For purposes of this contest, any reference to The Kentucky Wildlands also refers to Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc. The Kentucky Wildlands is an initiative developed and owned by Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc.

Term:

The Kentucky Wildlands photo contest goes from May 5th at 6am to June 5th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to the rules of the contest and states that he or she is 18 years old or older.

Who may enter:

Residents of The Kentucky Wildlands, visitors of The Kentucky Wildlands, fans of The Kentucky Wildlands. The staff of TKW will determine winners’ eligibility in its sole discretion.

What to enter:

Entries should be taken within The Kentucky Wildlands (see map below). The following six contest categories are drawn from subjects of special interest to The Kentucky Wildlands:

1. Natural World: Animals, plants and landscapes; geological or climatological features; and scientific processes and endeavors.
2. Travel: Locales, peoples or activities in the The Kentucky Wildlands.
3. People: Photos of groups or individuals can be included in the photo, but not the subject of the photo. (no selfies, please)
4. The Kentucky Wildlands Experience: Events, objects or activities connecting TKW people to their history or their cultural heritage; photographs that tell us what it means to be a TKW resident and provide a sense of what it is like to live in this area.
5. Altered Images: Photographs manipulated for artistic purposes by applying digital and/or traditional special effects.
6. Mobile: Any photograph taken with a mobile device (phone or tablet).

 

To be eligible for any category, a photograph must have been shot by the entrant since January 1, 2019. This date applies to all images in a composite. The contestant certifies that he/she is the sole creator and copyright owner of the submitted photograph.

Cropped photos are eligible in all categories.

For a photo in which a person is recognizable, you must be prepared to provide a talent release from the subject or, in the case of a minor, the subject’s parent or guardian, to The Kentucky Wildlands upon request.

Similarly, entrants whose photos depict other people’s work (such as sculptures, statues, paintings, and other copyrightable works) must be prepared to provide a location release from the rights holder to The Kentucky Wildlands upon request. 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 creation.

These releases are available on this site (click links above) but are not required unless such situations apply.

If the entrant is unable to provide all required releases, The Kentucky Wildlands in its sole discretion reserves the right to disqualify the submission, seek to secure the required releases, or permit the submission to remain in the contest.

Photos that violate or infringe upon another person's rights, including but not limited to copyright, are not eligible.

Photos that contain sexually explicit, nude, obscene, violent or other objectionable or inappropriate content, as determined by The Kentucky Wildlands in its sole discretion, are ineligible for all categories of this contest.

Ethics:

Entrants must disclose the circumstances under which an image was captured as well as any instructions given to a subject. The welfare of a subject and its environment must be placed ahead of the desire to capture a photograph. Upon entering the contest, entrants certify that subjects were treated with respect and dignity, and that no people, wildlife or the environment were harmed in creating a photograph.

If baiting was used to attract wildlife, or special equipment such as camera traps and drones used to capture the photograph, this must be disclosed. Live baiting of wildlife is not permitted.

How to Enter:

Please submit photographs and requested information online through our website at administrator@kywildlands.com. You may submit up to 15 photographs per category for a contest total of 90 submissions. In order to be displayed in our online gallery without being stretched or distorted, photographs must be submitted in .jpeg, .jpg or .gif format. We do not accept photographs submitted through the mail and do not accept more than one contestant per e-mail address. High-quality scans of non-digital photographs are acceptable. Digital photographs should be taken at the highest resolution possible.

The Kentucky Wildlands may collect a photograph’s metadata upon entry.

You retain your rights to your photograph; however, by entering the contest, you grant The Kentucky Wildlands (and those authorized by The Kentucky Wildlands) a royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to publicly display, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or later developed, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, advertising and promotion of The Kentucky Wildlands and its website, exhibition, and commercial products, including but not limited to The Kentucky Wildlands publications. Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit as feasible. The Kentucky Wildlands will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.

Entry deadline:

Judging:

Photo entries will be judged based on creativity, quality, originality, responsiveness to the prompt and overall impact.

The Kentucky Wildlands will select 3 finalists per category, a winner for each category, and a Grand Prize winner from the finalists. The finalists will be notified of their status and appear on our website and social media in June 2021. At that time, the public can vote on our website and or social media for the Grand Prize from among the finalists. The Kentucky Wildlands will notify winners via the contact information provided at the time of entry; The Kentucky Wildlands may disqualify anyone who fails to respond to the notification within five business days.

Please do not contact us about the status of entries or judging.

Prizes:

Prizes will be awarded, as follows:

• Grand Prize: 2 VIP Tickets to the Master Musicians Festival, 2 nights accommodations in The Kentucky Wildlands, a booklet of coupons to local restaurants in the area. Prize dates are July 16-18 2021.
• Category Winners: TKW Swag.

 

Winners must sign a release and license, as well as a declaration of eligibility, and will be responsible for paying any fees or taxes associated with the prize. All prizes are awarded “as is” and non-transferable unless applicable law prohibits The Kentucky Wildlands from awarding a photographer the cash prize and/or any non-cash prize, The Kentucky Wildlands may award the prize in name only.