Competition Terms and Conditions

1. The Friends of the Botanic Gardens Inc. (Friends) based at Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney photography competition is open to all amateur and professional photographers, excluding members of the official judging panel and their immediate families, or members of the organising committee and their immediate families.

2. There is no limit to how many times a photographer may enter. However, each image submitted must have a completed entry form and an entry fee paid.

3. To be eligible for judging all photographs must be taken in a botanic garden, anywhere world-wide. For the purposes of this competition a botanic garden is defined as any location with the words "Botanic" or "Botanical" in its title or name.

4. Submissions can only be digital but scanned slides or photos are permitted. All entries must be submitted electronically to the website, www.gardensinfocus.com.au and be between 500 Kilobytes and one Megabyte. If selected as a finalist, entrants may be contacted to provide a higher resolution image for printing.

5. Photographs can be colour or black and white, and may be taken with any type of camera. Digital manipulation can be used to improve or enhance the image, but it is requested that the manipulation be kept to an absolute minimum. No composite images are allowed. The emphasis is on photographic skills, not on the ability to utilise enhancement software.

6. The competition has five categories:

Category 1: Plant Portraiture
Open to all photographers, amateur and professional, whose photographs have been taken in an Australian or New Zealand Botanic garden.

Category 2: Garden Views
Open to all photographers, amateur and professional, whose photographs have been taken in an Australian or New Zealand Botanic garden.

Category 3: Garden Creatures
Open to all photographers, amateur and professional, whose photographs have been taken in an Australian or New Zealand Botanic garden.

Category 4: Youth Competition
Open to photographers under 21 years, whose photographs have been taken in an Australian or New Zealand botanic garden.

Category 5: International Botanic Gardens
Open to all photographers, amateur and professional, whose photographs have been taken in a botanic garden other than in Australia or New Zealand.

7. Submissions must include the photographer's full name and details of the image including a title for the image, month and year taken, botanic garden where the image was captured, and a short description (up to a maximum of 100 words) of how and why the photo was taken.

8. Where a photograph entered in the competition includes a close up image of a person other than the photographer, then the photographer must guarantee that he or she has obtained all necessary permissions from that other person (or in the case of a child, that child’s parents or lawful guardian) for the image to be used in accordance with these terms and conditions. An entrant indemnifies Friends against all damages, losses, costs and expenses incurred by Friends arising directly or indirectly out of any failure by you to obtain the permissions mentioned above.

9. All photos must be entirely the entrant's own work, and by entering the competition, each photographer warrants that:

• he or she is the exclusive owner of the photos, including any copyright in the photos;
• the photos were taken at an Australian or New Zealand botanic garden for categories 1 to 4 or an international botanic garden for category 5, within the 12 months before competition closing; and
• no rights have been granted in the photos which are inconsistent with rights granted to Friends under clauses 11 - 13 below.

10. Images that have won an award in another public photographic competition are not eligible.

11. By entering the competition, each photographer:

• grants an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide licence to Friends (or any person authorised by Friends) to use his or her name, photograph, voice and/or image for publicity and marketing purposes of Friends and to display the photo in any location;
• consents to any act or omission by Friends, (or any person authorised by Friends) which would otherwise infringe the photographer's moral rights in respect of his or her photograph;
• consents to being contacted by email for matters relating to Friends (or any person authorised by Friends) business.

• display the photo in any location; and
• use photographs for a print run of a maximum of 500 copies to be used in a pack of mixed postcards which will be sold. Friends will retain 100% of the profits from the sale of the postcards and will acknowledge the photographer's name with the image.

13. If an entrant's photograph is selected as a winner, then in addition to the licence in clauses 11 and 12, the entrant grants an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide licence to Friends (or any person authorised by Friends) to display that photo as part of the International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition.

14. Friends will not attempt to sell or give away the rights to use an entrant's photographs or personal details to any third party without seeking his or her prior consent, and copyright owners of the photographs will be acknowledged by name in any publication.

15. It is an entrant's responsibility to make sure his or her photograph is entered in the appropriate category.

16. Judging:

• A panel of judges will assess all images.
• Finalists will be contacted following the closing date of the competition using the contact details provided by the entrant at the time the competition closes.
• After judging, all short-listed entrants will be contacted to verify the quality of original image, and category status if entering as a young person.
• All short listed entrants will be contacted and will then have 10 working days to supply a high resolution file.
• The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.