OfficiallyPhilippines.com Photo and Writing Contest"

Contest Rules

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OFFICIALLYPHILIPPINES.COM PHOTO CONTEST

  The best ambassadors for Philippine tourism are those who have seen, lived and experienced it themselves. We invite you to share your photos and/or put pen to paper for our "OfficiallyPhilippines.com Photo and Writing Contest".

The power of the visual arts and of the written word has often been used to promote nationalism and national fervor. Through this contest, let us change the way the world sees us and show them who we really are - a country of rich ecological treasures, colorful history, and happy people.

Help us tell the rest of the world about the beauty and excitement of the Philippines enter now. Your entry may just be the reason someone decides to come visit and see our country.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

• Photo Contest Entry Guidelines:
  
  • All photos taken must be of Philippines (the culture, tourism spots, hole in the wall places, new destination areas, etc.) as described in table 1.0.
  • Photos must be taken by the registered contestant and must not infringe the rights of any third party. For the monthly winners, entries will be sorted by date of submission:
    
    

    Table 1.0: Category Topics and Submission Timeline

    PHOTO CATEGORY	TIME PERIOD/DEADLINE
    1. Filipino Celebrations - Weddings, fiestas, etc.	December 10, 2009 - February 9, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
    2. Kaugaliang Pinoy - Filipinos are known for their warm smiles and friendly nature. Capture this and other traits that are truly Filipino (ex. Bayanihan during Ondoy)	February 10 - March 9, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
    3. Hidden Treasures - show us the other beautiful sights of the Philippines that are yet to be explored	March 10 - April 9, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
    4. Food & Places - local Filipino cuisine, colorful kakanin, cooking the old fashion way, Spanish influences on our architecture, modern Filipino architecture, Intramuros	April 10 - May 9, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
    5. Filipino Represent - artistic shots of our Flag, or other symbolisms of being Filipino (jeepneys, flag, tattoos, monuments, etc)	May 10 - June 9, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)

  • Photo entries must be uploaded on the OfficiallyPhilippines.com website.
  • Only high quality digital photo file(s) in JPEG or TIFF format will be accepted; No larger than 2 MB, the digital photo file must have a minimum resolution of 1200 pixels by 1600 pixels with a resolution of 72 dpi. Grand prize and category winners must submit a 300 dpi resolution image prior to being awarded with the prize.
  • Photoshop may be used, but only for basic post-processing actions for contrast, color-balancing, sharpening, cropping, and dodging & burning.
  • Do not include watermarks, signatures, frames or other markings such as date and/or time stamps on the photo;
  • Photos must unpublished and also be in its final layout and should not need any form of trimming
  • No collages.
  • Each person is allowed to submit one photograph per category. All required information must be submitted for each entry to be deemed valid.
• How to enter:
  
  • Entries should be submitted via www.OfficiallyPhilippines.com
  • Participants must retain their original digital files, as they will be requested to submit a high-resolution copy (300 dpi) if they are selected as category winners. A winning photo for which the original high-resolution file cannot be submitted will be disqualified.
  • Photography Submission.. All photographs must be submitted through www.OfficiallyPhilippines.com.
  • By entering the competition you hereby accept these competition rules, terms and conditions
  • This is open to all members of the public, both Professional and Amateur photographers.
  • If you are under 16, you have your parent's or legal guardian's consent to participate in the Competition.

Contest Specifics:

• Contest Duration.

  The "OfficiallyPhilippines.com Photo Contest" will be from December 10, 2009 to June 9, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm). Specific timeline shall be based on table 1.0, above;
  
  All official photo entries may be viewed throughout the Contest Period at www.OfficiallyPhilippines.com in the photo gallery.
  
  All entries will be reviewed by OfficiallyPhilippines.com for appropriate content. Entries with content that is considered inappropriate, unsuitable and/or offensive, as determined by OfficiallyPhilippines.com will be disqualified and will be taken down from the site.
  

  Contest Duration.

  There will be five themes in a span of six months. Please see Table 1.0 found above for the category details and cut-off periods.
  

  Themes

  There will be five themes in a span of six months. Please see Table 1.0 found above for the category details and cut-off periods.
  

  Criteria.

  Entries will be judged according to the following criteria:
  
  • 50% Substance and originality
  • 30% Online votes
  • 20% Loyalty to theme and clarity (able to see the idea of the picture clearly)
  The judges will select the Grand Prize Winner from the five (5) Category Winners.
  

  Votes online.

  Thirty percent (30%) of total points will come from the number of votes for a photograph on the OfficiallyPhilippines.com website. Deadline for voting online shall be based on the schedule below:
  

  Table 2.0: Voting Timeline

  PHOTO CATEGORY	DEADLINE FOR ONLINE VOTES
  Category1: Filipino Celebrations	December 10, 2009 - February 15, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
  Category2: Kaugaliang Pinoy	February 10-March 15, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
  Category3: Hidden Treasures	March 10-April 15, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
  Category4: Food & Places	April 10-May 15, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
  Category5: Filipino Represent	May 10-June 15, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)
  Grand Prize	December 10-June 15, 2010 (on or before 11:59 pm)

  Only registered users of OfficiallyPhilippines.com will be allowed to vote.
  Each registered user will get to place one vote per day for the photo contest.
  

  Judging Period.

  The judging panel will consist of the directors of OfficiallyPhilippines.com, experts in the field and the public. To ensure anonymity during the judging phase, the judges details are not disclosed on the contest website until after the winners of the contest are announced.
  

  Announcement of Winners.

  Winners will be contacted via email and announced on the www.OfficiallyPhilippines.com website. Failure to personally pick-up the prize within a period of three weeks from time that notification is sent will be forfeited, and the photograph, which got the next highest score, will be declared the winner.
  

  Prizes.

  Table 3.0: Prizes

  2010 Photography Champion	CASH + ITEM	WORTH
  Grand Prize*	P20,000 + Thinktank Photo Camera Bag	P30,000

  *The Grand Prize winner shall be selected among the 5 category winners
  

  CATEGORY WINNERS	CASH	CATEGORY PERIOD
  Filipino Celebrations	P3,000	Dec. 10, 2009 - Feb. 9, 2010
  Kaugaliang Pinoy	P3,000	Feb. 10 - Mar. 9, 2010
  Hidden Treasures	P3,000	Mar. 10 - Apr. 9, 2010
  Food & Places	P3,000	Apr. 10 - May 9, 2010
  Filipino "Represent"	P3,000	May 10 - Jun. 9, 2010

  Claiming of Prizes.

  Claiming of prizes will be at
  
  Unit 305 Greenbelt Mansion, 106 Perea Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City 1229, Philippines
  
  OfficiallyPhilippines.com employees and those with whom they are domiciled, and their advertising agency are not eligible to enter the contest.
  

TERMS AND CONDITIONS/USES

Copyright and Permissions

• By submitting images to this contest you confirm that for each image submitted:
  
  • You alone are the author of your image and that it is your original work,
  • You are the sole copyright holder,
  • You have not licensed any rights in the image that conflict with the usage rights required by OfficiallyPhilippines.com,
  • You have the permission of any persons in the image, or if they are under 16, the consent of their parent or guardian, to grant the usage rights required by OfficiallyPhlippines.com,
  • Any of the grand prize and category winners should provide a model release form if there are any persons in the winning image.
  • You have permission from the owners of property shown in the image to grant the usage rights of OfficiallyPhilippines.com
  • That it does not include trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property rights of any other third person or entity,
  • That it does not contain names, likenesses, or other characteristics identifying celebrities or other public figures, living or dead,
  • That it has not been a winning or shortlisted entry in any other competition,
  • You will be responsible for any claim made by any third party in respect of your entry and to fully indemnify OfficiallyPhilippines.com and its sponsors in respect of all royalties, fees and other monies owning to any person or entity by reason of your breaching any of the foregoing.
  
  OfficiallyPhilippines.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry that does not comply with any of the above, even after the entry is submitted on the competition website.
  
  
• Unacceptable Content
  OfficiallyPhilippines.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry:
  
  • That contains threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic or profane content,
  • That contains any material that could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.
  
  You agree to fully indemnify OfficiallyPhilippines.com and its sponsors in respect of all costs owing to any person or entity arising by reason of your breaching any of the foregoing.
  
• Your Copyright and Moral Rights
  
  • 3.1 OfficiallyPhilippines.com respects photographers' rights and does not claim copyright for images you submit to this contest, you will retain full copyright in each entry.
  • 3.2 In addition, your moral rights are respected. Whenever your image is published by OfficiallyPhilippines.com you will be credited. Failure to publish a credit due to error or oversight shall not be deemed a breach of this condition.
  
  
• Use of Images
  
  • 4.1 By entering this contest you agree that any and all image(s) you submit may be used by OfficiallyPhilippines.com (and it's partners) solely for marketing and promotional purposes of this contest or future contests and no other purpose, these uses include:
    
    • judging the competition,
    • displaying the entries on the competition website (and website of partners),
    • displaying the entries at public exhibitions to promote the competition,
    • displaying the entries in a book, magazine or similar.
    • publishing the entries on posters to promote the competition and website,
    • cropping and re-sizing the image as necessary to fit pre-defined formats to promote the competition and website,
    • sub-licensing the entries to the press for reproduction in connection with the competition and any related exhibition and website
    • inclusion within any materials promoting the competition or any exhibition of images from this competition organized by OfficiallyPhilippines.com.
    
    
  • 4.2 You hereby grant OfficiallyPhilippines.com a non-exclusive, irrevocable license in each Entry throughout the world in all media for uses described in 4.1 above for 18 months following the date of announcement of winners.
    For category winners, you hereby grant OfficiallyPhilippines.com a non-exclusive, irrevocable license in each Entry throughout the world in all media for uses described in 4.1 above for five (5) years following the date of announcement of winners.
    
  • 4.3 OfficiallyPhilippines.com and its Partners can assume no responsibility and are not liable for any image misuse.
    
  • 4.4 Should any image use beyond those needed to promote the contest arise, you will be contacted and given the opportunity to negotiate any such usage with the parties concerned independently of the competition.
    
  
  
• The participant grants OfficiallyPhilippines.com, free of charge, a license to use his/her entries only for use at the OfficiallyPhilippines.com website.

We've exercised based efforts to comply with details outlined in The Bill of Rights for Photography Contests (found at: http://www.pro-imaging.org/content/view/177/156/) . Thanks to Cathy Q. in guiding us! We appreciate your kind assistance on this matter.

Please email us at contest [at] officiallyphilippines [dot] com for any questions, concerns and comments.

Writing Contest : The writing contest shall begin next month, please come back for details.