(New!!!) Blue Wild Photo/Video Contest

[Sheri]

For the first time ever, we are having a Photo and Video Contest! The rules are posted below. To summarize, we are having a Photo Contest (non-spearfishing theme) and Video Contest (spearfishing theme). The first place winner of each category will receive a $1,000 Divers Direct gift certificate, $500 to second place, and $200 to third place (and more prizes will be added later). Each person is allowed two entries and they must be submitted by Dec 31, 2012. There is no charge to enter. The winners will be announced at The Blue Wild on Feb 23, 2013. The winner does not have to be present to win. The photos and videos will be shown at The Blue Wild.


__________________________________________________ ______________
Photo Contest Rules
· Theme: beauty of the ocean and/or marine life in its natural state (no spearfishing)
· Photos must be taken underwater
· This is a photography contest, not a Photoshop contest, please follow these guidelines:
ALLOWED:
Global changes; color temperature, brightness, contrast, dodge & burn, sharpening, saturation, tonal adjustments, color balance adjustments and changes that can be made using a camera RAW converter
Rotation, flip and flop
Limited removal of backscatter, this does not mean removing divers, fish, etc.
Cropping is allowed but no more than 30%, judges look down on significant cropping
NOT ALLOWED:
Cutting and pasting from other images
No cloning objects or composite images (for example: moving fish or reef, adding a glow to simulate a flashlight, or adding a diver or animal silhouette in the background)
Excessive blurring or double exposures
· Original RAW or JPEG files straight out of the camera may be requested for auditing purposes for the top rated images before the winning images are finalized.
· All subjects must be alive and in their natural environment. No captive animals will be considered and no entrapment of any kind is permissible.
· All photos must be taken in a natural water environment like a lake or ocean. No pool or aquarium shots will be accepted.
· Images that have previously placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a major contest are not allowed
· Entrants, by submitting images, grant permission to The Blue Wild and Divers Direct to use the images to post winners on website/social media and/or for promotion of future Blue Wild contests. All rights remain with the photographer.
· The contest is open to all underwater photographers
· The judge's decisions are final, 4 non-partisan judges with photography experience will take part
· The best photos will be shown at The Blue Wild on Feb 23 and 24, 2013
· Send questions to contact@immersion-photography.net
File Specifications and Delivery Instructions
· JPEG images only, at least 2500 pixels on widest side, limit file size to 6MB
· Turn in by midnight December 31, 2012
· Each contestant may submit two entries
· There is no charge to enter
· Send via e-mail to contact@immersion-photography.net

__________________________________________________ ______________
Video Contest Rules
· Theme: a spearfishing “story of the hunt”
· Video may include above and below water footage
· Must show honorable and selective nature of spearfishing, no illegal or disrespectful activity
· Editing of video is allowed and expected
· Duration of the clip must be between 1:30 to 3.00 minutes
· Camera on gun, mask, head, or hand, and use of a cameraman are all allowed
· Combination of cameras is acceptable
· Fish caught against the laws of the country where video is taken (e.g. forbidden species or restricted areas or seasons) will not be accepted
· All videos must be taken in a natural water environment like a lake or ocean
· Videos that have previously placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a major contest before are not allowed
· Entrants, by submitting video, grant permission to The Blue Wild and Divers Direct to use the video to post winners on website/social media and/or for promotion of future Blue Wild contests. All rights remain with the producer.
· The contest is open to all spearfishermen/videographers
· The judge's decisions are final, 4 non-partisan judges with spearfishing/video experience will take part
· The best videos will be played at The Blue Wild on Feb 23 and 24, 2013
· Send questions to info@deepww.com
File Specifications and Delivery Instructions
· The following formats will be accepted: AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4, MPEG
· Higher definition clips may have an advantage during judging process
· Turn in by midnight December 31, 2012
· Each contestant may submit two entries
· There is no charge to enter
· Please send large files via Sendspace or Yousendit to info@deepww.com
Alternatively, upload to YouTube, mark as private and give access to info@deepww.com
Alternatively, mail flash drive or DVD to:
Dimitris Kollias/Deep Worldwide
12 Petraki Street
105 63 Athens, Greece

__________________________________________________ ______________
Special Thanks!
Thank you to Mena Olds for managing the Photo Contest
Thank you to Dimitris Kollias/Deep Worldwide for managing the Video Contest
Thank you to Divers Direct for sponsorship of the prizes!!!

.

[Kraken]

sweet!!! Im all over this!

[Freedvrjim]

Nice! What a great idea and cool way to check out everyone's videos and kill shots!
I 'm In!

[AndrewK]

Sent in some of my work sheri! Thanks for doing this!! cant wait to see some of the submissions!

Originally Posted by Kraken

sweet!!! Im all over this!

and i cant wait to see what you have up your sleeve...

[Johnoly]

Originally Posted by Sheri

The winner does not have to be present to win.

Just my 2 cents opinion, but the Blue Wild is all about Spearo(a) participation. Not being present to win really opens it up to the world wide pro photographers who have thousands of cataloged stock images banked that are shopped to magazines on a daily basis. Even their cruddy shots are better than my best shot.

Some of us spearo's may only pick up a camera when on vacation and never on our every weekend hunting dives.

Most ultra conservative pro, Nat Geo type, underwater photogs would never be captured attending the Blue Wild, rather than risk being associated with spearfishing, but I'm hoping they would show up.

No entrance fee, no need to be present...........Every pro photog would be crazy not to enter. It's a freebie !!

One other way to separate the spearo's from the pro's would be all entries are granted an unlimited license to publish and use by Blue Wild. Rookie photogs like me don't have a problem promoting the Blue Wild with photo's. Pro's do.

Again, just my 2 cents and all comments & disagreements are welcomed.

[Sheri]

Hey Johnoly,

Thanks for your input. I always welcome suggestions. I actually voted on your side (to make the winner be present), but I was out-voted by my advisers. They wanted to encourage more entries this first year.

Since the video contest is a "spearfishing theme", I think most of these guys will be at the Expo and no issues there.

With regard to the photo contest, it's possible that some pros would send in entries with no intention of being there. But I'm not advertising this anywhere but Spearboard and spearfishing magazines, so they may not know about it. Plus, I'm told that real professionals only go for contests where they get much bigger money, and they are also very wary of giving their photos to someone they are not familiar with. By the way, I do have a line that says that Blue Wild and Divers Direct have the right to use the photo/video for promotional purposes. And you are right...that does discourage pros.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes this year and make adjustments for the following year. It should be fun for everyone to see the entries this year.

Johnoly, are you submitting anything? I hope so!

[Johnoly]

Originally Posted by Sheri

...Johnoly, are you submitting anything?...

Absolutely !

I'm sending in 2 photo's . One from the Jupiter area and I think I have a killer shot from North Carolina.

I don't know if I can beat Todd Essick though. The guy both hunts fish and is an incredible photographer.

Ryan McInnis too is a top photog and hunts fish too.

There is alot of professional talent just among spearos that I think others will take one look at their entries and say " Wish I was there when that was taken !"

That's the kinda photography that will promote our sport via the Blue Wild !!

Not being entered but this sample was September 2012 California, San Clemente. Awesome dive!

[Kraken]

Sheri,
Is the video restricted to 3:00 exactly or are we able to run past that a little bit? I have one video thats about 3:30.

[Sheri]

Johnoly, that is a pretty eye-catching picture alright! Wow!

I agree with the points you are making and we will definitely "tweak"" the rules next year, including the fact that you must be present to win. I don't think Todd Essick is entering the contest...is he? We don't have very many entries, so the odds are with you!

Yes, Kraken, the video is limited to 3:00 minutes max. Maybe you can edit it down to 3:00 without losing too much? Good luck!!!

[headhunter561]

Cool contest. Hopefully I will get a chance to dust off the gopro befor years end and submit a video entry. Nolan, you will be the man to beat on the videos!

[LunkerBuster]

Damn. W Nolan's vids I'm shooting for second

[Sheri]

Got some new news here, boys and girls. We decided to extend the deadline for entries one more month to end of January 2013. This should give people more time to enter.

As I said before, we don't have that many entries so the odds are with you. This isn't meant for professionals and there is no entry fee, so if you're hesitating....DON'T!!!!

You could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Divers Direct and more!!!!

[Sheri]

More good news for the Photo and Video Contest. We got a one-week stay at Coco View Resort (in addition to the $1,000 Divers Direct gift certificate) for the 1st place winner of the Photo Contest!

And.....we got a one-week live-aboard cruise out of the Bahamas aboard Blackbeard's Cruises (in addition to the $1,000 Divers Direct gift certificate) for the 1st place winner of the Video Contest!

That really sweetens the pot for the first place winner!!! Get your entries in soon....they are due January 31. You may have a winning photo or video in your files! There is no cost to enter.

[Johnoly]

Originally Posted by Sheri

...Get your entries in soon....they are due January 31.

Sent in 2 still photos last week. But all the great video's posted this last year should really have the crowd smiling at the Blue Wild!!

[Wile E. Coyote]

Wow. With prizes like that it's almost worth buying a waterproof camera, and hoping you
win a prize

I could always borrow my boss' expensive camera at the office...if just the lens is plunged thru the surface of the water, does that picture satisfy all the rules?