Purpose

For the fifth consecutive year, the Earth Ethics Institute (EEI) at Miami Dade College sponsors this contest as a way to engage members of the MDC community in observing the natural world around them here in South Florida and to encourage them to communicate their feelings, understandings, experiences and questions visually through photography.

Challenge Categories

o   Mounted prints of color, b&w, infrared, film or digital photographs shot in any format are acceptable

• Images must follow the following standards for image manipulation: any post shutter manipulation is limited to changes in tonal or color variations (contrast, brightness, sharpness, color and hue). No forms and shapes in the photograph may be moved, added or deleted (except by cropping), or otherwise altered. 

Challenge Guidelines

• This challenge is open to all MDC employees and MDC students enrolled in Spring, 2010.

• Employee or student may enter up to two photographs in the challenge.

• Photographs must illustrate Visions of Nature in South Florida. 

  • The South Florida bioregion is considered to be the land and water areas south of an imaginary line from West Palm Beach to Ft. Myers and includes the Florida Keys.

• All works must be the original work of the submitting photographer.

• IMPORTANT: Photographs must be at least 8 inches x 10 inches up to a maximum of 11 inches x 14 inches and MUST BE MOUNTED AND MATTED. DIMENSIONS OF THE OUTSIDE BORDER OF THE WINDOW MAT MUST BE 16 x 20 INCHES. Winning photos will be placed inside a 16 x 20 inch frame (provided by Earth Ethics Institute) for display.

• While the photographs are the copyright and property of the artist, they may be used by Miami Dade College for promotional and / or educational purposes including display of digitized images on the Earth Ethics Institute website and/or College publications.

• If you are shooting digitally, shoot at the highest JPEG resolution of your camera for best publication quality.

• Winners will be asked to provide a CD-ROM with the digital file of their photo for publication, no matter what media they used (film or digital capture) for the original image.

• Photographs are not insured by Miami Dade College who will take all reasonable steps to ensure security of the work. Therefore we suggest artists make a copy of their work before it is submitted.

• Photographs must be submitted to the Campus’ Earth Ethics Coordinator / designee listed on the application by Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Late or incorrectly sized entries will not be accepted.

• All photos can be picked up from the person you turned them into after April 6, 2010. Regrettably, photos not picked up by Friday, April 24 will be given away.

Judging

• Photographs will be judged by the Earth Ethics Institute and noted Miami Herald photographer Tim Chapman. Decisions of the judges are final.

• Photographs will be evaluated on their technical and artistic qualities as well as the ability to convey the expression of the challenge theme: Visions of Nature in South Florida.

• Student Prizes = $375

• Best of Show  = $150 purchase award

• First Place = $100; Second Place = $75; Third Place = $50

• Honorable Mentions – photography books

• all awarded photographs will be posted on the EEI website

• Employee Prizes (Best of Show, First, Second, Third Place) will all be photography books

Online Exhibition

• The award winning photographs in both categories will be posted on the EEI website during April, 2010.

• All entries may be picked from drop-off locations after April 6 and before April 24.

For more information

o        Contact the Challenge Facilitator, Professor Chris Migliaccio, Department of Natural Sciences, Health & Wellness, Wolfson Campus in Rm 1603 or at chris.migliaccio@mdc.edu .

o        Visit the website Spending Time with Nature in South Florida  (http://faculty.mdc.edu/cmigliac/LocalNature.html) for some possible locations to visit, but Nature is all around us! Be creative!

o        Read an article by Dewitt Jones, nature photographer A Vision