Photo Contest Rules

The 13th Annual Susquehanna Greenway Photo Contest

Categories: Susquehanna Landmarks, River Towns, Adventures, and Wildlife

Official Rules:

By submitting an entry, each entrant unconditionally accepts and agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set forth in these Official Rules. By entering the contest, you agree and acknowledge that the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (SGP) is permitted to receive Your registration data. All personal information will be used by SGP in accordance with its Privacy Policy. SGP reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s). Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules (“Official Rules”).

Timeline:

  • May 1, 2024 | 8:00 AM (EST) – Online entry portal opens.
  • July 31, 2024 | 11:59 PM (EST) – Online entry portal closes.
  • August 2024 – A panel of judges will review submissions, winners notified, and announced.
  • September 2024 – Winners included in newsletter.
  • October 2024 – Winners debut in the Traveling Gallery.

Who May Enter

  • The Susquehanna Greenway Photo Contest is free to enter and open to all members of the public. Local residents and children are highly encouraged to enter!
  • Entrants under the age of 18 must submit a signed Parent Permission Form to validate their entry.
  • Susquehanna Greenway Partnership’s employees, interns, contractors, board members, and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter or win prizes.

How to Enter

  • To enter, go to susquehannagreenway.org/photo-contest-entry-form/.
  • Complete an online entry form with the required information and attach your digital photograph.
  • Multiple photos may be submitted; a new entry form should be filled out for each photo.
  • Entrants under the age of 18 must have a signed Parent Permission Form printed, completed with signatures, and emailed to [email protected] or postmarked to SGP offices by June 30, 2023. SGP Offices: 301 Market Street, Unit #649, Lewisburg, PA 17837

Location of Images

Photos must be taken within the Susquehanna Greenway Corridor. The Susquehanna Greenway is a ~500-mile corridor of interconnected land and water trails that parallels the Susquehanna River and its West Branch within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Greenway extends 1 – 3 miles on either side of the Susquehanna River. Sections of the Susquehanna Greenway may extend a greater distance depending on topography and line of sight. For a map of the Susquehanna Greenway and to check the location of your image, reference the map below.

The Susquehanna Greenway runs through the following counties: Bradford, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Indiana, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Susquehanna, Union, Wyoming, and York.

Image Format

  • Photographs must be in digital format.
  • All digital entries should be submitted in the highest resolution possible, and a minimum of 1 megabyte (MB) in size and submitted in JPEG format. We encourage submitting the highest resolution possible, as these images print better.
  • As much as possible, winning images will be printed at a 3:2 aspect ratio, so please keep this in mind when cropping photos.
  • All photos must be an original, single works created by the entrant and not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, and rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property of any person or entity. No other party may have any right, title claim, or interest in the photograph.
  • Minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is acceptable. Photos found to have been modified beyond this will be rendered ineligible for a prize. As long as the subject of the photo looks natural, it is acceptable.

 

  • Photos that are obscene, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate will not be accepted.
  • Photographs of activities expressly forbidden as inappropriate or dangerous will be rendered ineligible.
  • SGP strives to ensure anonymity when presenting entries to the judges. Therefore, submissions should not be watermarked, nor obscured, with text or copyright information.  This could influence the judging process, and such entries will not be honored if the photographer is unable or unavailable to provide a pristine version of the image.
  • SGP reserves the right to shift any photo contest entry into a different category should the photographer choose a category that does not best suit the photo.

Prizes & Gallery

First Place ($150), Second Place ($100), and Third Place ($50) prizes will be awarded in each of the four (4) categories. From the 4 First Place winners, one Grand Prize winner will be selected.  The Grand Prize winner will be awarded $50 in addition to their First Place Prize of $150, for a total contest prize of $200.

(NOTE: Any prize won by a minor will be awarded to the parent or legal guardian who must sign all releases. All taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners.)

The winning photos will be printed, framed, and featured in a year-long traveling exhibit throughout the Susquehanna Greenway. SGP staff reserves the right to display all or a selection of the winning, framed photos depending on the gallery space made available at each exhibit location. SGP reserves the right to designate additional entries in any category as Honorable Mentions. There is no cash prize for Honorable Mention designation. If there are not enough eligible, qualifying entries in any category to award the First through Third Place prizes, SGP reserves the right to award as many of those prizes as possible.

Judging

The Judging Panel will be comprised of local artists, media representatives, and SGP’s Executive Director. By entering this contest, entrants agree that the judge’s decisions are final and indisputable.

Images must comply with the formatting guidelines outlined above and will be judged on:

  • Originality
  • Technical excellence
  • Composition
  • Overall impact
  • Artistic merit
  • Representation of each category
  • Representation of the Susquehanna Greenway

License

Your photographs help the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership highlight the resources and landscapes of the Susquehanna Greenway. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography!

Entrants will retain all copyrights to their photographs. By entering the Photo Contest, each entrant herby grants a perpetual, non-exclusive license to the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership and Authorized Parties, to use entrant’s submissions in whole or in part, to reproduce, display, and create derivative works of the entrant’s submission in connection with the Photo Contest and marketing, advertising, and promotion of the Photo Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, for no additional compensation, as well as in connection with a display at potential exhibitions of winners; publication on the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership website and on the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership social media channels; and publication in all other Susquehanna Greenway Partnership communications, publications, and educational displays. SGP does not need to obtain additional consent from entrants relating to, or to notify entrants prior to, the use of any submitted photograph(s). SGP will credit the photographer to the best of our ability, and has the right to use their name, city, and state in connection with publicity regarding the contest.

Releases

The entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photo, permission from any identifiable people in any photo submitted. Upon request, each entrant must be prepared to provide a signed release from all persons who appear in the photo submitted.

Limitation of Liability

By entering the Contest, all entrants agree to release, discharge or hold harmless the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents, employees, officers, directors and representatives from any claims, losses and damages arising out of their participation in the contest.

Conditions

This contest is void where prohibited. 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 on connection with this contest are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Entries are void if SGP 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 to be bound by these official rules; that the decisions of the judges are final and binding with respect to all matters relating to the contest; and if the entrant wins that Sponsor may use the winning photographs and each winner’s name, photo and likeness in any publicity or advertising related to the contest or future promotions without compensation or approval. All federal, state/provincial/territorial and local taxes, fees and surcharges and taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winners. Prizes are non-transferable.

SGP reserves the right to verify the validity and originality of any entry and/or entrant 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 SGP to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned due to any causes beyond the control of Susquehanna Greenway Partnership that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest, Susquehanna Greenway Partnership 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 SGP elects to cancel or terminate the contest, SGP will not retain any rights in the submitted photographs.

Terms, conditions, rules, and dates are subject to change without notice.