Sarasota Bay Water FestivalI Love Sarasota Bay Photo Contest

Photo Contest Form

Contest Theme – Celebrating the Beauty and Importance of Sarasota Bay

Areas of Focus – Any kind of connection to Sarasota Bay or its tributaries and watersheds spanning Sarasota and Manatee County; this could include water, habitat, seascapes, people enjoying any form of Bay recreation activities such as boating and fishing, Bay related commerce, or any form of wildlife common to the Bay’s ecosystem. Wildlife can include shorebirds, other birds, aquatic life, mammals, or any other wildlife.

photo by Makeala FrankfordThree Age Divisions:

  • 12 and under
  • 13 to 18
  • 19 and older

Rules & Guidelines:

  • The contest is free to enter with a limit of two submissions per individual.
  • Prizes include first, second and third place ribbons for all three age divisions and a special People’s Choice Award voted on by visitors to the water festival.
  • Additional prizes include gift certificates from Whole Foods Market.
  • Each submission must be printed and mounted on a 16” X 20” foam core board that is 3/16” thick. The foam core board can be any color.
  • The image itself can be any size, but not larger than 16” X 20”.
  • The final size of the image has no bearing on the winning submissions.
  • Images can be color or black and white.
  • Photos will be judged for photo quality, composition and adherence to the contest theme.
  • All of the submissions must be photographs taken by the contest participant. The SBWF recognizes that parents or other adults may help younger children print and mount their contest submission.
  • Submitted photos cannot be prior winning submissions to other photo contests.
  • Please only submit photos that have been taken after November 1, 2011.
  • The SBWF recognizes that basic photo editing is a normal procedure for processing digital files. The degree of alterations of photos will be at the discretion of the judges.
  • Contest participants must complete the Photo Contest Form (link to the form at the top of this page), print a copy and affix it securely to the back of their submission. A second copy of the Photo Contest Form must be dropped off with your submission.
  • Submissions must be dropped off to Wells Fargo Advisors located at 7100 Beneva Road in Sarasota. Please drop off your submission(s) between 9am and 4:30pm on Tuesday, October 15 through Monday, October 21 (excludes the weekend). That provides participants five drop off days prior to the deadline.
  • The final deadline for dropping off all submissions is 4:30pm on Monday, October 21, 2013.
  • Late drop offs will not be accepted.
  • The contest judges will consider all of the submissions and select the final submissions to be displayed at the Sarasota Bay Water Festival on November 2, 2013. Every submission to the contest will not be displayed at the festival.
  • The decisions by the contest judges are final.
  • The contest judges will select a first, second and third prize winner for each of the three age divisions prior to the festival.
  • Ribbons for the selected winners will be posted next to the submission at the festival on November 2, 2013.
  • Visitors to the festival will have an opportunity to vote on a People’s Choice Award from the submissions selected to be displayed that have not already received a first, second or third place ribbon. Each submission will be numbered to make the voting process easier.
  • The voting for the People Choice Award will take place from 10am until 4pm on November 2, 2013.
  • Visitors will have one vote per person for the People’s Choice Award. Children are welcome to participate in the voting.
  • Contest participants can pick up their submission(s) at the festival at 5pm on November 2, 2013. Festival organizers will secure any submissions not picked up at this time. All of the individual submissions to the contest belong to the photographer unless they choose to donate their images to the SBWF.
  • The SBWF will send a media release announcing all of the winners on Monday, November 4, 2013.
  • The SBWF retains the option of displaying a digital version of any or all of the winning photographs on the festival website or the website for the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Any use of the contest images will credit the photographer by first and last name.
  • The SBWF may request that the winners of the photo contest submit a digital image for posting on the SBWF and SBEP websites.

Thank you for participating in the I Love Sarasota Bay Photo Contest. Inquiries welcome at randy@triple3marketing.com.