Picture the Beach! Photo Contest: Rules, Terms and Conditions

The Friends of Pelham Bay Park and the City Island Nautical Museum invite photographers to enter its Picture the Beach! Photo Contest.  As plans begin for the restoration of the landmark Pavilion at Orchard Beach, we want to celebrate the beach—one of the great treasures of Pelham Bay Park.

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

The Friends of Pelham Bay Park Picture the Beach! Digital Photo Contest (the “Contest”) is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age, except employees of the City of New York/Parks & Recreation. The contest is open to all participants regardless of residence or citizenship, so long as the laws of their jurisdiction allow participation.

A panel of Judges will choose their five favorite photos in each thematic category; they will not know who the photographers are. The five winning photos in each category will then be posted on the Friends Facebook page, where visitors will be able to vote for the final winners. The contest then goes back to our panel.  The panel will decide on one overall Grand Prize winner from the five category winners; that winner will be announced at the Friends of Pelham Bay Park’s Spring Fundraiser on April 19, 2018.  All five category winners will be displayed at the fundraiser.

All photographs featured on Facebook for voting will then be included in an exhibition at the City Island Nautical Museum. Those contestants will be invited to the opening reception, when scheduled. The exhibition may travel to other venues. The photographs will be returned to their owners at the conclusion of the exhibition (s).

WHAT TO ENTER:

We are looking for striking images to celebrate the many assets of Orchard Beach – its inherent beauty, unique flora and fauna, interesting history and architecture, and how park users enjoy it in so many different ways.  The five contest categories are:

• People at the Beach

• Scenic Vistas

• Wildlife

• Infused by Bronx History

• Seasons

If you choose to include recognizable people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary releases from the individuals depicted, and must be able to provide copies of those releases to The Friends upon request. Entrants must not submit images that involve human nudity, the willful harassment of wildlife or damage to the environment by the photographer; place 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 (that is, removal of dust, cropping, reasonable adjustments to exposure, color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified.  Images that do not meet these requirements may or may not be included in the contest.

HOW TO ENTER:

The Friends will ask for photograph submissions on its Facebook page and webpage. All images must be submitted via email to friendsofpelhambaypark@gmail.com during the period of submission for the category your photo falls into. Images must be submitted by the deadlines. When submitting your photo please include a photo caption, subject of the image, where it was taken, date photo was taken and name of photographer(s).

ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING:

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.  Please do not submit a photo you entered in our previous photo contest in 2015.

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 Friends’ discretion) if the photographer is unable or unavailable to provide a pristine, watermark-free version of the image when asked.

Images in each category will be judged by a Panel of three judges. Their five choices in each category will then be voted on by anyone who visits The Friends of Pelham Bay Park’s Facebook page. The Facebook winner of each category will be the photo receiving the most “likes.”   Once those winners have been determined, the Panel will choose an overall Grand Prize winner to be announced at the Spring Fundraiser on April 19, 2018.

DEADLINES:

People at the Beach—Submission: Jan. 1-8 and Voting: Jan. 13-20
Scenic Vistas–Submission: Jan. 21-27 and Voting: Feb. 4-10
Wildlife–Submission: Feb. 11-17 and Voting: Feb. 25-Mar. 3
Infused by Bronx History–Submission: Mar. 4-10 and Voting: Mar. 18-24
Seasons–Submission: Mar. 25-31 and Voting: Apr. 8-14

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

WINNING PHOTOS:

One photographer will be eligible to win in not more than two thematic categories.

The winners in each category, as determined by Facebook voters, will be mounted and displayed at our Spring Fundraiser. The Grand Prize winner will be announced at the Fundraiser and the photographer will receive a prize.

The finalists in all categories, as determined by the Panel, will be included in an exhibition at the City Island Nautical Museum, and possibly other venues.

YOUR RIGHTS:

Your photographs will help The Friends of Pelham Bay Park share the amazing diversity and beauty of Orchard Beach on our website, Facebook page and potentially in brochures, postcards, calendars, etc. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography.

If your photograph is posted on Facebook for voting, you grant The Friends of Pelham Bay Park a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to:

• Use the photograph on the Internet in support of our mission.

• Use the photograph in The Friend’s non-commercial communications.

• Use the photograph for fundraising purposes on prints, postcards, calendars, and similar items.

• Provide your photograph to other individuals and organizations for non-commercial use, The Friends-related use in news stories, newsletters, reports, slide shows, displays, web pages, and the like.

• Use, in connection with the Photo Contest, your name 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 Friends shall credit all photographs with the caption “© Person’s Name” when the full name is available.

QUESTIONS:

If you have any questions about the photo contest, voting, etc., please send an email to friendsofpelhambaypark@gmail.com.