Amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit images that capture the essence of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area (KMTA) or speak to KMTA’s role in preserving, promoting and protecting the national heritage area.
SUBMISSIONS
DUE DEC. 4TH, 2023
All photographs must be taken within the KMTA National Heritage Area which includes the communities of Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope/Sunrise, Moose Pass, Seward and Cooper Landing, along with the wilderness in between them.
CONTEST CATEGORIES
This year we're shaking things up with all new contest categories to encourage refreshed inspiration and creativity. Scroll down the page to learn more about each one.
3. NIGHT OWL
When the world sleeps, night owls come alive. This category invites photographers to capture the beauty and intrigue that emerges after the sun sets. Night's canvas comes with its own palette of colors, textures, emotions, and energy. Step into that space, and shed light on the magical world that exists in the dark.
HOW TO ENTER & SUBMIT PHOTOGRAPHS
1. Complete our online entry form for your photograph(s). Photographers can submit up to EIGHT (8) photos total in the categories of their choosing. Any photo taken from Jan 2023-Dec 2023 in the KMTA region is eligible.
2. Submit model releases for all recognizable people in each image.
DETAILS ON FREE ENTRY TO CONTEST
HOW THEY ARE JUDGED
Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, photographic quality, and effectiveness in conveying the beauty and/or unique character of the KMTA in one of the contest categories. Minor adjustments, including spotting, dodging and burning, contrast and slight color adjustment or the digital equivalents, are acceptable. If judges believe that a photograph has been significantly altered, they reserve the right to disqualify it.
PHOTO RIGHTS
Each photographer will retain all rights to any photograph submitted – including ownership if applicable – other than those rights licensed in the next sentence. By entering the contest, each photographer hereby grants to KMTA(i) a nonexclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, edit, distribute, publicly display the photographs submitted to the KMTA, and (ii) the right to use the photographer’s name, city and state of residence in promotions and other publications.
PRIZE INFORMATION
Winners will be notified and announced by the end of December 2023.
All winning photos will be printed professionally on metal and displayed at a handful of events in various locations throughout the KMTA region and Anchorage. The dates and locations of these photo displays is still being determined as we finalize conversations with partners, but we will update this page soon once all of the details are confirmed.
We will print the winning 1st-3rd place photos for each category along with the winning overall best in show photo. We will gift these prints to contest winners, who will be given the opportunity to sell them at our various photo displays after the contest, or keep them if they like. We will also share the winning photographers’ social media accounts and portfolio information (if available) to promote their work.
Dimensions of winning prints will be determined based on the sizing that retains the highest photo quality. In some cases, a 1st place photo may be printed in a smaller size than a 2nd or 3rd place photo, though we will strive to adhere to the following:
- Best in Show and 1st Place Photos- large size
- 2nd Place Photos- medium size comparatively
- 3rd Place Photos- small size comparatively
IMAGE GUIDELINES
- Photographs should be taken at the highest resolution possible.
- Images must be submitted digitally, labeled with the title, location, category, and artist, and the digital image size must be set at a minimum of 300 dpi and a uniform height/width of 8” by 10” or 8″ by 12″
- Photographs must be in a .jpeg format.
- Winners may be asked to provide photos in .raw format if available in larger dimensions such as 16” by 20” or 16” by 24”