WHO IS ELIGIBLE: The ATL Contest is open to ALL photographers worldwide who are at least 13 years of age, except the judges.
DIVISIONS: Photographers must enter their images in one of the following divisions:
- Butterflies
- Moths
- Immature stages
If you wish to donate any of your images to the Association for Tropical Lepidoptera to use on materials for its continuing educational and conservation efforts, please check box on the form accompanying the entry fee. Donors retain ownership of their photos and grant ATL only permission to use the images for its educational and conservation work. ATL greatly appreciates all image donations.
Digital Alterations: All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization will be disqualified. Acceptable are adjustments to color, contrast, brightness and sharpness; removal of dust and scratches; cropping; black and white conversions; and use of HDMI (high dynamic range imaging), where multiple exposures of the same scene are combined for a greater tonal range. 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. Examples of artistic filters and effects are watercolor, neon glow, posterizing, stained glass, and others which do not show the scene in its natural way.
DEADLINE: The final date for submitting photos is June 15, 2013
JUDGING: Photographs will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact and artistic merit. All decisions by the judges will be final and binding.
Judges: Three staff members of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity
PRIZES: Recognition in the form of cash prizes totaling $250.00, books on butterflies, and historic past volumes of Tropical Lepidoptera and Holarctic Lepidoptera will be awarded, along with other prizes, such as ATL memberships for a period of one year. A single prize will be awarded per photographer per category. ATL will also select and publish certain winners from any category in the December, 2013 issue of ATL Notes . ATL will send two copies of that issue to the winners who are published in it. All entries will be displayed digitally during the combined Annual Meeting of the Lepidopterists' Society, Association for Tropical Lepidoptera and Southern Lepidopterists’ Society, 27-30, June, 2013. Winners may be viewed beginning mid-July, 2013, at www.troplep.org
YOUR RIGHTS: Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of the photographs they enter except for the following: Your entry to the contest constitutes your agreement to allow your entered photographs—and your name, occupation, city, state and country of residence—to be published as winners or finalists in ATL Notes.
LEGAL CONDITIONS: By entering this competition, you agree to these entry rules and the following legal conditions:
By entering, participants warrant that his or her entry materials are original, and do not infringe on any third party’s rights. Decisions of ATL shall be final and binding.
HOW TO ENTER: e-mail up to 20 entries per person to atlphotocontest@gmail.com The files should be at least 800 pixels wide and smaller than 1 mb to be judged. The winners will be asked to supply high resolution files for publication in ATL NEWS.
Entry Fees: $5.00 per each photo entered in the competition. Please send the check to ATL Photocontest, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity, P. O. Box 112710, Gainesville, FL 32611-1210. You can also pay through PayPal at www.troplep.org.
All photos must have complete information attached in the accompanying e-mail cover letter, including their subjects, locations, stories, digital adjustments and camera equipment. The judges will use this information to help them select the winners. Not providing this information may hurt your chances of winning.
Photographers may enter all images in a single category or select different categories as long as the total submission does not exceed 20 photographs. Photos may be color or black and white.
HOW TO CONTACT US: Questions and inquiries regarding contest rules or technical matters, including problems uploading photos, can be emailed to atlphotocontest@gmail.com. The safe receipt of entries will be acknowledged by email reply.
ATL is not responsible for lost, damaged, late or misdirected photographs, or for uploading connections, garbled transmissions, unauthorized intervention or technical malfunctions.
