Contest Deadline is January 31, 2019 and winners will be announced in February 2019. HOW TO SUBMIT: Download the Registration Form - HERE - fill it out and submit it along with the image to esthervillephotos@gmail.com Submit this form for photo release if necessary. All photos must have been taken in 2018 to qualify!
OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES For photo contest entries to the Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College. No purchase or payment necessary to enter or win
Photo Eligibility All photos must have been taken in the Estherville area within 2018. The photo subject must be relevant to one of the following contest categories:
Historic Estherville
(Images of historic buildings and places in Estherville)
The Beauty in Estherville
(Images of parks, recreational opportunities or scenes that show the beauty of Estherville)
Estherville Fun
(Images of people enjoying events, places or activities in Estherville)
Modern Estherville
(Images showing the modern side of Estherville)
Education and School Spirit
(Images showing daily life, good times and events at Iowa Lakes Community College or the Estherville Lincoln Central Community School District)
Photographer/Copyright Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Do not submit a photo taken by someone other than you. You must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Your submission of the photo and entry form is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo. A Parent or Guardian must sign in addition to the submitter if the submitter is under the age of 18. If identifiable person is in photo and not at a public event or crowd please submit a signed release.
Number of Entries An individual may submit only one photo per category for each contest period.
Photo Subject Restrictions Photos must be appropriate for posting on a public website. Obscene, provocative or otherwise questionable content will not be considered. The Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College retain sole discretion as to what constitutes inappropriate content.
Ownership/Use Rights Photographers retain the copyright to their photographs. By entering the contest, photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed on the Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College websites and promotional materials without any fee or other form of compensation, and agree that Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College may display winning photos on their website, and may retain copies of the photograph for archival purposes. Photos may be credited to the photographer named in the entry form. Entries (including non-winning entries) may be selected for display or use in other Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College web pages and promotional materials. In the event that ownership of any photograph submitted to the contest is contested in any manner, Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College retains the discretion to disqualify that photograph and discontinue use of the photograph.
How to Enter Digital photos are submitted using the downloadable entry form and emailed to Esthervillephotos@gmail.com. If you are submitting multiple entries, a form and separate email must be submitted for each entry. Complete the form carefully and make sure that you enter your photograph into the proper category. Your photograph could be disqualified if it is entered into the wrong category.
Judging Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, photographic quality, and effectiveness in conveying the beauty and/or unique character of Estherville in one of the contest categories. A panel will judge the entries and all contest decisions are final. Entries that fail to comply with the Official Contest Rules will be disqualified.
Winners Judges will select a first place winning photo for each of the contest categories. If fewer than ten eligible photographs are entered in a category, the category may be canceled. Winners will be notified by email using the information on the entry form. Winning photographs, along with the photographer's name and information about the photo will be displayed on the Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College websites and social media pages. Photos will also be displayed in the 2019 Estherville Community Guide and in an article in the Estherville News.
Submitting Digital Images Submit your digital using the online photo contest entry form and emailed to esthervillephotos@gmail.com. Images must be submitted in a JPG high quality format. Images submitted that are smaller than 600 by 400 pixels may be rejected. Please contact us if you have questions about image type, size or quality.
Image Modifications: Minor digital enhancement is permitted, but images that have been significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified. Not Permitted:
No borders or frames may be added to images.
No watermarks, signatures, or copyright notices may be added to images. All winning images will be displayed with the photographer's name.
Adding or replacing elements in an image is not permitted.
Artistic filters are not permitted.
Permitted Modifications:
Images may be cropped and rotated as necessary as long as the rectangular format is maintained and the size is within the specifications above.
Images may be resized as long as the aspect ratio is maintained
Red-eye removal and spot editing
One-step enhancement (such as "AutoFix", "QuickFix", "Auto Levels", etc.)
Use of filters to sharpen, soften, blur, despeckle, or remove noise.
Use of corrective functions to improve the natural appearance of the image, such as levels, contrast, brightness, curves, intensity, tone, hue, saturation, lightness, value, color balance, and tint.
Additional Terms and Conditions: The Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College is not responsible for computer system, hardware, software, or program malfunctions or other errors, failures, or delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human or technical in nature. Furthermore, Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College is not responsible for: (i) lost, misdirected, misplaced, illegible, unintelligible, incomplete, or late entries or (ii) any act, failure to act, or delay regarding the transmitting or processing of entries. The Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend all or any portion of this contest without notice if factors beyond control, including technical difficulties, disrupt or corrupt the fair or secure administration or operation of the contest. Void where prohibited. Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College are entitled to interpret these rules as needed and its decisions are final. Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College reserves the right to disqualify any entrant that they have reason to believe is not the original work of entrant, or does not otherwise meet the contest rules. If a winner is disqualified or determined to be ineligible, an alternate winner will be selected using the same judging process/criteria described above. Alternate winners are subject to all requirements set forth in these Official Rules. By participating in the contest, you agree to release and hold harmless the Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce, Iowa Lakes Community College and their employees, officers, affiliates, agents, contest sponsors and advertising and promotional agencies from any and all damages, injuries, claims, causes of actions, or losses of any kind resulting from your participation in this contest, including infringement of intellectual property rights. Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce and Iowa Lakes Community College and their employees, officers, affiliates, agents, contest sponsors and advertising and promotional agencies assume no responsibility or liability for any damages, injuries, claims, causes of actions, or losses of any kind arising in whole or in part from this contest.
