2007-2008 Rules for Registering Photographs

1) Property (contest) photographs must be taken in any city, county, state, provincial or national public park, wildlife refuge, forest or trail (general public lands). Personal photographs may be of any family-appropriate oriented subject.

2) All Photographs must be registered at a minimum resolution of 800x600 pixels a maximum file size of 4MB, and in .JPG format. Photos are displayed online with MPP and Partner's galleries at approximately 700x525 and reviewed by judges at 800x600 for greater clarity during the Photo of the Day (POTD), Photo of the Month (POTM) and Photo of the Year (POTY) selections.

Registration of Photographs

Members may register an unlimited number of photographs, both property and personal photographs, however, there is a limitation of three photographs per property, per day.  Photographs may only be registered once.

Only paying member's (Full members) photographs are eligible for the MPP community POTD, POTM or POTY. Guest members may change their affiliation at any time and all previous photographs are deemed part of the POTD, POTM, and POTY contests.

3) MyParkPhotos.com reserves the right to crop registered photographs for display purposes, if necessary, and for other needs as required.

4) Parental Release: Photographs of children (when recognizable in the photograph) must have a written and signed consent by a parent or legal guardian of the child or children "on file" with MyParkPhotos.com before the photograph may be displayed.

5) In the event that ownership of any photograph submitted to MyParkPhotos.com is contested in any manner, MyParkPhotos.com reserves the right to remove and disqualify the photograph from the member's gallery and any contests.

6) By registering your photographs with MyParkPhotos.com, you agree to the following:

Release by the Photographer

I warrant that I took the photograph(s) submitted here (collectively, the "Photographs"), that I own the copyrights to the Photographs, and that I have authority to enter into this Release;

I understand that MyParkPhotos.com has entered and will enter into agreements with public land entities, to include Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Forests and Trails and non-profit organizations supporting interests in public lands, and nature and wildlife (“Partners”) for the purpose of displaying certain Photographs on the Partners’ websites.

I release MyParkPhotos.com and Partners from any liability whatsoever that arises from the use of the Photographs except for uses that violate the terms and conditions of this release. I agree to work in good faith with MyParkPhotos.com and Partners to promptly resolve any problems or disputes that may arise due to my registration and the use of the Photographs.

By registering my Photographs with MyParkPhotos.com, I grant MyParkPhotos.com and Partners the royalty-free and non-exclusive right to use my Photographs as follows: (i) on Partner and MyParkPhotos.com websites; (ii) for Partner and MyParkPhotos.com advertising and brochures; (iii) in Partner and MyParkPhotos.com electronic emails. I waive the right to inspect or approve the final use of my Photographs by MyParkPhotos.com and Partners for the above uses.

I understand that MyParkPhotos.com and Partners will request permission from me before using my Photographs for purposes other than listed above. I understand that my Photographs will not be otherwise distributed to any third party or sponsors without my permission.

This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Florida.

I agree that if any portion of this Release is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Void where prohibited by law.

7) Members must register each property related photograph into one relevant category.

2007-2008 Categories
  Architecture
  Birds
  Black & White, Sepia and IR (Infrared)
  Close Up
  Events/Programs
  Flowers
  Landscapes
  Open
  Plant life
  Portrait (When enough photos are available for judging)
  Recreation (Includes previous Camping category)
  Seasonal
  Sunsets/Sunrises
  Waterscapes
  Wildlife

For more information, please visit our FAQ for Categories.

MyParkPhotos.com reserves the right to determine and change a photograph's category at any time.

8) All images that include captive birds or wildlife should be identified as such. This may be done by putting a (C) at the end of the photo caption/name. This applies to any animal or bird restrained by a fence, cage, pen, cage, tether, wing clipping, or any other method, and includes wild animals temporarily captive during rescue and treatment pending future release. Animals freely roaming wild in parks would not be so identified.

The POTD, POTM and POTY

9) Photographs must be registered no later than 11:59 PM Thursday, July 31, 2008, to be included in the community's last month's contest and the MyParkPhotos.com annual contest of 2008.

10) Judges base their decisions on the following qualities for the daily and yearly recognition contests:  Focus, Composition, Lighting, Technical Superiority, Impact, Creativity, and Storytelling.

11) Daily, Yearly and Scholarship Contests:

A. Daily Photo Contest: One photograph is selected each evening to be displayed as the POTD from among all of the photographs registered by paying members over a 24-hour period.  The most recent POTDs are displayed at the top of all pages in a filmstrip for community recognition and also displayed in sequence on the POTD archive.

B. Monthly Photo Contest: Twelve photographs, one per category, are selected each month from among all of the photographs registered by paying members from the first to the last day of the previous month. The winning photographs are displayed for community recognition in the POTM archive. All members may vote in the Best Photograph of the Month contest and the winning photographer receives awards from our sponsors.

C. Yearly Photo Contest: All photographs registered between August 1, 2006 and July 31, 2007, will be judged by a three-member panel and winners will be announced in August 2007. The POTYs are displayed in sequence by year on the POTY archive.

12) Members are limited to winning one yearly POTY contest category.

13) Photographs eligible for the various POTD, POTM and POTY must adhere to the following guidelines regarding photo modifications:  Minor digital enhancement for cropping, red-eye removal, filters, corrective functions and legitimate manipulations such as burning and dodging, brightness and contrast, color adjustments, saturation, stitching and cropping are permitted, but not images that have been judged to be significantly altered.

Significantly altered: Pertains to photos that have had significant portions of the photo altered to display features or subjects that were either created with the use of a clone tool or in cases where elements of the photo were changed from the original view by the photographer. I.E. cloned features such as birds in flight, flowers in a field, etc. and altered skylines or foregrounds/backgrounds.

Additional Types of photography allowed and encouraged: Infrared (IR), Underwater, Black & White, Sepia, and High Dynamic Range (HDR).  Photographs should show a scene as natural as possible working in the respective medium.

Please do not place borders, frames, or dates on your images. Photos with these elements will be removed from the various contests and property galleries and displayed only in the member's personal albums.

Signatures, watermarks with signature, and copyright notices are allowed and may be placed on the photograph by the owner. Due to judging and display purposes, please place your copyright or watermark information on the photograph as faint as you deem practical with a balance between the understandable need to protect your images and the community's interest in promoting the properties. Thank you!

14) The decisions of the judge(s) for the POTD, POTM and POTY are final.

15) Photographs that fail to comply with these rules may be disqualified from the contests and displayed only in the member's albums, or removed from the site.