For nearly a decade, the Livingston Current newspaper sponsored an annual Earth Day Photo Contest titled “Last Best Places” from 2004 to 2012. When the same publishers launched the Montana Press in November 2018, they decided to bring back the popular annual contest.
Traditionally, the contest encouraged photographers to submit their vision of a “Last Best Place.” While contests of the past have included subject matter from all over the world, for the inaugural Montana Press contest, we ask photographers to submit images exclusively from Montana.
The finalists of the contest will be selected by the Montana Press staff photographer Lindsay Wells whose images have appeared in publications around the world. From a group of finalists, a grand prize winner will be selected along with seven runners-up. The Grand Prize is $500 and publication on the cover of the Montana Press. The seven runners-up will also have their photography published in the special issue of the Montana Press in June of 2019.
The Montana Press wishes all applicants the best of luck with their submissions capturing “The Last Best Places” of Montana!
Last Best Places Photography Competition
— Official Rules —
Term
The 2019 Montana Press Photo Contest (the “Contest”) begins December 1, 2018 and ends April 30, 2019 at 12 p.m. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY APRIL 30, 2019 AT 12 p.m. MST. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a skill-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of winners. Subject matter for content is limited to photographs of Montana.
Who May Enter
Contest is open to individuals of all ages.
How to Enter:
Subject matter for content is limited to photographs of Montana. A caption for each photo should be provided.
Entries are limited to three (3) photographs per person. Persons from the same household may all submit separate entries. Photographs must be in digital format. Only online entries will be eligible. No print or film submissions will be accepted for entry into this Contest. The photograph need not be taken with a digital camera; scans of negatives, transparencies, or photographic prints are acceptable. All digital files must be 20 megabytes or smaller, must be in JPEG or .jpg format, and must be at least 1,600 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 1,600 pixels tall (if a vertical image). Photographs may not previously have won an award in any Livingston Current Photography Contest.
Only minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is acceptable, as is minor cropping. High dynamic range images (HDR) and stitched panoramas are acceptable. Any changes to the original photograph not itemized here will render the photograph ineligible for a prize.
Photographs that include sculptures, statues, paintings, and other works of art will be accepted as long as they do not constitute copyright infringement or fraud. When photographing the work of others, it must be as an object in its environment and not a full-frame close-up of another person’s art.
The photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material taken by the Contest entrant. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photograph.
Entries should be submitted to info@montanapress.net and should include "PHOTO CONTEST" in the subject line.
Judging
Judging consists of two (2) rounds of evaluation based on the following criteria: creativity, photographic quality and genuineness and authenticity of the content. The entries selected in round one will proceed to round two. In round two, the Judges will collectively select a First Place Winner and seven (7) runners-up.
Contest Prizes
The First Place Winner will receive $500, his/her winning photograph will be published on the cover of the June 2019 issue of Montana Press, Montana. Seven (7) runners-up will also have their photographs published in the interior of the May 2019 issue of Montana Press.
License
By entering the Contest, winning entrants grant a non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in the print issue of the Montana Press and at a subsequent showing of the photographs in a collective art exhibit.
