Birds in Flight 2022

ELIGIBILITY:
BirdWatching’s 2022 Birds in Flight Photo Contest (“Contest”) is open only to individuals who are over 18 years of age and who are residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). Employees of Madavor Media, LLC, (“Sponsors”), and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child and sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and/or those living in same household of each, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate or win. Sponsors reserve the right to verify all eligibility requirements. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Qualified Entries

Entries must be a single image as captured by the camera, with adjustments limited to standard photo processing such as color and exposure adjustments and basic retouching such as spot removal or noise reduction. Images must not be “composite images” that combine subjects or elements from different scenes—replacing a background or sky, for example. Exceptions include the use of HDR exposure stacking, focus stacking or similar techniques used for a single composition where the camera was not moved. As part of the judging process, our judges at their discretion may request the original RAW file capture for review.

BirdWatching is committed to ethical practices in wildlife photography. If your image contains wildlife, the following types of photographs are considered ineligible for entry in this contest:

• Images that appear to be the result of “baiting”
• Images that indicate the wildlife subject is “harassed” or crowded
• Close-up images of nests using a wide-angle lens
• Images taken at “game farms.” Images of captive wildlife must be identified as such and the facility at which they were taken must be noted. The contest judges reserve the right to disqualify images that, in their sole discretion, appear to be the result of questionable practices, as defined by, but not limited to, those described above.

CONTEST PERIOD:
The Contest will begin on April 26, 2022 at 7:00 AM PST, and end on July 12, 2022 at 11:59 PM PST (the “Contest Period”).

HOW TO ENTER:
Click the submit your images button above to submit. All entries must be received by July 12, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. PST to be eligible. Each photograph must be submitted in .JPG and cannot exceed 5 MB in size. Enter with an “Early Entry Fee” from April 26, 2022 until June 28, 2022 at 11:59 PM PST at $30 for one (1) image and $50 for two (2) images. From June 29, 2022 until July 12, 2022 at 11:59 PM PST, the “Entry Fee” will be $40 for one (1) image and $65 for two (2) images.
Please note: Entries submitted online will be eligible for (i) the Grand Place Prize (as described below), (ii) Second Place Prize (as described below), (iii) Third Place Prize (as described below), and (iv) Finalist Prize (as described below).
Entry must be the original work of the entrant and entrant must be the sole owner of the copyright of such entry. Entry must be in keeping with the Sponsors’ image and may not be inappropriate or offensive, as determined by the Sponsors in their sole discretion, nor can it defame or invade publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person’s personal or property rights or any other third-party rights. The Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any entry they deem to be offensive, inappropriate, that is not in keeping with Sponsors’ image or that is otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these Official Rules. Entrant must have obtained express written consent to submit any entry that contains persons other than entrant or third-party elements not owned by entrant and, if requested to do so, produce such written consent from appropriate parties in a form and manner acceptable to the Sponsors.
By submitting an Entry, entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsors may obtain many Entries in connection with this Contest and/or other contests staged and/or promoted by the Sponsors, and that such Entries may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to other Entries submitted in connection with this Contest and/or other contests sponsored by the Sponsors or submitted for other reasons or other materials developed by the Sponsors. Entrant waives any and all claims entrant may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future, that any Entry and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by the entrant may be similar to his/her Entry, or that any compensation is due to entrant in connection with such Entry or other works used by Sponsors.

GRAND PLACE PRIZE JUDGING:
One (1) potential Grand Place Prize winner, one (1) potential Second Place winner, one (1) potential Third Place winner, and up to twenty-five (25) potential Finalists will be determined from among all eligible entries received by a panel of qualified judges, based equally on the following criteria: Adherence to Theme, Composition and Creativity/Originality (“Judging Criteria”). The entrants who submitted the entry receiving the highest scores, as determined by the Sponsors in their sole discretion, will be the potential winners and finalists respectively.
In the event of a tie for any prize, an additional “tie-breaking” judge will determine the applicable winner or finalists from among those tied using the Criteria. The Sponsors reserve the right to not award any prize if, in their sole discretion, an insufficient number of eligible and qualified entries are received. Decisions of the Sponsors and judges are final and binding.

WINNER NOTIFICATION:
Potential winners will be notified by telephone, mail and/or e-mail by the end of October 2022 and will be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and, unless prohibited, a Publicity Release, a W-9 Form and any additional documents that may be required by prize provider within fourteen (14) days of date of issuance. If any potential winner is an eligible minor in his or her jurisdiction of residence, prize may, at the Sponsors’ discretion, be awarded in the name of the parent or legal guardian, and such parent or legal guardian will be required to fulfill all requirements imposed on winners set forth herein. Noncompliance with this time period or with these Official Rules, or the return of any prize notification as undeliverable, may result in disqualification and, at the Sponsors’ discretion, the prize will be awarded to an applicable runner-up.

PRIZES:

Grand Place Prize: $1,000 (USD) cash prize;

One (1) K&F Concept X PRO Square Filter Holder System (ARV $289); One (1) Skylum Luminar AI – AI Photo Editing for Mac & PC (ARV $79); One (1) Nikon 8×42 Monarch Binoculars (Black) (ARV $276.95); One (1) ExpoDisc 2.0 – Professional White Balance Filter (ARV $49.95); One (1) FlashBender v3 Large Soft Box Kit (ARV $59.95); One (1) choice out of 3 courses (Bird Photography with Melissa Groo, Bird Song Basics: Getting started with birding by ear, or Warbler Identification) from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Academy; One (1) One-year BirdWatching VIP Membership (ARV $95.88); Placement as BirdWatching’s Facebook Cover Photo (ARV priceless); publication in a special multi-spread feature in an issue of BirdWatching (ARV priceless); Publication in the BirdWatching online Winners’ gallery.
Total First Place ARV: Approximately $1,850.73

Second Place Prize: $500 (USD) cash prize;

One (1) K&F Concept X PRO Square Filter Holder System (ARV $289); One (1) Skylum Luminar AI – AI Photo Editing for Mac & PC (ARV $79); One (1) ExpoDisc 2.0 – Professional White Balance Filter (ARV $49.95); One (1) FlashBender v3 Large Soft Box Kit (ARV $59.95); One (1) choice out of 3 courses (Bird Photography with Melissa Groo, Bird Song Basics: Getting started with birding by ear, or Warbler Identification) from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Academy; One (1) One-year BirdWatching VIP Membership (ARV $95.88); publication in a special multi-spread feature in an issue of BirdWatching (ARV priceless); Publication in the BirdWatching online Winners’ gallery.
Total Second Place ARV: approximately $1,073.78
Third Place Prize: $250 (USD) cash prize;

One (1) K&F Concept X PRO Square Filter Holder System (ARV $289); One (1) Skylum Luminar AI – AI Photo Editing for Mac & PC (ARV $79); One (1) ExpoDisc 2.0 – Professional White Balance Filter (ARV $49.95); One (1) FlashBender v3 Large Soft Box Kit (ARV $59.95); One (1) choice out of 3 courses (Bird Photography with Melissa Groo, Bird Song Basics: Getting started with birding by ear, or Warbler Identification) from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Academy; One (1) One-year BirdWatching VIP Membership (ARV $95.88); publication in a special multi-spread feature in an issue of BirdWatching (ARV priceless); Publication in the BirdWatching online Winners’ gallery.
Total Third Place ARV: Approximately $744.78

Current total ARV of all prizes: approximately $3,669.29

If, for any reason, the Sponsors do not feature any of the winning entries in BirdWatching Magazine, no compensation or substitution will be provided; however, the remainder of prize package will be awarded and the Sponsors will have no further obligation to winners. All prize details are at the sole discretion of the Sponsors. No substitution, cash equivalent or transfer of prizes permitted by winners. Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) of comparable or greater value, in their sole discretion. All federal, state and local taxes as well as any costs and expenses associated with prize acceptance and use not specified herein as being awarded are sole responsibility of each winner. Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by the Sponsors. Limit one (1) prize per household.

USE OF ENTRY:
By submitting an entry, entrant grants the Sponsors and their designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use the entry and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes in Sponsors’ online galleries, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law. In addition, each winner grants to the Sponsors and their designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use and distribute the entry (as submitted, or as cropped by the Sponsors), and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes, in any and all media now or hereafter known, including without limitation in BirdWatching and any Madavor Media magazines for purposes of promotion of this Contest except as otherwise stated herein, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.

USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Your personal information collected in connection with this Contest will be used in accordance with Madavor Media’s Privacy Policy (available at http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/privacy-policy) including, without limitation, for marketing and promotional purposes.

MISCELLANEOUS: Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for late, lost, garbled, damaged, incomplete, delayed, undelivered, or misdirected entries or photographs or for computer, technical, printing, typographical, human or other errors relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, inability to access any website associated with the Contest, errors which may occur in the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes or in any Contest-related materials. If for any reason the Contest (or any portion thereof) is not capable of running as planned, including infection by tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, determine winners from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of such action using judging procedure described above. By participating, entrant agrees (i) to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors and judges, which are final and binding in all respects, and (ii) to hold the Sponsors and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, prize suppliers and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective directors, officers, employees and agents of the foregoing (collectively, the “Released Parties”), harmless against any and all claims and liability arising, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, out of or in connection with participation in this Contest, acceptance and use of any prize or Released Parties’ use of any of the rights granted herein. Sponsors may disqualify (and void all associated entries) anyone from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that such person is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception or other unfair practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrant or Sponsors’ representatives or who is otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these rules. ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

WINNERS’ LIST: For the list of winners (available after November 2022), send a separate, stamped, self-addressed envelope to: BWM 2022 Birds in Flight Photo Contest Winners’ List, Attn: Marketing Department, 35 Braintree Hill Office Park, Suite 101, Braintree, MA 02184, to be received by September 30, 2022.

SPONSORS:
Madavor Media, 35 Braintree Hill Office Park, Suite 101, Braintree, MA 02184