Enter the competition

Entries close 11.59pm, Sunday 12 May 2019

You may submit a maximum of two photos in each of the three categories (six total entries)

Shellharbour City Council residents are invited to enter photos taken in the Shellharbour region that showcase native wildlife, landscapes and native plants, or celebrate the beauty of our beaches and waterways.

Themes for this year's competition are:

• Native wildlife – Images that focus on Australian native wildlife (e.g. Kookaburras, Peron’s Tree Frog, Echidna). Exotic species from overseas will not be eligible (e.g. European honeybees, Monarch butterfly)
• Landscapes and native plants – Images that focus on landscapes in the Shellharbour area and include some Australian native plants, or an image focusing on a native plant/s (e.g. Australian gum trees, bottlebrushes)
• Beaches and waterways – Images that celebrate an aspect of our local beaches and waterways (e.g. Shellharbour South Beach, Killalea Lagoon, Lake Illawarra on the Shellharbour side)

Prizes for 18 years and over age category

• First prize in each theme is a 20 x 30 inch canvas print of your winning image professionally printed by PhotoMart, and 4 hours of photography tuition in a small group tour with click walk learn photography

• Second prize in each theme is a 16 x 24 inch canvas print of your winning image professionally printed by PhotoMart, and 4 hours of photography tuition in a small group tour with click walk learn photography

Prizes for 17 years and under age category

• First prize in each theme is a 20 x 30 inch canvas print of your winning image professionally printed by PhotoMart, and a half day mentoring session with Kramer Photography

• Second prize in each theme is a 16 x 24 inch canvas print of your winning image professionally printed by PhotoMart and a $100 cash prize

People Choice award

• Most popular photo voted at the awards night wins a $50 Shellharbour City Council nursery voucher

All entrants are invited to a special awards night from 6pm on Thursday 6 June 2019 in celebration of World Environment Day.

1. Entrants may submit a maximum of two photos in each of the three categories (Maximum total entries is six)
2. Photos must be submitted as a JPEG file of a size between 1MB to 5MB
3. Entries must be submitted by 11.59pm, Sunday 12 May. Entries received after this date will not be accepted
4. Photos must not have any watermarks/names/logos on the images
5. All photos must be taken in the Shellharbour City Council Area by people who live in the area. This include suburbs and rural localities of Albion Park, Albion Park Rail, Barrack Heights, Barrack Point, Blackbutt, Calderwood, Croom (part only), Dunmore, Flinders, Lake Illawarra, Macquarie Pass, Mount Warrigal, North Macquarie, Oak Flats, Shell Cove, Shellharbour, Shellharbour City Centre, Tongarra, Tullimbar, Warilla and Yellow Rock (part only). Includes Killalea State Park and most of Macquarie Pass National Park (excluding small parts of the far west of the park in the Wingecarribee Shire). You must be standing in the Shellharbour Local Government Area when you take the image. Images cannot be taken from another Council area (e.g. Wollongong or Kiama), looking across to the Shellharbour City Council area
6. Shellharbour City Council staff and Councillors, and members of the judging panel are not able to enter the competition
7. Any people who are clearly identifiable in your photo must have granted you consent to be photographed
8. Each photo can only be entered into one of the following themes:
   1. Native wildlife – Images which focus on Australian native wildlife (e.g. Kookaburras, Peron’s Tree Frog, Echidna). Exotic species from overseas will not be eligible (e.g. European honeybees, Monarch butterfly)
   2. Landscapes and native plants – Images which focus on landscapes in the Shellharbour area and include some Australian native plants, or an image focusing on a native plant/s (e.g. Australian gum trees, bottlebrushes)
   3. Beaches and waterways – Images which celebrate an aspect of our local beaches and waterways (e.g. Shellharbour South Beach, Killalea Lagoon, Lake Illawarra on the Shellharbour side).
9. The content of the photo must not be changed or manipulated in any way; that is, no cloning, montaging, or digital manipulation other than cropping, toning, digital spotting, burning and dodging is permitted. No addition or removal of subject matter is accepted. Retouching is limited to removal of normal scratches and dust spots. Colour adjustment should be minimal
10. If you are using a drone for your photography, all images submitted must comply with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority rules regarding drone usage. For more information see www.casa.gov.au/aircraft/landing-page/flying-drones-australia
11. Photos must not contain images of native wildlife being fed by people or from bird feeders. Images of native animals at bird baths/water troughs are permitted. Animals must not be handled or stressed in any way for the purpose of this competition

Judging

• A panel of judges approved by the competition organisers, representing photography and environmental expertise will select the theme place winners. The judges decision is final. A shortlist of 60 images will be provided for the People’s Choice award, the winner of which will be chosen by attendees at the Awards Night.
• Entries will be judged on how well the photo reflects the theme, the quality of the image and accompanying caption
• Entrants in the 17 years and under category must be under 18 years of age at the time of entering. They must have the entry form declaration agreed to by their parent/guardian
• Entrants in this competition give permission for their works to be reproduced by print and electronic media by Shellharbour City Council for not-for-profit publications, advertising and promotional purposes
• Your entry must be your original work and no other party can have any right, title, claim or interest in it
• All personal information gathered by the competition organisers will be used solely for the purposes of administering the Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography competition
• 60 shortlisted images will be printed to display at the awards night and travel in an exhibition across Shellharbour. Any printed images belonging to the entrant can be collected from the Shellharbour Civic Centre after the exhibition period.

PRIVACY & PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION NOTICE The information on this form is being collected by Shellharbour City Council for the purpose of administering the Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography Competition. Your personal information will be used by Council staff for the purpose of confirming eligibility, contacting entrants and crediting images with the name of the photographer. This completed form will be stored in Council's electronic records management system. You may apply to Council to access and correct this information. Please see Council's Privacy Management Plan or contact Council’s Privacy Officer on 4221 6111 for more information.