 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
When will the winners be announced?
The grand prize winner and category winners will be announced in the magazine and on our Web site in summer 2006.
How about the finalists?
The 50 finalists will be announced on our Web site in spring 2006.
What are the prizes?
Grand Prize Winner: Four-day, three-night Smithsonian Journeys Grand Canyon Weekend Adventure for two or the cash equivalent.
Category Winners: Winners of each of the five categories will receive $500.
Winners may receive additional noncash prizes.
Will I be notified if I was NOT chosen as a finalist or winner?
Due to the large number of submissions, only the 50 finalists will be notified of their status by March 31, 2006. If you do not hear from Smithsonian by March 31, then you are not a finalist or a winner.
How many photos can I enter into the contest?
You may enter no more than one photograph in each of the five categories with a total contest submission of five photographs.
How do I submit my photograph?
You can submit your photograph, or a scan of your photograph, on-line at www.smithsonianmag.com. We do not accept photo entries submitted through the postal mail.
Can I enter if I live outside the United States?
Yes, but photos must be uploaded by January 5, 2006.
Can an old photo be entered?
Only photos that have been taken in the past three years are eligible. Photos that were taken before January 1, 2003 are not eligible.
How do you define a professional photographer?
A professional photographer makes more than half of his or her income from photography and regularly publishes photographs in magazines, books, newspapers and online.
Will negatives and slides, which will be requested of finalists, be returned?
All original material, including slides and negatives, will be returned to the finalists.
Do I need release forms for people in my photo?
If they are recognizable, and especially if they are children, you must send a release form. You can print out a release form from our Web site and mail it to Photo Contest, Smithsonian magazine, MRC 951A, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, D.C. 20013. Reminder: We do NOT accept photo entries submitted through the postal mail.
Can I enter a photo if I no longer have the negative?
If a photograph taken on film does not have a slide or negative, it cannot be entered into the contest.
What if my digital photograph does not have a resolution of 300 dpi, or more, at at least 5 x 7 inches?
Without this essential requirement, Smithsonian editors cannot consider your photograph as a possible finalist or winner in our contest.
Can photos be cropped?
Yes.
Can photos be manipulated, enhanced, framed or mounted?
Only photos entered into our Altered Images category can be digitally or traditionally manipulated or enhanced.
What does it mean when you say photos in four of your five categories may not be "enhanced or altered"?
Contestants cannot construct photographs from pieces of other photographs. Minor adjustments, including spotting, dodging and burning, contrast and slight color adjustments, or the digital equivalents, are acceptable for all five categories. If our judges see that a photo has been obviously altered by the photographer, they have the right to disqualify it or move it to our Altered Images category.
What size should my digital image be for uploading with the on-line entry form?
Files submitted may not be larger than 1,024k (1Mb). Please be aware that you will need to have a higher-resolution image on hand, at least 300 dpi at 5 x 7 inches, to be considered in the final rounds of the contest.
Will you change the category if you think I put my photo into the wrong one?
Yes. If appropriate, Smithsonian judges will change the category of your submission.
Can I enter a photo that I entered in another contest?
No, the photo is not eligible for submission.
Is it OK to enter a photo that has been on my home page?
Yes, your photo is eligible for submission.
I am a Smithsonian intern. Can I enter?
No. Smithsonian employees, Regents, trustees, interns, volunteers, fellows and research associates are ineligible to enter the contest.
I'm 17 years old and won't be 18 until after March 31, 2006. Can I enter the contest?
We are sorry, but you will need to be 18 as of January 5, 2006—the final day of submission—to qualify.
What rights to my photo do I retain?
You retain your rights to your photo; however, by entering the contest, you grant Smithsonian the right to publish your submitted photo in print or electronic form in a future issue or issues, for advertising and promotion of the magazine, for exhibition, and for commercial products, including but not limited to Smithsonian publications. Any photograph reproduced will include your photographer credit line.
Where can I send questions and feedback?
Please email further questions to photocontest@si.edu or use our feedback form.
