUR RIGHTS:
Your photographs help The Nature Conservancy protect Earth’s amazing diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography.
By submitting your photograph to this Photo Contest, you are granting The Nature Conservancy a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to:

• Use the photograph on the Internet in support of our mission.
• Use the photograph in The Nature Conservancy’s non-commercial communications.
• Provide your photograph to other individuals and organizations for non-commercial use, TNC-related use in news stories, newsletters, reports, slide shows, displays, web pages, and the like.
• Use, in connection with the Photo Contest, your name, city, state and country of residence in promotions and other publications.
• Keep the files provided, and to archive the images on CD or in other electronic forms, so that your photos can be used to support our mission and be properly credited.
• As conditions of this permission, The Nature Conservancy shall credit all photographs with the caption "© Person's Name."

QUESTIONS:
Questions and inquiries about contest rules can be emailed to inphotocontest@tnc.org.