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.

[Adam]

I have in mind for the March contest a sign that is firmly affixed to a building. I do not believe there are any words on this sign just a model of something (not telling). Would such a sign me appropriate for this month's contest? Thanks.

If you think it fits the theme, then yes. Remember that others will be voting for your photo, and they will likely be trying to make that connection as well.

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

[elvbel]

Are panos allowed?

[Adam]

Are panos allowed?

Yes

[timmijo]

When is the last day that I can submit a photo for the May contest (Bridges)? Thanks.

[Adam]

When is the last day that I can submit a photo for the May contest (Bridges)? Thanks.

Last day of the month. This applies to every contest

so if I posted the image in the past here or elsewhere then I can not use it for this contest ?
that kinda limits me to whatever I shot yesterday lol

[Adam]

so if I posted the image in the past here or elsewhere then I can not use it for this contest ?
that kinda limits me to whatever I shot yesterday lol

There are no restrictions on that. See the first post of this thread for the full rules.

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

One entry per person per contest will be the limit.

And yeah, I also recommend that the photo you submit not be published or posted anywhere else on the web

This is why I asked, when I questioned if previously posted images weren't allowed

[Adam]

This is why I asked, when I questioned if previously posted images weren't allowed

Gotcha, but to clarify, yes you can submit previously-posted photos as long as they haven't won a prior monthly contest.

[DeadJohn]

...I also recommend that the photo you submit not be published or posted anywhere else on the web

Does this rule still apply? If I have a photo in Flickr, can I use a BB Code link to it?

I read the top post and didn't see it mentioned.

[Adam]

Does this rule still apply? If I have a photo in Flickr, can I use a BB Code link to it?

I read the top post and didn't see it mentioned.

You sure can, not a problem at all.

[JASMAZ77]

With the photo must it only have been taken in the last few weeks? or can it be of a moon and or moon landscape photo from another period in time?

[Adam]

With the photo must it only have been taken in the last few weeks? or can it be of a moon and or moon landscape photo from another period in time?

It doesn't matter when the photo was taken.

[JASMAZ77]

It doesn't matter when the photo was taken.

Ok thank you just asking, I can't enter the competition because my photo's do not have a background/landscape in it, they are just a photo's of full-moons.

[pschlute]

I can't enter the competition because my photo's do not have a background/landscape in it, they are just a photo's of full-moons

You still have the rest of February to take one