2015 Camp Lula Sams Nature Photography Tournament
The Camp Lula Sams Nature Photography Tournament is a fundraising and conservation event created by Images for Conservation Fund and Valley Land Fund to communicate the great diversity and majesty of wildlife living on the 85.7 acres of the historic Camp Lula Sams in Brownsville, Texas. The Tournament is open to all photographers who would like to participate knowing that their images and fees will be used to purchase and protect one of the most biodiverse tracts of habitat in the United States. One of the primary purposes of the Tournament is to create a visual inventory of the biodiversity of Camp Lula Sams, and to use this visual inventory to plan, develop, and promote photography as an integral part of an education curriculum.
The intent of the Tournament is to have a fundraising event that produces a diversified portfolio of quality images which can be used to promote the Save Camp Lula Sams Capital Campaign’s goal of raising a portion of the $875,000 that is required to purchase the 85.7 acres that encompasses the camp and its facilities. Securing this land ultimately helps to insure its preservation and its wild inhabitants for future generations.
The Tournament is open to all photographers who register, pay the $50 per day entry fee, and reserve their day(s) at Camp Lula Sams. Participating photographers may reserve a maximum of five days at $50 per day. No more than 5 photographers per day are allowed at the Camp. Entrance to the camp is strictly limited to sunrise and sunset (gates will be opened and closed accordingly) unless photographers spend the night. Five cabins are available to be rented for $100 per night otherwise photography is limited to the time of sunrise to sunset.
The tournament will begin sunrise April 15, 2015 and end at sunset June 15, 2015.
Photographer Registration Process:
1. All registrations will be completed through imagesforconservation.org.
2. Participants may register and reserve open dates any time until June 10, 2015.
3. Registration must include an entry fee of $50.00 for at least 1 day but could be for up to 5 days at $50 per day. Additional days may be added later during the tournament not to exceed 5 days total.
4. A reservation for your day(s) of photography at Camp Lula Sams must be made at time of registration. Any additional days added later must also be registered and paid for and reserved through the Images for Conservation Fund (ICF) website.
5. A participant may change a current reserved date for photography if done 5 days or more prior to their current reserved date.
6. Entry fees will not be returned for cancellations.
Camera | Image Capture Requirements:
All cameras must be digital. Images must be created in RAW format. If the camera does not offer RAW format, the camera must be set on the highest quality JPEG offered.
All images submitted to the tournament must include metadata that has photographers name, and date and time of image capture. (Remember to ensure that your camera’s date and time is current and accurate prior to your arrival at Camp Lula Sams.)
Subject Matter: All Images must be composed of wildlife, plants, and/or landscapes found on the Camp Lula Sams property represented by the following 5 Divisions:
1. Birds
2. Mammals
3. Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish
4. Invertebrates such as Insects, Arachnids & Arthropods
5. Landscapes, Plants & Flowers
All Images submitted must be of living animals; no stuffed or artificial plants or animals.
Treatment of Animals: ICF requires all Participants to use extreme caution to protect the health and survival of the subjects being photographed.
1. Any images of wildlife species that all three judges agree look stressed will be disqualified.
2. Images of animals subjected to restraint of any kind shall be labeled as controlled subjects as part of the submission. This will not reduce any scores unless the subject is obviously stressed.
3. Small Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish and Invertebrates may be carefully restrained for purposes of taking the photograph, provided the subjects are released unharmed and where they were found. Birds may not be trapped or restrained. Please do NOT handle the Texas Tortoises as they are a protected species.
4. No artificial freezing or cooling of any animal is allowed. Reptiles and Amphibians must be maintained at ambient (between 70 & 85 degrees) temperatures.
5. If a restrained subject is dangerous to humans, it must be released where the risk to humans is minimized.
6. Restrained mammal species are limited to rats, mice, moles and shrews. Images of unrestrained mammals are preferred. No other Mammals may be captured or physically restrained in any form or fashion.
Image Processing: Color images only. No digital composites, or black and white conversions, or panoramic composite photos are allowed. Digital manipulation is only acceptable if limited to cleaning (dust spots), levels, curves, color, saturation and contrast work. Compositing, multiple exposures, and the use of multiple channels are not allowed. As part of this event is creating (and documenting) a visual inventory of the biodiversity of Camp Lula Sams, all images should accurately reflect the subject matter or scene as it appeared.
Other than by cropping (see below) no element (aside from dust spots mentioned above) may be removed from an image (for example: you may not remove a misplaced tree branch, or an inconveniently placed rock) . No images may be altered. All decisions made by the Judges and contest organizers regarding the acceptability of an image are final.
Cropping shall not exceed more than 25% of the width and/or height of the original RAW or high resolution JPEG file maintaining the camera’s original 2:3 or 3:4 image proportion (aspect ratio). If the Judges deem that an image has been cropped too significantly or that the final image quality or resolution has been compromised, the image may be disqualified. All cropping must be done IN RATIO. (Do not crop a horizontal image into a square etc.)
Submitting Images:
Each photographer may submit up to 10 images for each day they have reserved at Camp Lula Sams. For example, if a photographer reserves 5 days (the maximum days allowed) they can submit up to 50 images. However, each photographer may also submit an additional 15 images at a cost of $10 each. For a maximum total submission of 65 images (10 images for each day of photography, plus 15 additional images purchased).
Additionally, please note that each photographer is limited to submitting no more than 15 images to any one of the 5 Divisions (categories) listed below:
1. Birds
2. Mammals
3. Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish
4. Invertebrates such as Insects, Arachnids & Arthropods
5. Landscapes, Plants & Flowers
How to Submit Images:
1. All images submitted for judging must be received two ways: through the ICF website: imagesforconservation.org. AND via thumb drive.
2. All image submissions must uploaded to the website sized to 1024 pixels on the longest side (For example: 683 pixels high by 1024 pixels wide if the camera has a standard DSLR 2:3 aspect ratio.)
3. You may submit any time after your last day of photography but no later than 5:00 PM, June 20, 2015.
4. All submitted images must be created on a reserved day(s) at Camp Lula Sams (no other locations are allowed) during the official shooting period.
5. All images submitted for judging must also be submitted on a flash drive. Each image submitted must have three versions of the file:
a. The original RAW files or original high resolution JPEG files.
b. The processed (edited) high resolution JPEG file (High resolution images may NOT be less than 2048 pixels on the long side. Larger images are preferred).
c. The submitted low resolution file.
High resolution JPEG files must be saved at the highest possible quality setting (least compression). JPEG quality setting “12” in Photoshop or “100” in Lightroom.
All photographers will be given specific instructions regarding submitting images upon registration.
Copyright:
Tournament entrant must be the creator of the submitted image, and owner of the copyright for every image submitted. Copyright remains with the photographer. By submitting images for judging, photographers agree to grant the Tournament and its Sponsors an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide non-exclusive license to use, publish, and reproduce their images for promotion, sale and display purposes including, but not limited to:
1. Promotion of future tournaments
2. Fundraising for the Save Camp Lula Sams Campaign
3. Creation of Camp Lula Sams Books, Apps, Calendars or other publications
Every effort will be made to give the photographer appropriate photo credit when an image is used.
Releases:
If applicable, photographers are responsible for obtaining model releases from any individual who appears in a submitted photo (or if the individual is under age 18 from their parent/legal guardian).
Judging:
Images will be judged anonymously by judges experienced in the field of nature and wildlife photography. Scores are based on originality, composition, technical quality, and overall impact. All decisions made by the judges and contest organizers are final.
Entry Fee Allocations:
25% of all entry fee money will be paid out in prizes.
15% of entry fee money will be used to pay contest expenses.
60% of entry fee money will be used to purchase Camp Lula Sams.
Divisions (Competition Categories):
1. Birds
2. Mammals
3. Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish
4. Invertebrates such as Insects, Arachnids & Arthropods
5. Landscapes, Plants & Flowers
Prize Categories:
Grand Prize winner: The Camp Lula Sams Nature Photographer of the Year. The Grand Prize winner will be determined based on the best average score for a given portfolio of 20 images or more. For portfolios over 20 images, the average score will be calculated based on each photographer’s highest scoring 20 images.
First, Second & Third Place winners will also be awarded in each of the 5 Divisions above based on the highest scoring individual images per category. Prize money will be divided equally among the participants with the same scores.
Winning images from the Tournament will also be featured in Wildlife Photographic magazine. Wildlife Photographic is a magazine dedicated to wildlife photography and is distributed internationally on Apple’s Newsstand. Wildlife Photographic will also offer a special interview feature with the Camp Lula Sams Nature Photographer of the Year. To learn more about Wildlife Photographic, visit: http://apple.co/1Ntl7Rl.
Prize Money Allocation:
• (One) Grand Prize: Camp Lula Sams Photographer of the Year will receive 25% of the Prize Money
• (Five) 1st Place Division Winners will share 50% of the Prize Money
• (Five) 2nd Place Division Winners will share 25% of the Prize Money
• (Five) 3rd Place Division Winners will receive Plaques
Images may be submitted weekly for judging and there will be winners announced for each week that more than two participants submit. The winning images will be posted on the Images for Conservation Fund’s, the Camp Lula Sams’ and the Valley Land Fund’s web sites and Face Book pages. Being a weekly winner does not mean that a participant wins any of the final prizes.
Donation of money won will be gladly accepted towards the purchase of Camp Lula Sams.
