Parks Are Free Photo Contest

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is bringing back its photo contest for a second year! Show us how you spent your summer (or any other season) in the parks in the 2010 Parks Are Free Photo Contest. We want to see what you saw—from birds and butterflies to kites and kids. Any photo taken in an Allegheny County Park is eligible.

Twelve finalists will be selected by Parks Are Free sponsor UPMC Health Plan. Finalists’ photos will be:

• Made into a 2011 Parks Are Free calendar available at the Parks Conservancy’s online store, with the winning photo also used as the cover image;
• Displayed at the Schenley Park Café and Visitor Center throughout the month of November
• Featured on pittsburghparks.org.

The grand prize winning photo will be published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The winning photographer will also receive an item of his or her choice from the Parks Conservancy’s online store. 

Entry deadline is September 30, 2010.  Due to the high volume of entries received last year, please submit no more than five photos per person.  Enter by e-mailing your photos (one at a time, please!) to photos@pittsburghparks.org or submit them to the Parks Conservancy Flickr group using the tag PPC-Contest10.  Please include your name and the name of the park where the photo was taken.  Detailed instructions on how to enter are below.

Photo Contest Rules

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy invites photographers of all skill levels to enter its Photography Competition. Please read the following rules, terms and conditions before submitting any photos.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Photography Competition (the "Contest") is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age, except employees of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the immediate families of employees.

YOUR RIGHTS: By entering the contest, you hereby grant to the Parks Conservancy (i) a nonexclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, publicly display and publicly perform the photographs you submit to the Contest, and (ii) the right to use your name, city, state and country of residence in promotions and other publications. However, you will retain all rights to any photograph you submit.

WHAT TO ENTER: Your images may be taken in any public park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. If you choose to include people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary releases from the individuals depicted, and must be able to provide copies of those releases to upon request. Entrants must not submit images that involve the willful harassment of wildlife, damage to the environment by the photographer, or infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person.

All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization (removal of dust, cropping, reasonable adjustments to exposure, color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified. Images that do not meet these requirements may or may not be judged at the judging panel's sole discretion.

Photo captions must accompany all submissions, and should include the subject of the image, the location the image was taken, and the name of the photographer(s).  All photographs will be credited with the caption "© Person's Name." The Parks Conservancy has final approval of any language that appears on its website with any of the photos and will not promote or endorse third-party products or services.

HOW TO ENTER:  Each photo must be submitted electronically, by only one of the following two methods--Flickr™ or e-mail to photos@pittsburghparks.org. Please do not submit the same photo using both methods.  Please do not mail the Parks Conservancy physical copies of original work.

Please submit your photos at their original high resolution. Photos should be large enough to print clearly (300 dpi at their largest size).

Entering on Flickr™:
To enter using this method, you must have a Flickr account. You can create an account for free at www.flickr.com. To enter photos in the contest, first join the Parks Conservancy’s Flickr™ group at www.flickr.com/groups/pittsburghparksconservancy. Upload your photographs to Flickr™ and tag them with PPC-Contest10. Please include your name and the name of the park where the photo was taken in either the title or description of the photo.

Important: Your photo is not entered into the contest until you add it to the Parks Conservancy group. To add a photo to the group, visit that individual photo’s page and click “Actions” and then “Add to a Group.” Select “Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy” in the dropdown menu. 

If you do not tag your photo appropriately, it will not be considered for the competition. If you have trouble using Flickr™, please consult their online help files. The Parks Conservancy is not responsible for any issues or problems you encounter while trying to upload a photo on Flickr™.

Entering by E-mail:
Photos can be e-mailed to photos@pittsburghparks.org. Be sure to include your name, phone number, and e-mail, and the name of the park where the photo was taken.

ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING:  Previously published material for which non-exclusive rights were granted may be entered as long as you still maintain the right to grant us a license (see "Your Rights" above). You must be able to disclose when and where the photo appeared previously to the Parks Conservancy upon request.

Images will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact and artistic merit.

DEADLINES: Deadline for submitting entries is 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on September 30, 2010.  Entrants may be asked to submit a paragraph about the photo on or after October 1, 2010. Finalists will be announced on or before October 31, 2010.

The Parks Conservancy reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control.

WINNING PHOTOS: The judging panel will select 12 photos to be the contest’s Finalists and Honorable Mentions. The finalists will be displayed at the Schenley Park Café and Visitor Center in November 2010 and used in a 2011 Parks Are Free calendar that will be available at the Parks Conservancy’s online store. The Best of Show photo, as determined by the judges, will be published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. All winning photos will be displayed at www.pittsburghparks.org/photocontest.

QUESTIONS: Questions and inquiries about contest rules can be emailed to photos@pittsburghparks.org.

Last Year's Winners

View a slideshow of the 2009 winners below.