Official Rules and Guidelines

2024 Save the Bay Photo Contest - Contest Open. A grid shows photos from past contests.

Billy Garrett, Justin Ross, Toni Paris, Lee Goodwin, Bill Mish, Daniel Horowitz, Daniel Hals

2024 Save the Bay Photo Contest
Monday, March 4, 2024 - Friday, March 29, 2024
Viewers' Choice Awards: April 8-30, 2024

Download the Minor Release Form
Download the Adult Photo Release Form

General Contest Information:

The sponsor of the contest is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403. Phone number: 410-268-8816.
This is a contest to promote awareness of conservation issues relating to the Chesapeake Bay and the waters that feed it. Contestants will take and submit photographs that illustrate the beauty, benefits, and bounty of the Bay and its watershed. Concepts and topics to consider* are:

Recreation and Connection: images of types and ages of people and/or communities using local waterways for fishing, sailing, canoeing, swimming, etc., and enjoying the bounty of the Bay.
Beauty: scenic shots of regional waterways and wildlife from all seasons and parts of the watershed.
History and Legacy: images that convey the value of the Bay and its rivers and streams in shaping the past, present, and future; depict multiple generations at work and play on the Bay; or illustrate the importance of leaving a legacy of clean, safe water for future generations.
Agriculture: images of crop and livestock farming, agricultural conservation practices, farmers' markets, stream bank fencing, buffer planting, etc.

*these are not categories, merely suggested topics.

Who May Enter:

The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers.
You must be at least 13 years old to submit a photograph in this contest. If you have not reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction of residence at the time of entrance, then your parent or legal guardian must enter on your behalf.
You must currently reside in one of the 50 states of the United States of America, or the District of Columbia.
Employees of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling, and their respective spouses), and persons living in the same household of employees of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (whether related or not) are not eligible to enter this contest.

How to Enter:

Submissions will be accepted beginning on March 4, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and ending on March 29, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
To enter, you must visit cbf.org/photocontest and complete the entry form with the required information, including your name, address, location of photo, telephone number, and e-mail address.
You also need to acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by these Official Rules. By submitting an entry, you warrant that your entry complies with all the requirements set out in these Official Rules.
All photographs must be in digital format, although they need not be taken with a digital camera. Scans are acceptable, provided they meet the requirements of these Rules.
Only online entries will be accepted.
You may submit up to five (5) photos. Each photo must have a caption. All images mus be submitted as high-resolution JPEG files. Each photo must be at least 8x10 (or 2400x3000) at 300 dpi and three (3) megabytes or larger. If you submit any photo that falls below this high resolution standard, that photo will be ineligible for this contest.
Submitted photographs must be the original photograph of the entrant and must be the property of the entrant.
Photographs must not infringe any copyright or trademark rights or violate any rights of privacy or publicity.
Photos that contain obscene, defamatory, sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content will be disqualified in CBF's sole discretion.
Photos must have been taken no more than five years before the date of entry into this contest, and may not have been published previously in exchange for monetary payment.
Only minor editing of the photographs is acceptable. Extensively manipulated images will not be eligible. All images should accurately represent the subject matter. Images with heavy effects, including unnatural saturation, exposure, or contrast, will not be considered. Images with watermarks will be disqualified.
If any of your photographs depicts any identifiable person(s), you are responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of such photograph, a release signed by such person(s) (or, in the case of a minor, his or her parent or legal guardian). A copy of the releases to be signed can be found here: www.cbf.org/photocontest. You must send a copy of all required release(s) to CBF within seven (7) days of the date of your submission. You can e-mail the release(s) to [email protected] or you can mail them to: Jennifer Wallace, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403.

Prizes:

The first place winner will receive $500 and a one-year membership to CBF. The winning photograph also will be displayed on the CBF website, in a CBF e-newsletter, in CBF's magazine, and in CBF's 2025 calendar.
The second place winner will receive $250 and a one-year membership to CBF. In addition, the second place winning photograph will be displayed on the CBF website, in a CBF e-newsletter and in CBF's magazine.
The third place winner will receive $150 and a one-year membership to CBF. In addition, the third place winning photograph will be displayed on the CBF website, in a CBF e-newsletter and in CBF's magazine.
The Viewers' Choice winner will receive $100 and a one-year membership to CBF. In addition, the Viewers' Choice winning photograph will be displayed on the CBF website, in a CBF e-newsletter and in CBF's magazine.
Retail value of prizes. First prize: $525; second prize: $275; third prize: $175; Viewers' Choice: $125.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation will send an e-mail to and/or call all winners on or before May 6, 2024. Therefore, it is very important that your submission has a valid e-mail address and telephone number. Each winner must complete additional forms as requested by Chesapeake Bay Foundation, in order to receive a prize.
In the event of an unclaimed prize or the failure to return any required documents by the stated deadline, CBF reserves the right to select an alternate winner or not award the prize.
Prizes are not transferable, nor are there substitutions or cash redemptions, except at Chesapeake Bay Foundation's discretion if the prize becomes unavailable.
Any prize won by a minor will be awarded to the parent or legal guardian who must sign all releases.
No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.
The odds of winning are dependent on the number of entries received.

Judging:

Judging of top three prizes: Official judging of these three awards will be performed by a panel of CBF employees. Judges will make their selections based on subject matter, composition, focus, lighting, uniqueness, and impact. All voting decisions are final and at the discretion of CBF.
Judging of the Viewers' Choice Award: Judging will be done by the public through an online photo gallery of select images chosen by CBF staff in accordance with the above judging guidelines (subject matter, composition, focus, lighting, uniqueness, and impact). The online gallery will launch April 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and will run until April 30, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, at which time voting will be closed. The public may vote as many times as they like. Images will not be reviewable prior to the gallery launch. The winner of the Viewers' Choice award is eligible for other photo contest prizes. In the event of a tie, the winner will be chosen by a panel of CBF judges.
Only winners will be notified of the contest outcome, but you can view a list of the winners, which will be posted online at www.cbf.org/photocontest by May 31, 2024, at 5:00 pm Eastern Time, and will remain posted until at least August 31, 2024, at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. The list of winners will also be published in Save the Bay magazine. A hard copy will be sent upon written request to the address above, if such request is received by August 31, 2024.

Other Important Information:

All entrants retain their copyright rights in and to the photographs that they submit. By entering this contest, all entrants grant CBF the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, publish, and create derivative works of all photograph entries in connection with CBF's mission in any media now known or hereafter developed, including in CBF publications, on websites, and other promotional materials, as well as on merchandise. CBF does not need to obtain additional consent from entrants relating to, or to notify entrants prior to, the use of any submitted photographs. CBF will credit the photographer when feasible in CBF's sole discretion. In addition, CBF reserves the right to edit captions.
Entries become the property of CBF and will not be returned. CBF is not liable for lost, late, illegible, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, incorrect, or postage-due entries.
By submitting a photograph in this contest, the entrant grants CBF the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to use the entrant's name, city and state in connection with publicity regarding the contest and in connection with the use of the entrant's photograph(s).
All taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is not responsible for any tampering with this contest (e.g., hackers, viruses, automated entry devices, and other). The Chesapeake Bay Foundation reserves the right to terminate or modify the contest at any time in case of technical failures or other issues outside of its control. CBF also reserves the right to disqualify anyone who violates these Official Rules.
The information the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will collect about entrants through this contest will be used for the purposes of this contest and as covered by CBF's privacy policy, which can be found at www.cbf.org/privacy.
By entering this contest, all entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, its officers, directors, employees and agents, from all claims, losses, damages and liabilities arising out of their participation in this contest and the acceptance of any prize awarded hereunder.
This contest shall be governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict of law rules. The forum for any dispute shall be Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

This offer is void where prohibited by law