Gatorland Photo Contest « Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Gatorland Photo Contest

Gatorland Photo Contest

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Gatorland Photo Contest

You don’t have to be a pro photographer with expensive equipment to get a great picture at Gatorland, and they are giving you a chance to prove it. Gatorland is proud to announce the Gatorland 2012 Photo Contest. It will run from Friday July 1, 2012 through Friday, November 30, 2012. The contest is open to all photographers ages 18 and over except for those individuals affiliated with Gatorland, including stockholders, directors, employees, interns, volunteers, and their immediate families (children, siblings and spouses). All photographs submitted must have been taken at Gatorland by the entrant within the past year (after July 1, 2011).

Entry Fee:

There is an entry fee of $5 per image. There is no limit to the number of images that may be submitted. The entry fee must be may be paid online at the Gatorland Web Store here.

Prizes:

The prizes for each of the three (3) Gatorland 2012 Photo Contest categories are:

1st Place – $200 + 2 Annual Passes ($287.98 value)

2nd Place – $100 + Annual Pass ($143.99 value)

3rd Place – $50 + Single Day Pass ($72.99 value)

Categories:

The three (3) Gatorland 2012 Photo Contest categories are detailed below:

Birds

This category is reserved for images of our feathered friends, both native and exotic. Gatorland is home to over 22 different species of wild Florida birds, as well as exotic species such as Emus, Macaws, Parrots, Peacocks, and Flamingos. Whether it’s one bird or a whole flock… if it has feathers it belongs here!

Reptiles

What would a Gatorland Photo Contest be without gators? This category is not just for Gatorland’s namesake alligators, but all reptiles found within the park including crocodiles, caimen, lizards, snakes, and turtles.

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This image of a yawning American Alligator was created at Gatorland at 4:38 pm on 7-7-2012 with the Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 in Av mode.

Sensor two to the left of center and one down–Expand AF area/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.

I was standing in the shade of the big tower chatting with Denise Ippolito and her Out-of-the-Box co-Moderator Cheryl Slechta when I noticed this gator’s mouth begin to open imperceptibly. “Get ready” I shouted. With the animal in the sun I knew that I had enough shutter speed to go to f/8. After two frames I realized that I had been at +2/3. Without bothering to check the histogram or check for blinkies I went to zero. As it turned out, -1/3 would have been best as I need to move the Recovery Slider to 40 to eliminate the red warning blinkies in ACR.

Gatorland

This general category includes everything found at Gatorland except for birds and reptiles. Whether its animals, insects, plants, landscapes, architecture, or shows… this is the place for it!

Image Requirements:

All photographs submitted must have been taken at Gatorland by the entrant within the past year (after July 1, 2011). For a photo in which a person is prominent and recognizable, you must secure a model release from the subject or, in the case of a minor, the subject’s parent, and provide it to Gatorland upon request. The only exceptions to this requirement are those images that feature Gatorland employees. Photographs submitted that contain Gatorland employees do not require a model release for the employee.

All entries must be submitted in digital high quality JPG format. File size for each image must be less than 10 MB. Scanned slides or prints are acceptable.
Minor digital enhancement for cropping, red-eye removal, sharpening, brightness, contrast, and slight color adjustment are permitted, but images that have been excessively manipulated will be disqualified. Image entries may be submitted in color or black and white, and in either a landscape or portrait format. No watermarks, signatures, copyright info, borders or frames are permitted on images.

How to enter:

For your convenience, photographs may be submitted by email at publicrelations@gatorland.com. We will also accept digital images on CD submitted through the mail.
Please be sure to include the following information with all submissions:

Photographer Name, Address, Contact Phone, Email Address, and Entry Fee Order Confirmation

Please include the file name(s) for each image you will be submitting as well as the Category (Birds, Reptiles, Gatorland) for each. Please send all mail entries to: Gatorland Photo Contest 14501 South Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, FL. 32837. Gatorland is not responsible for any entries not received or lost in transit. CD’s received will not be returned. Only digital images will be accepted, sorry no prints or slides!

By entering the contest, winning entrants grant Gatorland the non-exclusive right to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of their photographs,, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for the purpose of advertising and promoting Gatorland and future contests. Any photograph reproduced will include (whenever possible) a photographer credit. Gatorland will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses as described above.

Judging:

Submissions will be judged on content, clarity, composition and that special quality that makes an image a winner! Finalists will be notified of their status by Friday January 4, 2013, and the winners will be announced on the Gatorland Web Site. (www.gatorland.com)

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