HBW - WORLD BIRD PHOTO CONTEST

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Contest Rules

1. Contest Information:

  • a) The HBW World Bird Photo Contest ("Contest") encourages ethical bird photography, both in showing great respect for the well-being of the birds and their environment and in avoiding an excess of digital manipulation in the photos or videos.
  • b) The Contest is an initiative of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), the well-known series of books about birds, and is owned by Lynx Edicions ("Owners"), publisher of the HBW series.
  • c) The Contest is sponsored by Lynx Edicions, Avistar and Swarovski Optik.
  • d) The winning photos/videos will be chosen by an international jury ("Jury") comprised of bird and photography specialists based on criteria including photographic and video skill and composition as well as creativity and originality.
  • e) The winning photos/videos will be announced on May 5, 2014 on the Contest website (www.hbwcontest.com) and winners will be notified by email and/or telephone.
  • f) The winning photos/videos will be posted on the Owners' websites, always with the indication of the award received, and published in various media (further details below).
  • g) The winning photos/videos will be posted on the Internet Bird Collection (IBC), the free-access online audiovisual library sponsored by HBW, always with the indication of the award received (including author’s name and copyrighted watermark).
  • h) If permission is given, submitted photos or videos may be posted on the Internet Bird Collection (IBC).
  • i) The winning photos/videos may be displayed in a possible exhibition and may take part in a worldwide tour.

2. Participation Terms:

  • a) The Contest is open and free to everyone except those individuals collaborating in its organization or employees of Lynx Edicions, Avistar and Swarovski Optik.
  • b) Participants must be eighteen (18) years of age or over on the Contest's closing date, March 24, 2014.
  • c) Registration and the submission of photos/videos should be effected through the online system on the Contest website www.hbwcontest.com.
  • d) Registration and the submission of photos will only be accepted within the period from December 9, 2013 to March 24, 2014.
  • e) Registered participants will receive correspondence with relation to the Contest from www.hbwcontest.com. The Owners cannot accept liability for emails that do not reach the participant due to his/her anti-spam email settings or internet provider restrictions.
  • f) Each participant can submit a maximum of eight (8) photos and two (2) videos.
  • g) Each participant in is responsible for having read and adhered to all of the Contest Rules.
  • h) When a participant submits a photo or video to the Contest, he/she agrees to the Contest Rules and guarantees that the photo or video meets the Owners' requirements and that the information provided is factual.
  • i) Any submission that is found to not follow the Contest Rules will be removed from the Contest.
  • j) Any decisions made by the Owners with respect to the Contest will be accepted as binding and non-negotiable.

3. Submission Terms:

  • a) Photos and videos should be of free birds in their habitats.
  • b) Photos and videos must have been taken no more than five (5) years before the Contest's closing date, March 24, 2014.
  • c) Photo submissions must be digital files, which includes scans of negatives and transparencies.
  • d) The original image's minimum resolution must be 5 Mpixels.
  • e) Photos submitted must be in JPEG file format, file size below 2MB and resized to 1920 pixels on the longest side.
  • f) Videos should be recorded in a single take, maintaining the original sound. Duration must be between 10 and 60 seconds.
    • Recommended format: HD 720p; mp4; h264 video codec. To participate, videos must be submitted to a personal youtube.com account. Participants should upload their videos marking the Privacy Settings as “Unlisted”. On the contest submit page, participants should paste the link to their video on YouTube. Please check the link on YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57924?hl=en-GB, for some tips and technical conditions to optimize your video performance.
  • g) Only minor burning, dodging and/or colour corrections are acceptable, as are Levels and Curves adjustments.
  • h) Photos and videos containing the following should not be submitted to the Contest: captive birds, pet birds, bird models, birds being used for profit or any person or copyrighted object, even partially (e.g. statue, monument).
  • i) No photos with image manipulation, such as digitally adding or removing anything, should be submitted to the Contest.
  • j) No photos or videos with watermarks should be submitted to the Contest.
  • k) No photo or video that has received any type of award in any other recognized contest at the time of entry should be submitted to the Contest. Also ineligible are photographs previously submitted to the HBW World Bird Photo Contest.

4. Ethical Terms:

  • a) It is the responsibility of each participant to adhere to all national and international laws pertaining to the location where the photo/video has been taken, including those regarding protected species.
  • b) All of the information provided by the participants should be factual and as complete as possible.
  • c) Participants are expected to keep in mind the well-being of the birds and their environment and to avoid injury or distress to the birds or destruction of their habitat in the process of taking photos or recording videos.
  • d) Any photo/video that, in the Jury’s opinion, has been achieved through unethical or harmful conduct will be removed from the Contest.

5. Jury:

  • a) The Owners will appoint the Jury, who will agree to a set of norms and a code of conduct to make sure that the expectations of the Contest are maintained.
  • b) The Jury will include bird and photography specialists, independent from the Owners, and will be assisted by a technical commission. One representative of the Owners will act as the Jury Secretary.
  • c) The Contest will also have a Public Jury, consisting of an open, online voting system through which any user may select the best picture of two randomly presented. The top photo selected by the Public Jury will be awarded a Special Prize.
  • d) The Owners reserve the right not to present a winning prize in the case that no submissions are of adequate merit.

6. Prizes:
The Jury will choose 3 winning photos, 10 honourable mentions and 5 special prizes.

  • i. First Prize will receive the 17-Volume of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) Series worth 2800 € and a complete set of digiscoping equipment from Swarovski Optik worth 4000 €.
  • ii. Second Prize will receive a complete set of seventeen (17) HBW volumes.
  • iii. Third Prize will receive eight (8) HBW or HMW (Handbook of the Mammals of the World) volumes.*
  • iv. Each Honourable Mention winner will receive one (1) HBW or HMW volume.**
  • v. Each Special Prize winner will receive four (4) HBW or HMW volumes.**
  • vi. Special Prizes will be awarded to:
    • (1) Best Compact Camera
    • (2) PhotoBest Digiscoped Photo
    • (3) Best Endangered Bird Photo**
    • (4) Best Vox Populi Photo – selected by the Public Jury
    • (5) Best Video Clip
*HBW or HMW volume(s) to be chosen by the winner from the volumes available in stock and delivered free of charge to the winner's address.

**This includes the species listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered in the latest edition of the IUCN Red List of threatened species of birds, maintained by BirdLife International.

Please note that all prizes are as offered and there is no cash alternative.

7. Publicity, Copyright and Reproduction Terms:

  • a) Each winning participant agrees to take part in publicity related to the Contest and to the use of his/her name and likeness in materials related to press, advertising, promotion and publicity of the Contest as well as the possible exhibition without further compensation.
  • b) Each submission must be the participant's original work and must not violate the rights of any other party.
  • c) Each participant must own the copyright or have obtained the written permission of the copyright owner to submit the photo or video to the Contest and to grant the Owners the rights explained in the Contest Rules.
  • d) The copyright of all of the photos or videos submitted to the Contest shall remain with the copyright holder, who shall be credited as indicated in the Contest Rules.
  • e) By participating in the Contest, each participant grants the Owners a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, communicate and exhibit his/her photo(s) or video(s) in all types of media, exclusively in relation to the Contest and the possible exhibition, including all use in the context of:
    • i. Judging of the contest by the Jury and the Public Jury.
    • ii. Inclusion in the possible exhibition.
    • iii. Inclusion in promotional materials related to the Contest and/or the possible exhibition.
    • iv. Inclusion within interactive elements, either currently known or later created, on the Owners' websites related to the Contest and/or the possible exhibition.
    • v. Inclusion in a possible portfolio book, magazine or similar material.
  • f) In some of the cases outlined above, commercial opportunities from third parties may arise for winning photographers to benefit from the use of their photos or videos. Where a commercial benefit may arise, the petition will be passed directly to the copyright holder so that permission can be sought and terms and conditions agreed directly between the third party and the copyright holder.
  • g) Winning photos/videos may be used by the Owners during eighteen (18) months following the announcement of the winners.

8. Liability:

  • a) The Owners cannot accept liability for the damage or loss of any photo/video submitted to the Contest.
  • b) The Owners cannot accept liability for the misuse of submitted photos/videos or any third party's negligence in complying with the Contest's credit guidelines.
  • c) Non-winning photos/videos submitted to the Contest will not be kept, stored or returned by the Owners after the announcement of the winners.

9. Data Privacy:

  • The personal data provided by the participants will be incorporated into a file owned by Lynx Promocions, S.L., duly registered with the Spanish Agency for Data Protection, and used for the sole purpose of participating in this Contest. The data may also be used to send commercial communications related to the activity of Lynx Promocions, S.L. Any participant who wishes to exercise his/her right to access, modify or delete this information as established by the Organic Law 15/1999 concerning personal data protection, should contact Customer Services at lynx@hbw.com. The personal data of the participant will not be communicated or transferred to any third party.