Every month, PentaxForums.com hosts an official photo contest for its members. All members are invited to participate! The contest procedure and rules are outlined in this post.

How to Submit

To submit a photo, it is enough to start a thread in the submission forum containing your photo. Note: others won't be able to view your submission until voting time.

Official Rules for PentaxForums.com Monthly Photo Contests

Please follow these guidelines when submitting entries for our monthly photo contests. Your photo may be disqualified or you may be asked to re-upload it upon any violations.

• Submit only one photo per contest
  
• Your submission must have been taken with a Pentax or Ricoh camera and match the contest theme
• Post your submission in a separate thread within the contest submission forum
• The photo dimensions must be between 300x300 and 1400x1200 pixels (WxH)
  Recommended dimensions: 1200x800 for horizontals, 800x533 for verticals
• To ensure smooth loading, photos must be no larger than 1.5MB in filesize
• We recommend that you use our attachment system to ensure you are within limits
• You may receive an e-mail or PM prior to voting time if we detect any issues with your submission
• To verify that your submission was successful, navigate to the contest submission forum and make sure you see your submission thread as well as a photo within it. Only the last photo in your first submission thread will be considered. If you did not use our attachment system, make sure that your photo can be accessed by the public (i.e. isn't behind some sort of permission-based system).
  

Fine print:

• Photos that have won a previous contest (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place) cannot be re-submitted to future contests
• Your submission must be taken by you and may not be a derivative work. Composites are allowed provided you advise in your submission that it is a composite and provided that you took all the photos that form part of the composite image.
• Photos that are Not Safe for Work/Not Work Safe (NSFW/NWS) (i.e. any form of nudity) are no longer allowed in our monthly photo contests. You may still share these photos in our Post Your Photos forum.
  
• Post-processing that enhances your submission is allowed
• Image borders are allowed, but should be used in moderation
• Submissions do not have to be taken in the same month as the contest unless otherwise specified
  
• To avoid voting bias, please do not watermark your photos with your username (but rather with your real name or website if needed)
• Do not specifically list which photo(s) you voted for or comment on others when commenting on the voting thread
• Only the first post of your first submission thread will be checked for a photo. Thus, to change your submission prior to the closing of the contest, simply edit your post. Do not reply with additional submissions.
  
• If your photo doesn't contain EXIF information, please specify the camera and lens in your thread, using the appropriate fields
• Contest start/end dates subject to change based on staff availability
  
• If your photo wins, it will be showcased in our Premier Gallery along with all previous winners. We reserve the right to permanently leave a copy of your photo in that gallery.
  We also reserve the right to publish your photo on our homepage and via social media channels. Proper attribution is guaranteed. You may request that the published photo be altered to include a copyright notice.
  
• Regarding prize substitutions: we do not guarantee substitutions if you are unable to claim your prize. International shipping is offered.
• Prior to receiving your prize, we reserve to right to ask you for a brief blog post describing the technique you used to shoot and process your photo, as well as what equipment you used.
  

Note that we use an automated system to process voting threads. Therefore, if your photo does not meet any of the submission requirements, it WILL NOT BE INCLUDED, and you may or may not be notified of disqualification beforehand.

General Procedure for PentaxForums.com Monthly Photo Contests

Note that our contest procedure has been changed as of July, 2014.

Around the first day of each month, we:

• Announce a new contest theme in a sticky thread in the main contest forum
  • As soon as the theme is announced within the users may start submitting their contest photos
• Close the previous month's contest and make those submissions visible to the public in a special gallery
• Start accepting user nominations for finalist photos from the previous month
  • Comment on others' submissions via the gallery linked above to nominate them to become finalists
  • Include the text "not a nomination" to ask a question without nominating

Following the end of the 2nd week of each month, we:

• Announce 15 finalists from the previous month's contest based on highest number of nominations
• Create a public poll to determine the winners
  • Every forum member gets one vote

At the end of the 3rd week of each month, we:

• Close the voting thread
• Announce a winner of the previous month's contest and send out prizes
  

Proper Conduct

We ask that you do not comment on which photos you voted for within our voting threads.

When submitting photos, your submission thread must have the photo embedded (i.e. IMG and not URL tags), and it must conform to the size guidelines above. You may only submit one photo per contest: if you submit more than one, then only the FIRST photo within your thread will be included.

Additionally, once a new theme is posted, the previous month's contest is considered closed. No late submissions are accepted. As a failsafe, try to have your submission in before before last day of each month. We typically don't announce themes until midnight U.S. time on the last day, but this may vary.

You cannot vote in contest polls if you registered after the corresponding contest closed to submissions.

[cruzn3]

Every month, PentaxForums.com hosts an official photo contest for its members. All members are invited to participate! The contest procedure and rules are outlined in this post.

How to Submit

To submit a photo, it is enough to start a thread in the submission forum containing your photo. Note: others won't be able to view your submission until voting time.

Official Rules for PentaxForums.com Monthly Photo Contests

Please follow these guidelines when submitting entries for our monthly photo contests. Your photo may be disqualified or you may be asked to re-upload it upon any violations. These rules will be effective starting April, 2007.

• Submit only one photo per contest
  
• Your submission must have been taken with a Pentax camera and match the contest theme
  • We must be able to verify the camera either via EXIF, or via the "Camera" field in your submission. Be sure to include the full camera name.
    
• Post your submission in a separate thread within the contest submission forum
• The photo dimensions must be between 300x300 and 1280x1024 pixels (WxH)
• For thread attachments, the thread attachment dimension limits apply (currently 1280x800 pixels)
  
• To ensure smooth loading, photo must be no larger than 1Mb in filesize
• Your photo MUST be in JPG format (so that it can be displayed inline)
• We recommend that you use our attachment system to ensure you are within limits
• You may receive an e-mail prior to voting time if we detect any issues with your submission
• To verify that your submission was successful, navigate to the contest submission forum and make sure you see your submission thread as well as a photo within it. Only the last photo in your first submission thread will be considered. If you did not use our attachment system, make sure that your photo can be accessed by the public (i.e. isn't behind some sort of permission-based system).
  

Fine print:

• Winners of previous Monthly Contests are ineligible for entry in new/current Monthly Contests
• Your submission must be taken by you and may not be a derivative work
• Photos that are Not Safe for Work/Not Work Safe (NSFW/NWS) but that do conform with our nudity policy will be linked to rather than embedded in full size voting thread
  
• Post-processing that enhances your submission is allowed
• Image borders are allowed, but should be used in moderation
• Submissions do not have to be taken in the same month as the contest
• To avoid voting bias, please do not watermark your photos with your username (but rather with your real name or website if needed)
• Do not specifically list which photo(s) you voted for or comment on others when commenting on the voting thread
• Only the latest post of your first submission thread will be checked for a photo. Thus, to change your submission, simply post it as a reply or edit the first post. Do not reply with comments, etc.
  
• Voting polls for each contest are posted the day after the contest closes to submissions (i.e. September 1st for an August contest)
• If your photo doesn't contain EXIF information, please specify the camera and lens in your thread, using the appropriate fields
• Contest start/end dates subject to change based on staff availability
  
• If your photo wins, it will be showcased on our homepage (update: as of 2010, instead in our Premier Gallery) along with all previous winners. We reserve the right to permanently leave a copy of your photo in that gallery.
  We also reserve the right to publish your photo on our homepage and via social media channels. Proper attribution is guaranteed. You may request that the published photo be altered to include a copyright notice.
  
• Regarding prize substitutions: we do not guarantee substitutions if you are unable to claim your prize. International shipping is offered.
• Prior to receiving your price, we reserve to right to ask you for a brief blog post describing the technique you used to shoot and process your photo, as well as what equipment you used.
  

Note that we use an automated system to process voting threads. Therefore, if your photo does not meet any of the submission requirements, it WILL NOT BE INCLUDED, and you may or may not be notified of disqualification beforehand.

General Procedure for PentaxForums.com Monthly Photo Contests

On the first day of each month, we:

• Announce a new contest theme in a sticky thread in the main contest forum
  
  • As soon as the theme is announced within the users may start submitting their contest photos
• Post the voting thread for the previous month's contest

At the end of the 3rd week of each month, we:

• Close the voting thread
• Announce a winner and send out prizes
  

Proper Conduct

We ask that you do not comment on which photos you voted for within our voting threads.

When submitting photos, your submission thread must have the photo embedded (i.e. IMG and not URL tags), and it must conform to the size guidelines above. You may only submit one photo per contest: if you submit more than one, then only the LAST photo within your FIRST thread will be included.

Additionally, once a new theme is posted, the previous month's contest is considered closed. No late submissions are accepted. As a failsafe, try to have your submission in before before last day of each month. We typically don't announce themes until midnight U.S. time on the last day, but this may vary.

Hi Not sure if this came up already but I'd like to submit a photo for this months contest and was wondering how I could go about verifying that I am using a Pentax camera since I will be shooting film.
I took another look at the contest rules and realized that all the photos I have been shooting and getting scanned (at a photo lab) specifically for this contest may not be eligible for entry since none of my scans include have any data imbedded that show that I am using my 645n. My question is; Do I need to include a second photo of the negative that also includes the data imprinted info on the frame edge? I am assuming that Pentax data imprinting will look different other camera brands.

[Adam]

Hi Not sure if this came up already but I'd like to submit a photo for this months contest and was wondering how I could go about verifying that I am using a Pentax camera since I will be shooting film.
I took another look at the contest rules and realized that all the photos I have been shooting and getting scanned (at a photo lab) specifically for this contest may not be eligible for entry since none of my scans include have any data imbedded that show that I am using my 645n. My question is; Do I need to include a second photo of the negative that also includes the data imprinted info on the frame edge? I am assuming that Pentax data imprinting will look different other camera brands.

This is not necessary. Just make sure that the EXIF info doesn't include the name of the scanner. As long as you specify the camera when posting your thread, you'll be fine (there's a special field for it).

[cruzn3]

Okay, thanks for your help and getting back to me so quickly.

[cruzn3]

Just posted my photo but not sure If I included everything I as a film submission. I just edited the text to include more of a description after I reread the contest rules. Please let me know if I need to do anything else. Thank you

[slr_neophyte]

Hi there...I'm having trouble attaching my photo and retaining quality. Each time I try and upload it and then preview it, the sharpness has been significantly degraded. I am exporting my original processed photo using Lightroom, and have tried scaling it down there, or even just exporting it full size. It doesn't seem to matter - EVERY time I upload my photo as an attachment to post to this contest, the quality has been severely degraded. I don't want to post a photo into a contest submission that has had its quality downgraded. What do you suggest? Please, and thanks in advance!

[Adam]

Hi there...I'm having trouble attaching my photo and retaining quality. Each time I try and upload it and then preview it, the sharpness has been significantly degraded. I am exporting my original processed photo using Lightroom, and have tried scaling it down there, or even just exporting it full size. It doesn't seem to matter - EVERY time I upload my photo as an attachment to post to this contest, the quality has been severely degraded. I don't want to post a photo into a contest submission that has had its quality downgraded. What do you suggest? Please, and thanks in advance!

Your uploads are only modified (scaled) if they exceed the max attachment size of 1280x800 pixels, or 900kb. Make sure your under that limit and the quality won't change

[slr_neophyte]

Your uploads are only modified (scaled) if they exceed the max attachment size of 1280x800 pixels, or 900kb. Make sure your under that limit and the quality won't change

Even when I have scaled down the photo myself to under 800 kb....your system still downsizes it to less than 200 kb upon uploading it to the site. I still notice differences in quality of the photo when this happens.

[Adam]

Even when I have scaled down the photo myself to under 800 kb....your system still downsizes it to less than 200 kb upon uploading it to the site. I still notice differences in quality of the photo when this happens.

Sounds like you're still over the limit, otherwise it wouldn't be scaled

Try adding it to a zip file and attaching it in this thread and I will take a look.

[slr_neophyte]

Sounds like you're still over the limit, otherwise it wouldn't be scaled

Try adding it to a zip file and attaching it in this thread and I will take a look.

Here is the zip file.

[slr_neophyte]

Try adding it to a zip file and attaching it in this thread and I will take a look.

Hi Adam, I've attached the zip file. Have you had a chance to take a look at it yet?

Thanks

[Adam]

Hi Adam, I've attached the zip file. Have you had a chance to take a look at it yet?

Thanks

I just did. The file is 2747x1819 pixels, which is over the limit of 1280x800. Thus it got scaled

[nixcamic]

Question, am I good to use a GX-10 (Samsung rebranded K10D) with a Pentax lens in this contest, or does it have to be from a Pentax branded Pentax?

[Adam]

Question, am I good to use a GX-10 (Samsung rebranded K10D) with a Pentax lens in this contest, or does it have to be from a Pentax branded Pentax?

Yes

[cmar]

I entered the September "birds" contest but despite multiple attempts to attach my photo to my post, it just wouldn't stick despite it going into my space allowance. Now that I look in voting I see that it still isn't there ?? I've never had a problem atrtaching photos in other sections, what went wrong?

[Adam]

I entered the September "birds" contest but despite multiple attempts to attach my photo to my post, it just wouldn't stick despite it going into my space allowance. Now that I look in voting I see that it still isn't there ?? I've never had a problem atrtaching photos in other sections, what went wrong?

Hard to say, but did you remember to fully upload the file and then save your post? If you just put in the filename without hitting upload, or if you upload the file without saving the post, it won't actually be saved.