Immerse yourself in Aruba’s diverse flora biodiversity and marvel at our island's unique native flowers. For the third year in a row, Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba (FPNA) hosts a Nature Photography Competition for kids, youth, and adults. What’s absolutely awesome is that thanks to our partner, Post Aruba, the winners will see their winning image turned into a postage stamp.
THE 2022 THEME: ARUBA'S NATIVE FLOWERS
Although there will be no assigned topic categories for this competition, we readily suggest some inspirational theme descriptions:
- Native Flowers in Landscape - Images that focus on native flowers as part of a particular habitat or landscape of Aruba.
- Native Flower up Close - Portrait or macro images of native flowers in Aruba.
- Native Flowers and fauna Images that capture a particular relationship between native flowers and the native wildlife of Aruba.
- Native Flower Artistry - Reflecting the simple beauty or complex artistry of Aruba’s native flowers. Images can be in color or black and white, and although they may not match the criteria of other categories, they must remain true to nature.
N.B. The above suggestions are non-obligatory. Any native flower image that connects in one way or another to Aruba’s nature can be submitted.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
FPNA organizes the Nature Photography Competition. It consists of a 1) Kids Category open to photographers aged 6 to 12. 2) Youth Category open to photographers aged 13 to 18. 3) Adult Amature Category open to photographers aged 18 and up. 4) Adult Open Category is open to photographers aged 18 and up.
Any contact with the Organizers regarding the Competition (unless specified otherwise) should be via the email address: info@arubanationalpark.org
Selected entries to the Competition may be displayed in an exhibition at the Visitor Center of Parke Nacional Arikok (‘the Exhibition’) and/or toured nationally (‘the Touring Exhibition’), featured online, in publicity materials relating to the Competition, Exhibition and Touring Exhibition, or as merchandising or marketing according to the terms hereunder.
Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba is a non-profit organization and the revenues generated by the Competition support not only the continued existence of the competition but also the conservation activities of the foundation.
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY TO THE COMPETITION
(1) Entries must be received by 11.59 PM GMT on the evening of Monday, October 31st, 2022 (‘the Closing Date’).
(2) Participants can submit an entry in one of the following four categories:
(i) ) The Kids Category: open to photographers aged 6 to 12 years on the Closing Date, except individuals (and their partners and family) involved in its organization or judging or employees of the Organizer or any official partners, supporters, or sponsors of the Competition, or individuals that have previously sold photos to third parties.
ii) The Youth Category: open to photographers aged 13 to 18 years on the Closing Date, except individuals (and their partners and family) involved in its organization or judging or employees of the Organizer or any official partners, supporters, or sponsors of the Competition, or individuals that have previously sold photos to third parties.
iii) The Adult Amature Category: open to anyone aged 18 or over on the Closing Date, except individuals (and their partners and family) involved in its organization or judging or employees of the Organizer or any official partners, supporters, or sponsors of the Competition, or individuals that have previously sold photos to third parties.
(iii) The Adult Open Category: open to any professional or non-professional photographer aged 18 or over on the Closing Date, except individuals (and their partners and family) involved in its organization or judging or employees of the Organizer or any official partners, supporters, or sponsors of the Competition.
(3) The entrant must be a local citizen of Aruba.
(4) By entering the Competition, the entrant agrees to maintain the highest standards in all matters relating to the Competition and not to do or say anything that does or might damage the reputation of the Organizer, the Competition, the other entrants, or the official partners, supporters, or sponsors of the Competition, the Exhibition or the Touring Exhibition. The entrant acknowledges that entry into the Competition does not grant any rights in any intellectual property rights of the Competition and/or the Organizer, and agrees not to use any names, logos or other intellectual property rights of any of them or to make any public statement regarding any of them without the prior written consent of the Organizer.
(5) It is the responsibility of each entrant into the Competition to ensure that they have read and will abide by these rules. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the rules, that their entry complies with the rules, and that they will be liable to the Organizer and their licensees in respect of any damages or losses incurred as a breach of the rules by the entrant.
(6) Entrants are not permitted to submit images that:
(i) have been awarded any prize, recommendation, or another award, in any competition before October 31st, 2022;
(ii) feature cultivated or non-native plants and flowers;
(iii) portray harvested plants and flowers;
(iv) featuring wildlife that has been captured using bait or wildlife feeding;
(v) has been captured in pursuit of wildlife, or in too close proximity of wildlife than is naturally defined as being tolerated by such, without feeling threatened or disturbed in its natural behavior;
(vi) have not been taken in Aruba.
(7) Any entry found not to comply with the Rules at any stage of the Competition may be disqualified. The decision of the Organizer on all matters relating to the Competition is final and binding. No negotiation will be considered. The Organizer reserves the right to amend the Rules and to waive breach of the Rules at their sole discretion, acting reasonably.
THE COMPETITION - SUBMISSION
(1) Entry must be by WeTransfer to info@arubanationalpark.org
(2) Each entrant should state category and is allowed to submit a total of three (3) entries into the Competition.
(3) A name and description should be included for each entry. The description should not exceed 200 words and must include the creative process.
ETHICS
(1) Any breach of the Competition’s Ethics below will constitute a breach of the Rules.
(2) Entrants are required to report on the natural world in a way that is both creative and honest:
(i) Entries must not deceive the viewer or attempt to disguise and/or misrepresent the reality of nature;
(ii) Caption information supplied must be complete, true and accurate.
(3) Our nature is protected. Entrants must not do anything to disturb or damage flora (including collecting and translocating), injure or distress fauna, or damage flora and fauna habitat, in an attempt to secure an image.
(4) Baiting or wildlife feeding is not permitted. Neither is any means of persuasion that may put an animal in danger or adversely affect its behavior, either directly or through irresponsible habituation. No means of attraction are permitted.
(5) If the Organizer suspects that an entry has been achieved through cruel or unethical practices, including the use of bait, feeding or other means of attraction, the entry will be disqualified from the Competition and the Organizer reserves the right to report the entrant to the applicable authorities.
IMAGE SPECS
(1) Submissions must be in digital format.
(2) For all categories, digital files must be submitted as JPEGs, saved at a high-quality setting of at least 8 in Photoshop, Adobe RGB, and at 1920 pixels along the longest dimension and between 150-300dpi. No borders, watermarks or signatures should be included.
(3) Entrants whose work has been shortlisted will be required to provide the following:
(i) RAW files (e.g. .CR2, .NEF, .ORF, .PEF etc.), original untouched JPEGs, will be required for authentication. DNG files are only permitted if this is the native RAW format of the camera;
(ii) High resolution files (preferably TIFF) required for printing should be 8-bit, Adobe RGB at full resolution, and match the color and cropping of the JPEG submitted at entry. Please do not upscale. Files must not exceed 500MB.
(4) Any entry that cannot be authenticated or is not of an acceptable quality will be disqualified. The Organizer reserves the right to ask any entrant to supply a range of ‘before’ and ‘after’ original files for any image that requires further authentication.
(5) Digital adjustments including tone and contrast, burning, dodging, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, minor cleaning work (e.g. removal of sensor dust or scratches on transparencies/scans, removal of chromatic aberration), HDR, stitched panoramas, focus stacking and in-camera multiple exposure taken at the same location at the same time (as a continuous sequence - seconds or minutes apart) are permitted providing that they comply with the Competition’s principles of authenticity so that they do not deceive the viewer or misrepresent the reality of nature.
(6) The following digital adjustments – but not limited to these – are not allowed: adding, moving or removing objects, animals or parts of animals, plants, people etc.; the removal of dirt, highlights, backscatter, bubbles, debris and similar; composites, painting the foreground / painting out the background.
(7) Caption information must be complete, true and accurate, and provide the following:
(i) description (native flower species; background story; exact location).
(8) Entrants should not include their name in the metadata, caption or on the image itself. EXIF details should be kept intact (e.g., camera, lens, exposure etc.).
JUDGING & AWARDS
(1) An independent panel of five (5) experts comprising a chair and judges (‘the Jury’) will be appointed by the Organizer to select a total of twelve (12) nominees (3 from each category) from the Kids, Youth, Adult Amature, and Adult Open Category. This selection is based on the outcome of scores from a set of criteria.
PUBLICITY
(1) All entrants agree that, if their entry is selected by the Jury, they will participate in related publicity and agree to the use of their name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity of the Competition and/or the Exhibition and Touring Exhibition without additional compensation.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
(1) Each entry must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party.
(2) The entrant must either be the sole owner of the copyright in the entry(s) submitted or have secured the written permission of the copyright owner or any joint owners of copyright to submit the entry(s) into the Competition. A copy of any such written permission must be supplied to the Organizer on request.
(3) Ownership of the copyright in any entry submitted to the Competition will remain with the copyright owner(s). The photographer will be credited (e.g., © photographer’s name). The photographer agrees that the Owners will not be liable to the photographer in the event of inadvertent omission of the credit.
(4) By entering the Competition, the entrant grants to the Organizer a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, exhibit and communicate to the public, by any means and in all media throughout the world any entry. This license is granted only for use in relation to the Competition, Exhibition and Touring Exhibition, which shall include - but will not be limited to - any of the following uses:
(i) the process of judging the Competition (including the public vote);
(ii) display during the awards ceremony, Exhibition, and Touring Exhibition;
(iii) publication in other magazines or print media which the Organizer (or their official partners, supporters, or sponsors) may produce; Other commercial opportunities may exist for photographers to benefit from the use of any entry selected by the Jury. Where such a commercial benefit is likely to arise, permission will be sought by the Organizer in advance. Examples include:
(a) publication on relevant parts of the Organizers’ website, including within interactive elements available for viewing or download.
(b) in publicity materials (including social media).
(c) publication on the cover of the Portfolio Book
(d) inclusion in merchandising associated with the Competition, Exhibition and/or Touring Exhibition
LIABILITY
(1) Proof of electronic submission is not proof of receipt by the Organizer.
(2) The Organizer cannot be held responsible for emails that do not arrive (in time) due to an entrant’s email security settings or restrictions placed by their Internet Service Provider. Entrants must ensure that their settings accept emails from marinepark@arubanationalpark.org.
(3) The Organizer regrets that they cannot accept liability for any loss of or damage to any entry submitted into the Competition howsoever caused or for any other loss or damage as a result.
(4) The Organizer regrets that they cannot accept liability for the misuse of images and/or failure of any third party to comply with the Competition’s credit guidelines.
(5) Non-awarded digital entries submitted into the Competition will not be stored or returned by the Organizer after the names of awarded photographers are announced.
(6) Except where expressly stated elsewhere in the Rules, the Organizer regrets that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, they cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered by any entrant in relation to the Competition or the use of any prize.
