Official Rules & Guidelines
Photographers of all ages and abilities can enter photos in the Photo Contest. By capturing and sharing what you love about Oregon, you’ll help spread awareness and passion for safeguarding our natural world for generations to come.
The submission deadline is September 9, 2024.
Rules
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This contest is open to everyone except for Oregon Wild staff and board of directors, contest judges, prize contributors, and their immediate families.
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Only photos taken within the categories outlined in the Submission Guidelines are eligible for consideration.
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Photos must have been taken within the last five years.
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Photos must not have been previously submitted to an Oregon Wild Photo Contest.
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Only color images will be considered for this contest.
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A total of five (5) photos may be submitted per person.
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Only electronic submissions will be accepted. See Submission Guidelines for important specifics.
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Photographers will retain original copyrights to their photos.
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Entrants grant Oregon Wild permission to use their photo(s) in any publication, marketing, or fundraising materials, and on the Oregon Wild website. Where allowed, all photos used will receive captioning and credit.
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Only submissions that adhere to the Contest Rules and Submission Guidelines are eligible to win.
Submission Guidelines
Eligible Categories:
Wildlands & Forests:
From stunning peaks to vibrant forests, wilderness is a unique part of Oregon’s natural heritage.
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Photos must be of public lands (federally or state managed) in Oregon. This includes National Forest and BLM lands (including designated Wilderness and National Scenic areas), National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Grasslands, National Monuments, State Parks, and State forests.
Waters:
Capturing the importance and beauty of Oregon’s aquatic wonders.
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Water images may include rivers, streams, natural lakes, waterfalls, and wetlands without dams or other development. Photos must be of generally undeveloped areas or landscapes (without dams or buildings for example).
Wildlife:
Photos must be of Oregon species in their natural habitat. This category includes birds and fish.
People:
Featuring the people who live, work, and play in Oregon outdoors.
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Submissions must include at least one clearly visible human being outdoors. Images featuring recreation are acceptable and encouraged.
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Zoomed In:
Featuring macro and close-up photography that captures the intricacies of Oregon’s flora and fauna.
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Submissions must include a close-up view of any part of the living landscape or its inhabitants - rocks, ferns, water drops, insects, mushrooms are all fair game in this category. If you are submitting a wildlife image, please consider and use your best judgement on which category will be a better fit, Wildlife or Zoomed In.
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Acceptable Formats:
Digital photos: Photos taken with a digital camera must be submitted at a minimum resolution of 200 dpi and a file size of no smaller than 1.0 MB and no bigger than 15.0 MB. File type must be jpg or tif. Minor digital enhancement for cropping, red-eye removal, filters, and corrective functions are permitted, but images that have been judged to be significantly altered will be disqualified. Photographers are not permitted to place borders or frames around their images or to place watermarks, signatures, dates, or copyright notices on their images. Images MUST maintain the integrity of the area as it was photographed. For example, you may enhance the brightness of your image but you may not remove a clear-cut from the background.
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*IMPORTANT*
It is necessary that each filename identify who took each photo and where it was taken. Please re-name your images to include the following:
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The specific area where the photo was taken
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Photographer’s first and last name
Example: “LostLake.JohnDoe.jpg”
Multiple images of an area by the same photographer should be labeled as such: LostLake1.JohnDoe.jpg, LostLake2.JohnDoe.jpg, LostLake3.JohnDoe.jpg
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Submissions that do not meet the above specifications will be disqualified.
Winners
Images will be judged on their effectiveness in conveying the subject matter, technical expertise, composition, creativity, and demonstrating the key qualities of the category to which the image is submitted.
A winner will be selected from submissions in each category.
Winners will be announced via the Oregon Wild email list and social channels on October 1, 2024.