Whether you’re passionate about landscapes, birds, or wildlife in general—our photo contest is your chance to gain recognition and inspire others to protect Caribbean biodiversity. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to win incredible prizes. See below for more details.
BirdsCaribbean is excited to announce our 5th Digital Photography Contest at the BC Conference in the Dominican Republic—we invite you to participate!
BirdsCaribbean se complace en anunciar que celebraremos nuestro 5º Concurso Anual de Fotografía Digital en la Conferencia de República Dominicana – ¡Te invitamos a participar!
BirdsCaribbean est heureux d’annoncer son cinquième Concours Annuel de Photographie Numérique à la conférence BC en République dominicaine et vous invite à y participer !
Grand Prize – Vortex Viper Spotting Scope 20-60X85 (Angled) – valued at $1,349.99!
In addition to the Grand Prize, the following prizes will be awarded in each category:
First Place: $100 Amazon Gift card
Second Place: $50 Amazon Gift card
Third Place: $25 Amazon Gift card
Photos must be taken during the time of the conference, including the pre- and post-conference field trips and workshops, in the Dominican Republic between the 15th and 25th of July 2024. Photos can be submitted online starting July 16. (See the full contest rules and submission details below)
The deadline for submitting entries is 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday, August 25th, 2024.
Winners will be announced by Thursday September 12th, 2024.
The BirdsCaribbean 2024 Photography Contest is open to ALL photographers (aged 18 and over), except board members of BirdsCaribbean and the judges of this contest and their immediate families. The contest is open to all participants of the conference regardless of residence or citizenship, so long as the laws of their jurisdiction allow participation. Review the rules for entering below.
Contest Categories
Our Conference Photography Competition is all about showcasing the beauty of Caribbean birds, ecosystems, and people. That’s why we have included a variety of submission categories that provide a wide range of opportunities to capture rare endemic species and vibrant habitats. We are also excited to see passionate individuals dedicated to preserving our unique biodiversity. Our ultimate goal is to find compelling digital photos that embody our 2024 theme, From Mountains to Mangroves: Safeguarding Our Avian Treasures.
Here are the photo contest categories that you can enter:
“THE ENDEMICS”: Hispaniolan and regional (West Indies) endemic birds found in the Dominican Republic
“FUN WITH BIRDS AND PEOPLE”: Fun with birds, nature, and human interaction* (including photographs of people during conference activities, people experiencing and enjoying nature)
“BIRDS AND NATURE”: Natural habitats and landscapes in the Dominican Republic, including close-up photography, and birds that are not endemic to Hispaniola
Please do not include photographs of pets or domestic animals, nor images of captive animals.
*If you choose to include people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary (verbal) releases from the individuals depicted. Entrants must not submit images that involve human nudity, or the willful harassment of wildlife.
HOW to Enter the Contest
All photos must be submitted via the photo-sharing site Flickr. Here’s how:
Log on: To submit your photos via Flickr, use your Yahoo! ID, Google, or Facebook account to login to http://www.flickr.com. If you do not have an account, you can sign-up for FREE.
Join the BirdsCaribbean Flickr group: go to the home page for the group and click the button that says “+ Join Group”
Upload your images: Click “Upload” in the top near the search bar and upload your entries.
VERY IMPORTANT – Tag your photos: Browse to the image you wish to submit for the contest and add tags (there is a tags section below the image in the right column). Please add the following tags: BCPhotoContest2024, and the category you are entering (Endemics, FunwithBirdsandPeople OR BirdsandNature), so each photo should have two tags total. Type the tags exactly as you see them here (or copy and paste). Please include your name, the location where the photo was taken, and the subject or title of the photo. Adding a descriptive caption in the title or comments about your photo is also helpful also!
Submit the image: Use the “Send to Group” function above the image to add your photograph to the BirdsCaribbean group.
The deadline for submitting entries is 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday August 25th, 2024.
You can check to see that your photos are uploaded and properly tagged by making sure they are there when you type in the overall contest tag BCPhotoContest2024 in the search bar at the upper right. Check that they are in the proper category by typing in two tags for each category, for example:
BCPhotoContest2024 Endemics
BCPhotoContest2024 FunwithBirdsandPeople
BCPhotoContest2024 BirdsandNature
Rules, Eligibility, and Judging:
This competition is open to all registered participants (full time and part time) of the conference.
All submissions must have been taken during the time of the conference, including the pre- and post-conference field trips and travel between 15th and 25th July, 2024 inclusive.
- To ensure eligibility for the contest all entries must have a resolution of 2MB or greater.
- Color, black & white, and edited formats are accepted.
- SIX entries are allowed per participant for EACH CATEGORY, thus you can submit as many as 18 photos total.
- The welfare of the bird always takes priority. Please keep your distance and do not disturb birds!
- No audio playback.
- No flash or other artificial lights may be used.
- Any still photography method is acceptable, including digiscoping, SLR, point-and-shoot, mobile phone, etc.
BirdsCaribbean reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control.
Winning Photos and Prizes
First, second, and third prize winners will be selected in each category and there will be one grand prize winner. Photos will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit. All decisions made by the judges are final.
The judges are a selected panel of birders, photographers and scientists. Winning photos will be featured online on the BirdsCaribbean website, social media and Flickr site.
Know Your Rights
As conditions of this permission, BirdsCaribbean shall credit all photographs with the caption “© Person’s Name”.
Read the Fine Print—Rules, Terms, and Legal Conditions
- By entering, participants agree to indemnify BIRDSCARIBBEAN and its representatives, from any and all third party liability for any injuries, loss, claim, action, demand or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the competition .
- Each entrant in the Contest is responsible for ensuring that he or she has the right to submit the photos that he or she submits to the Contest per these rules.
- BIRDSCARIBBEAN is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information.
- BIRDSCARIBBEAN assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, of entries.
- If, for any reason, the photo competition is not capable of completion as planned, BIRDSCARIBBEAN reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the photo competition.
- By entering, participants agree for BIRDSCARIBBEAN to use all submitted images for their purpose online and in printed matter. The participants do retain the ownership of the photos submitted, and when used, all photographs will be credited to the photographer.
Questions and inquiries about contest rules or issues with submitting your photos can be emailed to Lisa Sorenson: Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org. You must read the following rules, terms, and legal conditions before submitting any photos!
Your photographs help BirdsCaribbean raise awareness of how important it is to protect the Caribbean’s amazing diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography.
We wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing the best of Caribbean nature photography!
A look back at past winners
2022 Grand Prize Winner – Red-legged Thrush by Edward Hernández-Lara
2015 Grand Prize Winner – Red-billed Streamertail by Rafy Rodriguez