2008 Minnesota Environmental Fund
10,000 Reasons Why Photography Contest

There are 10,000 reasons to protect, conserve and restore the environment—what’s yours?

The Minnesota Environmental Fund is looking for images that demonstrate what you value about Minnesota’s environment.

Images may reflect your love for

• natural landscapes,
• farmland and working lands,
• plant life or animal life
• weather,
• camping, canoeing, hiking, biking,
• or having fun outdoors.

By submitting your entry, you are agreeing to these terms below and granting the Minnesota Environmental Fund the rights set forth in these terms.

Submit your photo!

Download the contest flyer , print it out and pass it along to friends and family to help spread the word.

Contest Terms

Entries from outside of Minnesota will be disqualified. Previously published material may be entered; however, please include information on when and where the photo appeared. Images must be accompanied by a statement (less that 30 words) that describes how the image submitted represents the reason you choose to protect Minnesota’s environment. Images will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact and artistic merit. Decisions made by the judges are final.

A total of up to 5 photographs may be submitted per entrant. Entrants must designate the appropriate division in which all their images are to be judged. All images entered must be digitally uploaded.

Camera-made digital images or scans of slides or prints should be uploaded as two (2) megapixels or less at JPEG8 or better, 2-5 megabytes (final saved file size on disk). Note: opened file size in Photoshop may be larger (uncompressed size). Click on the submit your photo button above to access the entry form and to download images. All winning entries must be available three (3) megapixels or larger.

When we refer to “you”, “your”, “entrant”, or “contestant” in these rules, we mean the photographer who submits the entry form in the adult category, and in the youth category, the photographer and his or her parent or legal guardian.

Any federal, state and local taxes, fees and surcharges on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winners.

Photographer/Copyright
Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Photographs taken by someone other than you but submitted by you will not be considered and you may be disqualified. You must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Your submission of each photograph is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of such photograph. In addition, by entering, Contestants represent and warrant that the Entries that they submit do not infringe any other person's or entity's rights.

Ownership/Use Rights
Contestants retain the copyright to their photographs, and all rights thereto, except as follows. Sponsors shall have the right to edit, adapt and publish any or all of the descriptions and/or photos submitted (collectively, the "Entries"), and may use them in any media in association with the Contest without attribution or compensation to the Contestant, his or her successors or assigns, or any other entity. By entering the Contest, Contestants agree to have their submitted photograph used and displayed, either singly or in combination with others and in any size, on the Minnesota Environmental Fund website without any fee or other form of compensation due at any time for so long as desired by the Minnesota Environmental Fund. Photos will be credited to the Contestant named in the Entry form. Descriptions or titles, if any, used with the photos are in the Sponsors' sole discretion. In the event that ownership of any photograph submitted is challenged in any manner by any person, the Minnesota Environmental Fund may disqualify that photograph and will discontinue use of the photograph.

Entrants must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person or submit images that involve the willful harassment of wildlife or damage to the environment. All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization (removal of dust, cropping, adjustments to color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified.

Take your pictures anytime – but send them to us between April 22 and June 22, 2008. Prizes will be awarded at an event on August 7th.

Tell us how you found out about the contest by taking a short survey here.