All Entries must be received by September 25, 2009.
Judging results will be posted on www.laups.org by November 22, 2009.
The entry fee is $10.00 per digital image or video. All fees are in U.S. dollars. Foreign drafts are NOT acceptable. Payment may be submitted via paypal.com to payments@laups.org or through the paypal link on the laups website competition page.
All possible care will be exercised, but no responsibility will be assumed by the Underwater Photographic Society for the loss or damage of entries in judging or transit.
Permission to reproduce any entry for the promotional purposes of the Underwater Photographic Society will be assumed. No reproduction fee will be paid.
Entries sent via mail must be sent prepaid. Videos and digital media will NOT be returned, do not send master copies of your images or videos.
This competition is open to all amateur photographers and/or videographers. The intent of this competition is to give exposure and acknowledgement to amateurs. The competition is not open to industry professionals or previous judges. The International Committee reserves the right to determine the level of an industry professional.
Previous Best of Show or first through third placed award winning entries from this or any other major competition, and previously published images are ineligible, as are images derived from the same original. The same image or any derivative thereof, cannot be entered in more than one category.
The entrant must have taken each entry, underwater while swimming in natural environments, unless noted otherwise. No pool, aquarium or pole-cam shots are allowed.
The International Committee has the right to determine if an entry has been submitted in the correct category. If an incorrect category has been entered, the International Committee reserves the right to disqualify or move an entry to the appropriate category.
The intent of the competition entries is to show the beauty of the marine environment and any models used must be clothed divers; no nudes.
Marine life should never be stressed or endangered for the sake of a photo. Entries will first be screened by a panel of conservation judges. Entries exhibiting the following behavior will be disqualified.
These conservation rules are from EPIC.
No refund will be given for ineligible entries.
In the event that an award winning entry is later found to have violated any rule, it will be disqualified, and the International Committee reserves the right to recall prizes or request reimbursement of fair market value if non-refundable prize. If an original image is requested for review, entrant has 2 weeks to comply or entry may be disqualified.
All still image entries must be in digital format. No slides or prints will be accepted. Digital files may be created from scanned film.
No image manipulation is allowed, other than the type of full-frame manipulations which happen during the computer processing of raw images, the creation of in-camera JPEGs, or the scanning of slides or negatives. These include minor full-frame changes to white balance, brightness, contrast, color, saturation, and sharpening.
In addition, minor traditional darkroom style manipulations are allowed, including cropping, B&W conversion, and dodging and burning with large, basic brushes. Complex manipulations requiring masks, advanced elements like the healing tool or clone tool, and precise brushes are not allowed. Burning simple backscatter out of a black background with a coarse brush is allowable; precisely healing backscatter in a complex background is not. The intent of this competition is to run a photo contest, not a Photoshop contest, and to keep the playing field level for those still shooting jpegs and less knowledgeable in Photoshop.
Any and all manipulation must have been done by the entrant.
The Society also reserves the right to request an original image for review in case of a dispute.
Digital entries must be no smaller than 1024x768 pixels and no larger than 3072x2304 pixels. Entries must be JPEG format. Adobe 1998 color space is suggested.
For the purposes of this competition, music rights acquisition remain the sole responsibility of filmmaker. Label each entry with entrant's name and title. Acceptable formats include: Mini DV (preferred format), DV Cam and DVD in NTSC or PAL format (No VHS formats). Multiple entries may be placed on a single disk/tape. If so, please separate categories with at least 5 seconds of black in between. Video entries will not be returned.
Acceptable HD formats:
Acceptable SD formats:
No files on CD or electronically submitted. Tape or DVD only.
Additional formating instructions: Read carefully - improperly formated tapes may not be judged.
Labeling instructions:
Macro: A view of a subject 1:6 or smaller
Wide Angle: All non-macro images. Includes close-focus wide angle and split above/below water images.
Behavior: Either macro or wide angle images taken of animal behavior.
Cold Water: Images taken in green or temperate water, such as the ocean off the West coast of North America from California to Alaska, the Great Lakes, and Northern Europe.
Marine Related Scenic: Images taken above the water (not split over/unders), taken around or on the ocean (no pool or aquariums) of marine animals, birds, places or things depicting the marine environment.
Video Raw Footage: Continuous unedited single underwater scene not to exceed 40 seconds. All of the footage must have been taken underwater by the entrant. Adding titles, music or sound effects will disqualify the entry from the VIDEO RAW FOOTAGE category. Footage entered in this category is not eligible to be entered in the Open category.
Video Open: Videos shall be less than 3 minutes in length. At least 80% of the footage, exclusive of titles and credits, must have been taken underwater. Entry must be shot and edited by entrant. Video titling must not include entrant's name. For the purposes of this competition, music rights acquisition remains the sole responsibility of filmmaker. Footage entered in this category is not eligible to be entered in the Raw category.
Digital entries may be submitted via the submission form on the LAUPS International Competition page at:
http://www.laups.org/intl_comp
Video entries, which must be on tape or DVD, may not be submitted electronically and must be submitted by mail to:
LAUPS Competition
P.O. Box 2401
Culver City, CA 90231
USA
All entries must be received by September 25th, 2009.
Payment of $10 per image or video can be made by PayPal to payments@laups.org or through the paypal link when you complete your entry form.
Good luck in the competition!
For inquires E-mail: intlcomp@laups.org.