Showcase 2012 Competition

Submission for the 2013 Showcase will open in Summer 2012. The rules below are from the 2012 Showcase, but probably will not change substantially. However, you will want to return here when the 2013 Showcase is announced for any changes and an updated submission deadline.

Showcase Rules

Only NANPA members may enter this competition. Please make sure that you renew your membership if you have not already done so or you may not be able to enter the competition. Renewals take place during normal office hours, so do not wait until the last minute to renew. NANPA members pay an entry fee of $10 per submitted image (or 6 for $50). All 6 must be submitted at the same time to receive that price. You will also receive that pricing on multiples of 6 (12, 18, 24, etc.) All images will be judged and $3,400 in prize money will be awarded.

250 photographs will be selected from all entries and are divided into three tiers of winners as follows:

Tier III - The top 250 images selected from all entries will appear in Expressions, NANPA's annual journal that is available as an online flip-book and can be purchased in print from MagCloud - the link to do this will be accessible from the NANPA website. Each NANPA member included in the top 250 will receive a printed copy of Expressions. Additional copies are available for a fee from MagCloud.
Tier II - The Top 100 images receive all the benefits of Tier 3 plus will appear on NANPA's Website Showcase display.
Tier I - The Top 10 winning entries will receive all the benefits of Tiers II and III plus prize money in the amount of $250 each.

In addition, six Judges' Choice Awards of $150 each will be awarded to entries very highly ranked and worthy of merit by individual judges.

Semi-finalists that do not qualify for Tier placement will be considered for Nature's Showcase selections in Currents magazine. Photographers will be notified in advance if their image will appear in Currents.

Winners and runners-up give permission to use their images in future NANPA promotions and publications, but they may opt out by checking off an opt-out box when they enter the competition.

Tips on selecting and preparing your images may be reviewed on our Showcase Tips page.

Showcase Submission Rules

Submit entries through the member's area on the NANPA website between August 10 and midnight, September 15 (Eastern Time). Photographers may also submit their images via CD by sending the CD and a check, made payable to NANPA, to:
Mailed entries must also include your NANPA member number and a separate text file or printed list of the image files you are submitting and their titles (max 50 characters each). If you do not agree to the terms of use, please state that in a separate note. CDs cannot be returned. Please be sure to include your name on your CD. We cannot accept slides or prints.

Submissions must be finalized before midnight, meaning - you should allow plenty of time for your uploads to be processed. Last minute entries may not make it in.

An entry fee of $10 per image (6 for $50) can be paid by credit card on the website or by mailing a check to NANPA. All 6 must be submitted at the same time to receive that price. You will also receive that pricing on multiples of 6 (12, 18, 24, etc.). There is no limit to the number of images a NANPA photographer may enter. Make checks payable to NANPA.

Each image must be the work of the NANPA member submitting the image. Entrants under 18 years of age must also submit a release from a parent or guardian. Use this Parental Consent Form.

Note to Joint Members: Each member in a Joint Membership has an individual login account for NANPA's website. You MUST login using your personal account to submit your images. Images are credited (and prizes are awarded) to the account submitting the images. NANPA is not responsible for incorrect attribution when photos are submitted under the wrong account.

All judging will be done anonymously via the NANPA website. Entries will be judged on creativity, originality and photographic skill. The quality of the image file is critical, so be careful when using Photoshop or other enhancing tools. Many otherwise outstanding images are scored down because they are over saturated, over sharpened, off-color, or excessively manipulated.

No names, watermarks, text, logos, borders or other identifying marks may appear on your images. Images with such marks will be disqualified without refund.

Photographs of animals in the wild are favored over those in controlled conditions. Images of game farm animals are not accepted. Game farms are defined as private for-profit operations whose primary income is generated from hiring out captive animals for photography, videography and filmmaking. Wild species of flora and fauna are preferred over domestic plants and animals. Entries must indicate wild, captive, or photo illustration if the image warrants. See the NANPA Ethics Committee's Truth in Captioning statement for definitions of these categories.

Images appropriate for Showcase entries include nature subjects, people in nature and indigenous people. Other elements are acceptable, but these must be the primary subjects.

Images submitted in previous Showcase competitions may be entered as long as they were not selected for the Showcase or journal. Judging is subjective, so it is possible this year's judges may score images differently.

Submission is not a guarantee of selection. Submitters will be notified of the reviewers' decisions after October 15th, whether or not their images are selected.

All images must be in JPEG format, RGB or Grayscale mode, 104ppi, without watermarks, text, logos or other identifying marks. Color space should be sRGB. We cannot accept slides or prints.

Image file size may not be greater than 400KB (409,600 bytes), so adjust your "quality" setting when saving as JPEG when preparing the images for submission. The longer side of your image must be exactly 924 pixels. The shorter side may be any size up to and including 924 pixels.

NANPA assumes no responsibility for submissions. Winning entrants agree that NANPA has the right to use their photographs, without compensation, in Showcase 2012 on the NANPA website as well as in the journal Expressions. NANPA may also use the images for promoting future Showcases, journals, and competitions. The photographer also grants permission to NANPA to use the image(s) in other publications and promotions, unless he/she checks off the appropriate box on the online entry form.

NANPA cannot provide technical assitance to help members prepare their images for submission. Not only does this represent a conflict of interest, but we are not familiar with all possible software that members might be using. If you are having problems, be sure to see our "Image Preparation Tips". Members are encouraged to seek other resources such as the NANPA Forums, other online resources, digital photography books, or fellow photographers to learn the skills and software necessary for working with digital images.

Pay via credit card online or make checks payable to NANPA. Mail checks to:
Sorry, but we cannot accept payment over the telephone.

Proper credit will be attributed to every image published on the website, in Expressions, or in promotional uses.

17. Each NANPA member with an image in Expressions will receive a printed copy of Expressions. All NANPA members will have access to the online flipbook. Additional printed copies are available for a fee via a link from the NANPA website.

Additional Rules for Winners

If one or more of your images is selected in the top 250, you may be required to resubmit them in a larger size. If you are asked to resubmit images, please make sure they appear the same as the ones you submitted for the competition. If you sharpen your images, do so minimally - we will make sure all images are sharpened appropriately for print specification during production. Specifications are: TIFF format file, 350 dpi, about 15MB, at approximately 5 x 7". Please do not crop your image to fit these dimensions, approximate sizes are more than suitable. Please make sure that the file name of your image begins with your last name followed by a one-word description of your photo, i.e. Jones_lily. Do not put any symbols or long descriptions in your file name.

Winning images should be uploaded via the NANPA website at the following address: www.nanpa.org/dni_showcase_winners.php. If you cannot upload your image, a CD/DVD is acceptable. You will be notified by October 15th if your image makes it to this point and further information will be provided. CDs/DVDs should be mailed to Loupe Media, 509 Lincoln Blvd., Long Beach, NY 11561. They will not be returned.

A matchprint of your image is helpful for our printers. If you can send an approximately 5" x 7" or 4" x 6" matchprint of your image, that would be appreciated. Send your non-returnable print to the above address at Loupe Media.

Selected images will be used on a non-exclusive basis in Expressions. Making it past the first round does not guarantee placement in the Showcase.

Preparing selected images for Expressions:
- Include a separate text file with your image titles matched to their file names.
- Flatten layers in all images
- Make 16-bit images into 8-bit images
- Keep image in proportion - don't crop it, about 2100 pixels on the long side by whatever works well
- Color correct, but do NOT sharpen
- You are agreeing to our terms of use by default. If you do not agree to the terms of use, please state that in a separate note.
- File names must contain your last name and then a one word description of the photo - please, no symbols or long descriptions should be in your file name
- You will receive a confirmation of receipt of your image once we download it - if you do not receive such a confirmation you may assume it never arrived and should be re-uploaded
- Images must be received by November 1 to meet our publication deadline

Tier I winners will also be contacted by e-mail to supply a short write up about their winning image and a photo of themselves for publication in the Expressions.

For further information about Showcase 2012, contact Wendy Shattil: wendy@dancingpelican.com

For information about Expressions 2012, contact Sharon Cohen-Powers: sharon@loupemedia.com.

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