By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to all contest rules.
Term
Cary Institute Photo Contest begins April 13, 2024, and ends at midnight on October 31, 2024. No entries will be accepted after the deadline.
Prizes
- Grand Prize: $100 gift card to Reardon Briggs Hardware
- People’s Choice Award: $75 gift card to Millbrook Diner
- Next Gen Award (17 and under): $50 gift card to Merritt Bookstore
Who may enter
Individuals of all ages may enter the contest.*
To be eligible to win, a photograph must have been taken on Cary’s trails or grounds by the entrant since April 13, 2024. The contestant certifies they are the sole creator and copyright owner of any submitted photograph.
Photos containing children younger than the age of 18 may only be submitted by a parent or legal guardian. The following permissions will be applied:
"I consent to my child being photographed, and I understand that those images may be used by Cary Institute on its website, social media accounts, in Cary publications and literature, and/or local media publications. I understand that no monetary compensation will be offered for use of any such images."
Photos that violate or infringe upon another person's rights, including but not limited to copyright, are not eligible.
*Individuals affiliated with Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, including employees, emeriti, trustees, interns, volunteers, fellows, research associates, and their immediate families (children, parents, siblings, and spouses) and others living in their households are not eligible for any prize.
How to enter
Please submit photographs and requested information by using the website submission form. Only photographs entered via the website submission form will be considered.
Each contestant must have a unique email address.
You may submit up to 10 photographs.
Photographs must be submitted in .jpeg, or .jpg format, edited for web in sRGB color space, at least 2,000 pixels wide, and no larger than 10 MB.
Finalists must be prepared to submit an original, unedited digital file.
Cary Institute reserves the right to disqualify incomplete entries and/or contestants who do not submit, upon request, a high-resolution photograph of at least 300 dpi at 2,000 pixels on the longest side or an original photo negative, print, or slide. Mobile phone photographs are exempt from this size requirement but must be submitted at their highest resolution upon request.
Cary Institute may collect a photograph’s metadata upon entry.
Ethics
Only photos from Cary grounds open to the public are allowed. Entering research areas is not permitted for any reason.
The welfare of a subject and its environment must be placed ahead of the desire to capture a photograph. All entrants certify that subjects were treated with respect and dignity and that no people, wildlife, or environments were harmed in creating a photograph.
Usage rights
You retain rights to your photograph; however, by entering the contest, you grant Cary Institute a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to publicly display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or later developed, for any purpose. These include but are not limited to, advertising and promotional materials, website and social media content, and other print and digital products including Cary Institute publications. Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit as feasible. Cary Institute will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.
Contest results
- Photo entries will be judged based on creativity, quality, originality, responsiveness to the prompt, and overall impact.
- Cary Institute will notify winners via the contact information provided upon submission of photo(s).
- Winners will be announced the week of November 11.
- Winners must respond to the notification within five business days of notification to claim a prize.
Decisions of Cary Institute are final and binding. Please do not contact us about the status of entries or contest results.