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Start Shooting for
the
2009 Photo Contest
sponsored by the Dallas SWCD and it's National office
National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD)
and the NACD Auxilary
A picture can be worth even more than a thousand
words. Good photographs can lend a helping hand to numerous projects:
they strengthen publicity for a fund-raiser, make a newsletter more
appealing, and reveal the beauty of wetlands to elementary students. To
recognize individuals who use this tool effectively and creatively, NACD
is sponsoring its sixth annual photo contest.
Photo
Contest Application
CATEGORIES
Photographs may be entered in the following categories:
- Conservation Photos of volunteers planting trees or of
district personnel advising a farmer could be entered in this
category. Shots of erosion, a polluted stream or other conservation
challenges are also appropriate.
- Education Entries in this category might show a workshop
for local teachers or a farmer learning about wetlands. This is also
the place to enter your best photos of children taking part in
conservation activities.
- Trees and Plants Enter anything from a field of wildflowers
to a gnarled oak tree.
- Wildlife In this category, you might show deer running
through the woods or a bird nest in an urban neighborhood.
- Landscapes Sunsets, mountains, city parks and other
impressive views are appropriate subjects for this category.
- Youth Only This category is designed for youths up to age
18. Photos may cover any subject. All photos will be judged as one
category.
GUIDELINES
- The contest is open to amateur photographers (those who make less
than 50 percent of their income from photography) who are residents
of the United States or its territories. Each participant may enter
up to, but no more than, five photographs. Photos will not be
returned.
- Black-and-white prints, color prints, color slides, and prints
from digital photos are all acceptable and will be judged together.
Do not send photo reproductions from a printed publication. There is
no size requirement — however, judges prefer that photos be no
larger than 8x10 and that they not be matted.
- Images must not have been digitally altered in any way other than
necessary burning dodging and cropping.
- A completed entry form must accompany each photograph submitted.
- A 3x5 notecard containing the following information must be
attached to the back of each photo. For slides, please enclose the
slide in a plastic square from a slide protector sheet and staple
the square to the card. Include:
A. Photographer's name and phone number.
B. Title of photograph. Please use same title as on entry form.
C. Subject. Names and titles are needed for each person in the
photo. (Take care to identify each person and spell names
correctly.)
D. Location. If the photograph is of a district technician
helping a farmer, identify the farm, county and state. If the photo
shows a city park, mention the name of the park and the state.
E. Description. Is the child with the magnifying glass examining
a crack in the sidewalk or a line of ants carrying food?
F. Date of photo. Exact dates are not necessary, but at least
give the year.
- All entries become the property of NACD, and NACD reserves the
non-exclusive right to use all photographs in publications or for
promotional purposes. Entrants should keep negatives or extra prints
of their photographs.
- All winners will be asked to email a copy of their winning photo
as a .jpg file to NACD.
- Judges will select one national winner in each of the six
categories. Winning photos will be displayed at NACD’s 2007 Annual
Meeting. Each first place national winner will receive a $50
cash prize. All local winners will receive a $5 cash
prize. Some photos may be selected to receive honorable mentions
and may also be displayed at the next NACD Annual Meeting.
- All entries must be in the Dallas County office by
November 1, 2008. Placing a piece of cardboard in the
envelope and writing “Photographs: Do Not Bend”
on the envelope will help ensure that photographs arrive in good
condition. Send entries to: Dallas SWCD, 1918 Greene Street,
Adel, IA 50003.
Judging Standards
TECHNICAL MERIT
For technical merit, judges may check to see if the photo is:
Well-framed - The photographer should be close enough to
the subject to leave irrelevant or distracting items out of the
shot. For example, photographs usually should not include
unnecessary space above subjects' heads or the shoulder of someone
not intended to be part of the photograph. However, objects like
tree branches, tall grass or a railroad track can sometimes create a
nice effect if carefully and purposely included in a picture.
Properly Exposed - Subjects' faces should not be washed
out or shadowy. Backlighting, improper use of a flash and incorrect
exposure settings on the camera often cause exposure problems.
Sharp and Clear - The center of interest should be sharp and
clear; however, not everything in the photograph must be sharp. In
fact, selective focus adds greatly to the appeal of some
photographs. A blurred hand can sometimes be effective at showing
action, for instance. Carefully adjusting your focus and correctly
using shutter speed and f-stop settings will produce sharp
photographs.
COMPOSITION
For composition, judges determine if the photo features:
A Recognizable Center of Interest - The photo should
generally be well organized, so that the eye immediately recognizes
one subject as the most important element of the picture. This
element should not necessarily be in the center of the frame, but
should follow the rule of thirds.
Action - A photograph should usually show some kind of
action, particularly if people are the subject. However, some
photographs, such as landscapes, do not require action.
Imagination and Creativity - An interesting camera angle or
lighting effect can make the difference between a technically good
but boring photograph and an award-winning photograph. For example,
a photographer who lays on her back next to a row of carrots while
the gardener is harvesting may capture the expression on the
gardener's face and the soil falling away from the carrot as it is
uprooted. An eye-level shot would probably show the top of the
gardener's head and a bag of carrots. Many traditional photographic
rules can be broken for the sake of creativity.
Photo
Contest Application
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