Spring 2010 Photo Contest on Thursday, June 03, 2010

Show us how you connect with nature in your backyard by submitting your favorite photos of backyard birds and squirrels. You might win an outdoor Bird Cam or a Backyard Bird Shop gift card! But don’t start snapping your masterpieces until you know the rules and categories! Read on for the Official Backyard Bird Shop Spring 2010 Photo Contest Rules first! Entry deadline is June 15, 2010.

Submit your favorite backyard photos of birds and squirrels.  Show us how you connect with nature in your backyard.

Deadline for Entries: June 15, 2010

Prizes:
The top two finishers in each category will receive a prize:
•First Prize: Wingscapes Bird Cam and 128MB memory card valued at $159.95.  This weather proof digital camera is motion-activated to capture all the bird and wildlife activity in your garden. See details of the camera at http://www.wingscapes.com
•Second Prize: A $50 gift card to Backyard Bird Shop. Good at any of our 7 locations, and it never expires.

Submission Requirements & Instructions:
•Photos submitted must be entered into one of five categories:
•Suet Feeder- Show us your favorite suet feeder and the birds who frequent it. Do you get flocks of cute Bushtits, flashy Northern Flickers, or maybe you get Pileated Woodpeckers?
•Seed Feeder- Do you offer sunflower seed for your feathered friends? Or maybe Nyjer? Show us your favorite photos of birds at your seed feeder.
•Birdbath-Water attracts an amazing amount of birds to the garden. Who frequents your birdbath? Show us your photos of birds at your birdbath.
•Squirrel-Do you enjoy your bushy-tailed yard visitors too? Submit your photos of their squirrelly antics at a squirrel feeder.
•Kids-For youngsters up to 16 years of age. Show us what you are enjoying in your backyard. Can feature any feeder or bath that brings you closer to nature.
•Photos must have been taken in a Portland/Vancouver metro area backyard or home garden.
•A photographer may submit up to two digital images in each category.
•Photographs will be accepted only from the original photographer who must be the sole author and the owner of the copyright for photos submitted.
•All submissions can be mailed to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or dropped off at any store location. Photos that are dropped at a store must be in an envelope clearly marked “photo contest.”
•All submissions must include full name, name as you’d like it to appear publicly, address, e-mail, and telephone number, and category you are entering. We always love to hear the story behind the photo too!
•All submissions must be received by June 15, 2010.

Submission File Specifications:
• Limited image modifications are allowed: Watermarks, Signatures, or Copyright Notices must be removed prior to submission.
•Elements or objects not in original scene should not be added.
•If submission requirements are not followed, the application and images may not be judged.

Contest Rules:
•Photographers who receive more than 50% of their income from photo sales are considered professionals and are not eligible.
•Open only to legal residents of Oregon and Washington.

Judging:
•Please allow 7-10 days after submission for photos to appear on our website photo stream.
•Three local photographers who work with the Backyard Bird Shop, Steve Berliner, Rick Brumble, and Richard Dupraw, will judge the photos based on 25% creativity, 25% composition, 25% photography skill, and 25% features a Backyard Bird Shop product.
•Winners will be notified by July 15, 2010 by telephone and arrangements for prize pick up made at that time.

Terms and Conditions on Use of Images:
•Photographers retain ownership of all copyrights. However, by submitting an image for entry in this contest, you automatically give Backyard Bird Shop a non-exclusive, non-transferable, irrevocable license without charge to reproduce and display the image in any electronic, optical, physical, or other medium; to modify its size and resolution; and to use your name as the photographer, without notification or compensation.
•Any one photographer may have only one winning entry.  All winning entries will be announced on our website, http://www.backyardbirdshop.com and in our next newsletter. All photos will be available for viewing through our photo link on our website.