Calendar Contest

theTurtleRoom 2023 Calendar Photo Submission Rules:

Please read and follow the guidelines below when submitting your photos for inclusion in the 2023 theTurtleRoom Calendar.

Photo Subject Matter & Quality Guidelines

We are looking for photos that embody theTurtleRoom's conservation mission:

• Freshwater turtles and tortoises in naturalistic settings.
• Subjects that represent a good quality example of their species. (General wear and tear is fine, but no deformities from poor husbandry etc.)
• Subjects displaying natural behaviour and not an animal displaying distress.
• Subjects in zoos and enclosures should be photographed as naturally as possible (i.e missing obvious pipe work, pond liner amd lighting etc.)
• Enough of the turtles and tortoises must be visible to determine species.
• Composition of the photo should be interesting.
• The Subject of the image should be sharp and in focus (i.e. not blurry from camera shake or too dark or bright because of poor exposure.)
• There should be no text (including date/time stamps from the camera), watermarks, or logos on the image.

Please check out our previous calendars for an idea of the kinds of photos we typically include: https://theturtleroom.org/product-category/calendars/

Image File Guidelines

Please use these guidelines when taking, editing and submitting your photos. In general the larger the photo, the better. Higher resolution, greater image dimensions and larger file sizes will help make your photo more suitable to appear in a print medium like theTurtleRoom Calendar.

• Photos must be in JPG/JPEG, DNG, RAW, or another raw image file format.
• Image file size should be at least 2MB. (The larger the better)
• Images must be in Landscape (horizontal) orientation.
• Image resolution should be at least 1024 pixels tall. (The larger the better)
• Image file name should include: the name by which you wish to be credited, and the species name of the turtle subject (i.e. Credited-name_Species-name.jpg)

Disqualification Criteria

Reasons why submissions may be eliminated from consideration, before community voting commences, include but are not limited to the following:

• Photos that do not meet the above defined quality/size requirements, and would therefore not be of sufficient quality for printing.
• No obscene images are allowed. Do not send photos containing pictures of roadkill or turtles being chopped up for food, in traps etc.
• No solicitations or advertisements are allowed in images. (The image should not have any logos, identifiable brands or products etc.)
• Photos that have been used prominently elsewhere on social media or submitted to other competitions will not be considered.
• Photos may not suggest or encourage illegal activity.

Copyright/Privacy

You must have taken any submitted photos yourself and currently own the copyright.

Do not upload photos that contain identifying information such as phone numbers, addresses, etc.

All photos uploaded for consideration in theTurtleRoom 2023 Calendar Photo Contest, regardless of contest outcome, become the property of theTurtleRoom. You will be credited if the photo is used in theTurtleRoom Calendar or for other marketing purposes within theTurtleRoom.

theTurtleRoom reserves the right to edit any submitted image to best meet our needs. (To crop or remove things and make them calendar ready.)

Deadline

The contest will begin 7/1/2022 and submissions will be accepted until 7/31/2022. After that date the submission form will be deactivated.

Voting

After the submission period ends, and all viable submissions have been identified per the above requirements, community voting will begin to determine the winners. Depending on the volume of submissions received voting will go two or more rounds. Upon the completion of community voting the winner and runners up will be contacted by a theTurtleRoom representative.

Contact Us

If you have any additional questions about submitting your photo for theTurtleRoom Calendar, please contact us at [email protected].