This summer, we invite you to participate in the Urquhart Butterfly Garden (UBG) Photo Contest. Take your camera for a walk in the garden and share your best photos with us. We especially invite youth to participate. Courtesy of Burlington Camera, we have two cameras available for loan to groups or individuals who need them, just contact us at urquhartbutterfly@gmail.com to arrange for a time.

Entry categories:
1 – Butterflies and moths
2 – Insects, Spiders, and Bugs,
3 – Birds and Other Wildlife
4 – Plants and Flowers

Entrants:
Youth 10 – 17
Adult 18+
Please read on for contest details and how to enter.

Awards:
First Prize in Butterfly Category $100 cash
Other First Prizes Gift Certificates to value of $100
Second Prizes Gift Certificates to value of $50

Awards courtesy of:
First Ontario Credit Union; the Hamilton Conservation Authority; Royal Botanical Gardens; Canadian Tire Dundas & others.

Award Ceremony and Exhibit:
The Award Ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday September 20, 2014 at the Air Force Club on King Street East in Dundas. There will be an exhibition of the photographs for three days prior to the ceremony and 3 days afterwards.

Judges:
Sandy Bell Conservation Authority; Julie Bridger, Dundas Valley School of Art; Cathie Coward, Hamilton Spectator, Hamilton.

Judging criteria will include:
originality; composition; artistic merit & technical skill

Rules:
– Photos must be taken from the paths of the Urquhart Butterfly Garden between July 5, 2014 & August 30, 2014
– Photos are to be submitted without any digital editing beyond cropping, adjustments to exposure, sharpness, and minor colour correction.
– Entries must be received no later than August 30, 2014
– 2 photos per category (maximum 8)
– The Urquhart Butterfly garden reserve the right to use the photographs, with credit, on our web site, in an exhibition, and finalists may be published in the local newspapers. Images remain the copyright of the photographer

To enter:
In body of email include the following information: Name; Address; Telephone number; Age (if 17 or under); Date and time of day each photo was taken; plus please make a concerted effort to identify the species which is the subject of each photograph.

Entries must be received by email as digital files at urquhartbutterfly@gmail.com no later than midnight August 30.

Photos should be:
a) jpeg format
b) maximum horizontal size 1800 pixels and minimum horizontal size 1200 Pixels
c) maximum vertical size 1200 pixels and minimum vertical size 800 pixels
d) minimum resolution set at 200 ppi
f) maximum of 5mb in size

Good Luck!