Member Photo Contest

Choosing the Winner

Submissions will be judged by a panel of volunteers on three criteria:

• How well the photo captures the theme/relevancy to the theme
• Composition and overall aesthetic or artistic appeal
• Originality

Winners will contacted by email.

Contest Rules

1. Members of Bernheim who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to participate.
2. Photos must be taken at Bernheim Forest and Arboretum.
3. You must agree to the terms and conditions of the contest.
4. Photos submitted should ideally be no larger than 5MB to avoid email server issues.
5. Provide a unique title for submitted images so they can be judged anonymously and randomly.
6. Entries should be submitted using the form below.
7. A confirmation email will be sent acknowledging your submission. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please reach out to membership@bernheim.org.
8. All entries must be original work and must not have been previously published or entered into other photography contests.
9. You must be the sole owner of the copyright in all photos submitted.
10. You must confirm that each person in submitted photos has granted permission to be portrayed as shown.
11. Your images must not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, or pornographic content.
12. Your images must not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a crime or violate any law.
13. Images you submit must not infringe copyrights, trademarks, contract rights or any other intellectual property rights of any third person or entity, neither violate the rights of privacy or publicity of any person.
14. Images may be enhanced to improve visual appeal. Global or local processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, color correction, noise minimization, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking, and sharpening is allowed. The removal of blemishes, image defects, overlapping elements or distractions by cloning and so on is also permitted. However, nothing can be added to the images (examples include replacing a cloudy sky with a bright and sunny sky, adding elements that don’t appear naturally, or other manipulation of composition).
15. You must accept the decision of the judges and agree not to contact judges in relation to your photos.
16. If submitted photo(s) are used, Bernheim agrees to publish your name in a photographer credit in connection with any publication or digital media.
17. Bernheim reserves the right to exclude any image that is believed to have had elements added or where the key subjects in the image, as seen by the photographer at the time the image was taken have been fundamentally altered.
18. Bernheim also reserve the right to exclude any image they believe may have been excessively treated so as to alter its authenticity.
19. You hereby agree to indemnify and hold Bernheim Forest and Arboretum, it’s employees, officers, representatives, and assigns harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of entrant hereunder.
20. You irrevocably grant to Bernheim Forest and Arboretum the right to use, reproduce, adopt, distribute, publish, and publicly display the photo(s) submitted for any purpose including, but not limited to, advertising, and commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Ethical Requirements

To maintain the integrity of the contest, you must ensure your photo(s) honestly and authentically depict Bernheim. Images featuring wildlife and natural specimens should reflect their natural habitats, avoiding harm to animals and the environment. Honesty, respect for wildlife and plants, and adhering to all regulations is essential. Any practice that endangers animals or misrepresents their behavior is prohibited. Photos submitted must be taken under natural conditions. Unethical submissions will be disqualified.