The deadline for entries is 4:30 p.m. on May 1st, 2012 (post marks will not be accepted, all entries must be received by deadline).
Why are the number of entries limited to only five per person?
We know it is hard to choose, especially when our community is so
photogenic! In the past participants have been allowed to submit 10
entries. In past years, we received almost 800 entries, which is wonderful! But
that also is 800 photos we had to accept, sort, categorize, and jury. Due
to budget and staff reductions, we reduced the number of entries we
have to organize and manage behind the scenes so that we can reduce the
staff time devoted to those tasks during these times of limited resources.
How much "altering" is "too much"?
There is a line that falls somewhere between eliminating red eye and adding
a building into a street scene where one does not really exist. Finding and
describing that line is challenging! Photos submitted should be a truthful
representation of whatever happened in front of the camera during exposure.
Of course, photos may be cropped and dust spots removed. They may be
enhanced to compensate for technical quality and esthetics, such as through
filters, adjustments to color, brightness and contrast. Multiple exposures
that have been combined to produce a single "High Dynamic Range" image are
acceptable. But there comes a point when too much processing changes the
photo into a painting or graphic art. That's not what this competition
seeks. You also should not add objects not contained in the original
photograph, both to retain its historic value and its connection to reality.
When you compare your original to your altered photograph, if it looks
completely different, or if the cool blue sky is now hot pink, or if it was
a picture of Lake Whatcom at sunrise and now it has people or a full moon in
it…we're sure it is lovely but you have gone too far for this competition.
Please contact the Mayor's Office with additional questions about the competition.
