PHOTO CONTEST DETAILS

GET INVOLVED IN THE COMPETITION!

VIPF PHOTO CONTEST RULES AND REGULATIONS

For the last 4 years, the Vancouver International Photography Festival (VIPF) has ran a photo contest to test the skills of photographers. This year is no exception. The VIPF again, with the cooperation of the Canadian Association of Photographic Art (CAPA) and Photographic Society of America (PSA), procured the 2016 VIPF Photo Contest.

We are also pleased to introduce our contest partner in China, Dayang Image Club and their photo contest planner Mr Long Xue.

Summary of important information

Categories:

  1. Nature
  2. Travel

Calendar of Events:

Opening date – July 1, 2016

Closing date – September 7, 2016

Judging date – September 18, 2016

Report cards e-mailed – September 30, 2016

Awards mailed – October 10, 2016

Catalog available online – November 21, 2016

HOST

The Photo Contest is hosted by the Metro Vancouver International Photography Festival Society 1115-4540 No. 3 Road Richmond B.C. Canada V6X 4E4 (“Host” or “VIPF”) in cooperation with the Canadian Association of Photographic Art (“CAPA”) and Photographic Society of America (“PSA”).

TERM

The 2016 Vancouver International Photography Festival Photo Contest begins July 1, 2016 at 12:00:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time and ends August 31, 2016, 11:59:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (“PST”) (the “Contest”). Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules (“Official Rules”). By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. The Contest will be governed by this set of Official Rules. There will be a public gallery viewing from Oct 8, 2016 to Nov 30, 2016 at:

VanDusen Botanical Garden

5251 Oak St, Vancouver, BC V6M 4H1

The gallery will also be available on www.vipf.ca.

WHO MAY ENTER

The Contest is open only to individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry. Members of the judging panel of the 2015 and 2016 Photo Contest are not eligible to enter the Contest. Committee members of the Metro International Photography Festival Society, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such members, whether or not related are not eligible.

How to Enter

Each entry consists of an entry form, up to four (4) images, and an entry fee. The entry fee is USD $18 per category or USD $28 for both categories at the time of checkout. To enter, complete an entry form with the required information, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, and photo caption(s); and submit along with your photograph(s) and fee in accordance with the instructions that follow.

The Categories for entries are: (1) Nature, (2) Travel (the “Categories”). There is limit of one (1) entry per person per category.

Once the entry form becomes available, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the “2016 VIPF Photo Contest Entry Fee” under “The Photo Contest”. *Please note, the form will not be available until submission date*
  2. Follow through with the transaction filling out all necessary information.
  3. Once the transaction is complete, click on “My Account” tab, select “Orders” in the left column.
  4. Click on the button on the right of your order to navigate to the “Upload Photos” page. 
  5. Click on “Choose File” to select the photos you wish to submit to the contest. Once you are finish, click “Submit” to submit the photos and captions you have chosen to the contest. *Please note that captions cannot be changed after the photos have been submitted. Your caption must be in ENGLISH or FRENCH(with English translation); all other languages will not be accepted and we will not translate them.*
  6. You’re done!

*If photographs are submitted without the payment by the end of the submission period, the entry will not be valid and the entry fee will not be refunded. If you enter a category more than once, only the first entry in each category will be accepted for the contest. You may still be charged for the entries not accepted and there is no refund for these entries.

              

Each entry must comply with the following requirements:

Photographs must be in digital format. The photograph need not be taken with a digital camera; they may originate as transparencies or photographic prints are acceptable but must be in digital format. All digital files must be in JPEG format (other formats will not be accepted), and the maximum size of each photograph should not exceed 1,920 pixels wide (if it is a horizontal image) by 1,080 pixels tall (if it is a vertical image).

Photographs must have been taken within ten (10) years before the date of entry and may not previously have won an award in the VIPF Photo Contest.

Use your imagination and your photography skills to your maximum potential. This is a skill based contest; chance will play no part in the judging process. The Judges want to see “Our World Through Your Lens”.

Photographs that include other’s work(s) will be accepted as long as they do not constitute copyright infringement or fraud; provided entrants must be prepared to provide a release form as described below in “Release”. When photographing the work(s) of other artist(s), it must be as an object in its environment and not a close-up of another person’s art.

The entry, in its entirety, must be an original work taken by the entrant. By entering the VIPF Photo Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photograph.

The photograph must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the VIPF and/or Judges, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content.

The caption must be complete, accurate, in English or French (with English translation) only, and sufficient to convey the circumstances in which the photograph was taken. The caption should not be longer than two (2) sentences. Disguising or misrepresenting the origin of your content is cause for disqualification.

Watermarks are not acceptable.

Definitions

Nature photography

Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation.

  • The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality.
  • Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves.
  • Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible.
  • Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.
  • No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted.
  • Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning.
  • Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed.
  • Stitched images are not permitted.
  • All allowed adjustments must appear natural.
  • Color images can be converted to greyscale monochrome.
  • Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not allowed.
  • Images entered in Nature sections meeting the Nature Photography Definition above can have landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.

Travel Photography

A Photo Travel image expresses the characteristic features or culture of a land as they are found naturally. There are no geographic limitations. Images from events or activities arranged specifically for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography are not appropriate. Close up pictures of people or objects must include features that provide information about the environment.

Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. The only allowable adjustments are removal of dust or digital noise, restoration of the appearance of the original scene, and complete conversion to greyscale monochrome. Other derivations, including infrared, are not permitted. All allowed adjustments must appear natural.

The entries in each category (“Nature” and “Travel”) will be judged separately, in accordance with the Judging Criteria, as defined below. All entries must be submitted and received by August 31, 2016 at 11:59:00 p.m. PST. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt. The VIPF reserves the right to examine the original photograph or source material in order to confirm compliance with these rules.

CONTEST PRIZES

Three medals will be awarded in each place, (1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively). Winners will receive a VIPF medal, a CAPA medal, and a PSA medal. Awards will be mailed on on October 10, 2016.

The First Place winners in each Category will each receive a Gold Medal, a cash prize of $300.00 USD, a set of 10 postal stamps of the winning photograph, an award certificate, his/her winning photograph will be published in 2016 VIPF Programme Guide, featured in the exhibition and also uploaded onto various VIPF media outlets.

OEC The Best of the Show winner can submit up to five (5) photograph(s) (depending on the size of each photograph after printing, the Host may opt to reduce the amount of photographs offered for exhibition), in which the VIPF will print and matte frame the photograph for exhibition. Submitted photographs must be in digital format and must be in JPEG format (other formats will not be accepted), and the maximum size of each photograph should not exceed 1,920 pixels wide (if it is a horizontal image) or 1,080 pixels tall (if it is a vertical image).

The Second Place winners in each category will receive a Silver Medal, an award certificate, his/her winning photograph will be published in 2016 VIPF Programme Guide, featured in the exhibition and also uploaded onto various VIPF media outlets.

The Third Place winners in each category will receive a Bronze Medal, an award certificate, his/her winning photograph will be published in 2016 VIPF Programme Guide, featured in the exhibition and also uploaded onto various VIPF media outlets.

The winning photographs will be printed in full colour or black and white in either a 12”inch x 18”inch or 18”inch x 12”inch sizing depending on the orientation of the photograph. In preparation for exhibition, each photograph will be matte framed, the final size will to come to 20”inch x 24”inch or 24”inch x 20”inch depending on the orientation of the photograph.

Potential winners shall be required to sign and return within ten (10) days following an attempted notification, an Affidavit, Declaration or Certificate of Eligibility, Liability Release, and where legally permissible, a Publicity Release and Warranty of Ownership and License in which the entrant warrants that he/she is the owner of the photograph (and all the intellectual property rights in the photograph submitted) and grants to the VIPF the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest without additional compensation. Failure to execute and deliver any required documents to the Host by the specified deadline may result in disqualification from the Contest, and selection of an alternate potential winner. NONCOMPLIANCE OR RETURN OF PRIZE NOTIFICATION AS UNDELIVERABLE, WHETHER BY REGULAR MAIL OR BY EMAIL, MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AND SELECTION OF AN ALTERNATE POTENTIAL WINNER.

No prize transfer, assignment, or substitution by winners permitted. If a prize (or part of a prize) is unavailable, the Host, in its discretion, reserves the right to substitute the original prize (or that part of the prize) with an alternative prize to the equal monetary value and/or specification, unless to do so would be prohibited by law.

RELEASES

If the photograph contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the photograph, the entrant is responsible for obtaining any, and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the photograph in the manner set forth in these Official Rules without additional compensation.

When entrants submit their works, it is implied that they have the necessary releases, paper work, licences, and/or legal documents from third parties, person(s), owner(s) of sculptures and artworks, and/or any copyrighted material(s) that appear in their entry.

Upon the VIPF’s request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the VIPF’s request) a signed release from those stated in the previous clause, authorising the VIPF to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification at any time during the Contest.

For the purposes of these Official Rules, the entrant will be deemed to be in receipt of the Host’s request or notification, (a) in the event that the Host sends the request by postal mail, five (5) business days after the request was sent by the Host, or (b) in the event that the Host sends the request by email, on the day that the email was sent by Host.

JUDGING

The Contest consists of three (3) rounds of evaluation. In Round One, each judge in a panel of photographic experts will evaluate each entry using a point based grading system, in which one (1) point is the lowest score and five (5) points is the highest score. Evaluations will take place in each Category from amongst all eligible entries based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”): (1) Creativity and (2) Photographic quality. The entries selected in Round One will proceed to Round Two. In Round Two, the Judges will use the point based system to select the First, Second and Third Place Winner(s) in each Category based on the Judging Criteria. In the event of a tie, the tied entries will be re-submitted to the Judges for a re-judging between the tied entries alone. In the event that a tie remains after re-judging, the entry with the highest score in the creativity criteria will be declared the winner. Winners will be chosen on September 10-11, 2016, and notified by email. Decisions of the judges are final and binding. The equipment used for judging will be a Macbook Pro 2012 with a resolution of 1920×1080 and a rental video projector with a minimum resolution of 1920×1080. The three (3) judges that will presiding over the contest will be:

LarryBreitkreutz

M. Ed., FCAPA, C

James Yip

President of CAPS in Canada, members of the RPS, CPAHK and FCAPA.

George Lo

More information could be found at https://vipf.ca/judges/.

LICENSE

By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide non-exclusive license to the VIPF, to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: Display at a potential exhibition of winners; publication of a book featuring select entries in the Contest; publication in the 2016 VIPF Event Programme Guide or online highlighting entries or winners of the Contest. Entrants consent to the Host doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe the entrant’s “moral rights” in their entries. The display or publication of any entry on the VIPF’s website does not indicate the entrant will be selected as a winner. The Host will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use. Additionally, by entering, each entrant grants to the VIPF the unrestricted right to use all statements made in connection with the Contest, and pictures or likenesses of Contest entrants, or choose not to do so, at their sole discretion. The VIPF will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

By entering this Contest, all entrants agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless the Metro Vancouver International Photography Festival Society and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in this Contest or any Contest-related activities and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any prize awarded hereunder.

The Metro Vancouver International Photography Festival Society and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorised access to Contest entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. The Host is not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrants’ or any other persons’ computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to in this Contest.

In the case of entrants who are Australian or U.K. residents, the preceding two clauses do not operate in respect of any implied condition or warranty the exclusion of which from these Official Rules would contravene any Australian or U.K. statute or cause any part of these Official Rules to be void.

CONDITIONS

This contest is void where prohibited. Entrants agree that this Contest shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the forum for any dispute shall be in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. To the extent permitted by law, the right to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries are void if the Host determines the photograph to not be an original, or if the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft.

By entering, entrants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the Judges are final and binding with respect to all matters relating to the Contest; and (c) if the entrant wins that the Host may use the winning photographs and each winner’s name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice in any publicity or advertising relating to the Contest or future promotions without compensation or approval (except where prohibited by law). All federal, state/provincial/territorial, and local taxes, fees and surcharges and taxes (whether foreign or domestic, and including income, sales, and import taxes) on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winners. In the event that the selected winner(s) of any prize is/are ineligible, cannot be traced or does/do not respond within ten (10) days to a winner notification as required by the “Contest Prizes” Rules above, or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and the Host, in its sole discretion, may choose whether to award the prize to another entrant.

The Host reserves the right to verify the validity and originality of any entry and/or entrant (including an entrant’s identity and address) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Official Rules or who tampers with the entry process. Failure by the Host to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

The exhibition is open to anyone; however, an entry may be rejected when the sponsoring organization or its agent, in its reasonable discretion, believes the entry does not conform to the exhibition rules and conditions. Entries are limited to not more than 4 images per section, category, or class. An entrant’s four images will be distributed throughout four rounds of judging in that section. Entries must originate as photographs (image-captures of objects via light sensitivity) made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or acquired digitally. By virtue of submitting an entry, the entrant certifies the work as his own (aliases are not permitted). The entrant permits the sponsors to reproduce all or part of the entered material free of charge for publication and/or display in media related to the exhibition. This may include low resolution posting on a website. Note: Entrants who indicate that their images may not be reproduced or used “will not be eligible for awards” or inclusion in audio-visuals of the exhibition “and could be subject to disqualification” by the exhibition sponsors.

The exhibition assumes no liability of any misuse of copyright. Images may be altered, either electronically or otherwise, by the maker. Artwork or computer graphics created by the entrant may be incorporated provided the photographic content predominates, subject to Nature, Photo Travel and Photojournalism divisional restrictions. All final work must be on photographic film, or on electronic file, or on photographic or electronic print material, mounting excepted. No title or identification of the maker shall be visible anywhere on the face of an image, print mat or mount entered in a PSA Recognized exhibition.

Each image must have a unique title. Once an image has been accepted in a PSA Recognized exhibition, that same image, or a like “in camera” or a “reproduction” duplicate of that image:

  1. May not be re-entered in any section of the same Division Star Ratings class in that exhibition regardless of media, format, or title.
  2. May not be re-titled for entry in any other PSA Recognized exhibition.

Words such as “Untitled” and “No Title” are not acceptable as part or all of an image’s title, nor are camera capture filenames.

RIGHT TO CANCEL OR SUSPEND CONTEST

If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the VIPF that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, the VIPF reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If the Host elects to cancel or terminate the Contest, the Host will not retain any rights in the submitted photographs, and will return the fees submitted with each entry.

WINNERS LIST

Entrants are responsible for complying with these Official Rules. Winners’ names will be available online at www.vipf.ca after September 17, 2016. PSA notification cards will be emailed to PSA participants on Sept 30, 2016. The catalog will be made available on www.vipf.ca on Nov 21, 2016 in pdf format.

DATA PRIVACY

Entrants agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest and any other purposes outlined in these Official Rules. The data may also be used by the Host in order to verify the participant’s identity, postal address, and telephone number or to otherwise verify the participant’s eligibility to participate in the Contest. Participants have the right to access, review, rectify, or cancel any personal data held by the Host by writing to the Metro Vancouver International Photography Festival Society 1115-4540 No. 3 Road Richmond B.C., Canada V6X 4E4. Personal data will be used by the Host and its affiliates exclusively for the purposes stated herein.

NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS: REMOVAL FROM MAILING LIST: Any individual (or other duly authorised person) may elect to exclude the name and address of that individual from all lists used by The Metro Vancouver International Photography Festival Society to mail skill contests or sweepstakes. To elect to have an individual’s name excluded from all such lists, submit a removal request in writing to the Metro Vancouver International Photography Festival Society 1115-4540 No. 3 Road Richmond B.C. Canada V6X 4E4 or by emailing info@vipf.ca. This notification system may be used to prohibit mailing of all skill contests or sweepstakes by the Metro Vancouver International Photograph Festival Society to such individual. An individual may re-subscribe at any time.