Proof Assignment Contest: The Story Behind the Photographs
Terms & Conditions
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Open only to individuals who are Visura Annual Members with a PLUS, PRIME, or GUILD annual membership, have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction at the time of entry, and DO NOT reside in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria. Employees of FotoVisura Inc., National Geographic Society, and related parties are ineligible. Each entry consists of a project entry form, a series of photographs, a project summary, and a first-person narrative related to the photographs. Entries must be received by 11:59:00 pm EDT August 31, 2015. Unlimited entries allowed per person. This is a merit-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of winners. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received and skill of entrant. Review full Official Rules at http://visura.co/assignments/. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sponsor is FotoVisura Inc. dba Visura, 1319 VT RT 128, Westford, VT 05494.
SPONSOR
Sponsor is FotoVisura Inc. d/b/a Visura, 1319 VT RT 128, Westford VT 05494, USA ("Sponsor").
TERM
The “On Assignment” is a resource provided by Visura.co, where Visura.co hosts, for a partner institution, a unique merit based competition exclusively for Visura’s Annual Members with a PLUS, PRIME or GUILD annual membership (the “Contest”). Sponsor and the partner institution, National Geographic Society (“NGS”), will appoint expert judges to select a winner based on evaluation of the entries against objective judging criteria. The judges are not obligated to choose a winner.
The Contest begins August 1, 2015 at 12:00:00 p.m. US Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) and ends on August 31, 2015 at 11:59:00 p.m. EDT. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules ("Official Rules"). By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a merit-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of winners. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received and skill of entrant.
WHO MAY ENTER
The Contest is open only to individuals who are Visura Annual Members with a PLUS, PRIME or GUILD annual membership, who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry, and who do NOT reside in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria. Employees of FotoVisura Inc., National Geographic Society, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether or not related are not eligible. CONTEST IS VOID IN CRIMEA, CUBA, IRAN, NORTH KOREA, SUDAN, SYRIA, AND WHERE PROHIBITED.
HOW TO ENTER
Each entry consists of a project entry form, a series of photographs, a project summary, and a first-person narrative related to the photographs. The entry is free of cost to all Visura members with a PLUS, PRIME or GUILD annual membership. Non-members are unable to submit. To enter, sign into entrant’s Visura account, visit the On Assignment page, select the Submit My Project button, select the appropriate project and confirm entrant’s submission. Each submission will include access to entrant’s Visura profile with required information, including entrant’s name, current location, nationality, bio, CV, contact information, email address, and captions for the entry.
Please know that any changes made to an entrant’s entry after submitting will be reflected in entrant’s submission for judges to see; entries may be disqualified if changes are made after the deadline.
The subject for the Contest is: The Story Behind the Photographs. One Entry per person. Each entry must comply with the following requirements (the "Entry Requirements"):
Each entry will include at least 15 and up to a maximum of 30 photographs.
Photographs must be in digital format. The photographs need not be taken with a digital camera; scans of negatives, transparencies, or photographic prints are acceptable. All digital files must be 20 megabytes or smaller, must be in JPEG or JPG format, and must be at least 1600 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 1600 pixels tall (if a vertical image).
At least 50% of photographs must have been taken within 24 months of entry and may not have been selected for a previous or alternative “On Assignment” with another partner institution.
Photographs must not be manipulated. Digitally enhanced or altered photographs (beyond the basics needed to achieve realistic color balance and sharpness) are unacceptable. Sponsor values authenticity. Deceptive images will be disqualified. Sponsor will ask winner for the RAW files, if available, to be submitted for review.
Only minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is acceptable, as is cropping; any other changes to the original photographs are unacceptable and will render the photographs ineligible for a prize.
Photographs that include sculptures, statues, paintings, and other works of art will be accepted as long as they do not constitute copyright infringement or fraud; provided entrants must be prepared to provide a release form as described below in "Release." When photographing the work of others, it must be as an object in its environment and not a full-frame close-up of another person's art.
Each photograph, in its entirety, must be original material taken by the Contest entrant. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photographs and project is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photographs do not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photograph.
Each photograph must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of Sponsor, contain objectionable or inappropriate content.
Each series of photographs must be accompanied by individual captions which are complete and accurate, sufficient to convey the circumstances in which each photograph was taken, and include the date taken and place. Disguising or misrepresenting the origin of the content is cause for disqualification.
Watermarks are unacceptable. Unless Sponsor receives non-watermarked versions of the photographs within ten (10) days following its request, the entry will be disqualified.
Sponsor reserves the right to examine the original photographs in order to confirm compliance with these rules.
Each entry must include a personal narrative between 500-800 words, written by the entrant that describes the “story behind the photographs,” meaning the photographer’s experience photographing and creating the entry.
All entries must be submitted and received by August 31, 2015 at 11:59:00 p.m. EDT. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt.
JUDGING
The entries will be judged in accordance with the following Judging Criteria. Judging consists of three (3) rounds of evaluation. In round one, a panel of photographic experts (at least one of whom will be independent of Sponsor) (“Judges”) will select fifteen (15) entries from among all eligible entries based on the following criteria ("Judging Criteria"): (1) originality of the concept and creativity of execution (30%); (2) photographic quality (40%); and (3) quality of the text narrative (30%). Previous publication will be a factor in the Judges’ decision and may have a negative effect on the final score (up to 100%) depending on the outlet and format in which the project has already appeared. Entries selected in round one will proceed to round two. In round two, the NGS editors of Proof will use the Judging Criteria to select the top five (5) entries from among the fifteen (15) entries selected from round one. In round three, the Judges will use the Judging Criteria to select one (1) winner from among the five (5) entries selected from round two. In the event of a tie, the tied entries will be re-submitted to the Judges for a re-judging between the tied entries alone. In the event that a tie remains after re-judging, the entry with the highest score in the creativity criteria will be declared the winner. Winner will be chosen on or around October 5, 2015, and notified by email. Decisions of the Judges are final and binding. If the Judges do not come to an agreed winner, NGS is not obligated to select a winner, in which case, it will be announced to the public that for this “On Assignment”, no winner was selected.
RELEASES
If the photograph contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the photograph, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the photograph in the manner set forth in these Official Rules without additional compensation. If any person appearing in any photograph is under the age of majority in their state/province/territory of residence the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on each release.
Upon Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request) a signed release from all persons who appear in the photograph submitted, authorizing Sponsor, NGS, and their licensees ("Authorized Parties") to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification at any time during the Contest and selection of an alternate winner.
Similarly, upon Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request) a signed written license from the copyright owner of any sculpture, artwork, or other copyrighted material that appears in the photograph entry, authorizing any Authorized Party to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.
Finally, upon Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request) a signed written license from the owner of any private property included in the photograph entry, authorizing any Authorized Party to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.
For the purposes of these Official Rules, the entrant will be deemed to be in receipt of Sponsor’s and/or NGS’s request or notification, (a) in the event that Sponsor and/or NGS sends the request by postal mail, five business days after the request was sent by Sponsor and/or NGS, or (b) in the event that Sponsor and/or NGS sends the request by email, on the day that the email was sent by Sponsor and/or NGS.
PRIZES
One winner will be selected. The winner will receive an invitation by NGS to feature this project or a new project on NGS’s Proof blog.
The potential winner shall be required to:
•Sign and return within ten (10) days following an attempted notification, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability Release, Warranty of Ownership and License, and Publicity Release in which the entrant warrants that he or she is the owner of all photographs (and all the intellectual property rights in the photographs submitted) and writing in the entry and grants to Authorized Parties the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, without additional compensation.
•Supply NGS with digital photograph files that are at least 2048 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 2048 pixels tall (if a vertical image) for each photograph that NGS selects for publication (up to a maximum of 10).
•Sign NGS’s Proof blogger service agreement.
Failure to execute and deliver any required documents to Authorized Parties by the specified deadline may result in disqualification from the Contest and selection of an alternate potential winner.
NONCOMPLIANCE OR RETURN OF PRIZE NOTIFICATION AS UNDELIVERABLE, WHETHER BY REGULAR MAIL OR BY EMAIL, MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AND SELECTION OF AN ALTERNATE POTENTIAL WINNER.
If the winner’s writing is published on NGS’s Proof then winner will be considered a “guest contributor” for purposes of this post and will be required to have a Proof profile. Winner will follow Proof’s instructions to provide a 2-3 sentence biography and an optional self-portrait photograph with photographer’s release.
No prize transfer, assignment, or substitution by winner permitted. If a prize (or part of a prize) is unavailable, Sponsor and/or NGS, in their discretion, reserve the right to substitute the original prize (or that part of the prize) with an alternative prize to the equal specification, unless to do so would be prohibited by law.
LICENSE
By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive license to Authorized Parties, to (1) feature the winning work on NGS’s Proof for the following one-time payment of $75.00 per photograph that NGS publishes on NGS’s Proof and $300 for the written post, and (2) reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, for no additional compensation (collectively, the “License”). Entrants consent to Sponsor doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe the entrant’s “moral rights” in their entries. Display or publication of any entry on an Authorized Party’s website does not indicate the entrant will be selected as a winner. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use as authorized by the License. Additionally, by entering, each entrant grants to Authorized Parties the unrestricted right to use all statements made in connection with the Contest, and pictures or likenesses of Contest entrants, or choose not to do so, at their sole discretion, except where prohibited by law. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use.
NGS reserves the right to edit any writing chosen to be published on Proof. If no writing is of high enough quality to be published, NGS reserves the right to interview the winner and write its own blog post.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
By entering this Contest, all entrants agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor, NGS, and their partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in this Contest or any Contest-related activities and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any prize awarded hereunder.
Sponsor and NGS assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Contest entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. Sponsor and NGS are not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrants' or any other persons' computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to this Contest.
In the case of entrants who are Australian or U.K. residents, the preceding two clauses do not operate in respect of any implied condition or warranty the exclusion of which from these Official Rules would contravene any Australian or U.K. statute or cause any part of these Official Rules to be void.
CONDITIONS
THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Entrants agree that this Contest shall be subject to and governed by the laws of Vermont and the forum for any dispute shall be the federal and state courts in Vermont, United States of America. To the extent permitted by law, the right to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries void if Sponsor or NGS determine the photograph to not be an original, or if the entries are incomplete, inaccessible or blocked, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft.
By entering, entrants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the Judges are final and binding with respect to all matters relating to the Contest; and (c) if the entrant wins that Sponsor or NGS may use the winning photographs and the winner's name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice in any publicity or advertising relating to the Contest or future promotions without compensation or approval (except where prohibited by law). All federal, state/provincial/territorial, and local taxes, fees and surcharges and taxes (whether foreign or domestic, and including income, sales, and import taxes) on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. In the event that the selected winner of the prize is ineligible, cannot be traced or does not respond within ten (10) days to a winner notification as required by the “Prizes" rules above, or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and Sponsor and/or NGS, in their sole discretion, may choose whether to award the prize to another entrant.
Sponsor and/or NGS reserve the right to verify the validity and originality of any entry and/or entrant (including an entrant's identity) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Official Rules or who tampers with the entry process. Failure by Sponsor and/or NGS to enforce any of their rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
RIGHT TO CANCEL OR SUSPEND CONTEST
If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor or NGS that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor and/or NGS reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If Sponsor or NGS elect to cancel or terminate the Contest, Sponsor and NGS will not retain any rights in the submitted photographs.
WINNERS LIST
Entrants are responsible for complying with these Official Rules. The winner will be identified on the Visura Contest website on or about October 19, 2015. The winner’s name will appear as the byline of the NGS Proof post.
DATA PRIVACY
Entrants agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest and any other purposes outlined in these Official Rules as well as the Terms & Conditions of Visura.co. The data may also be used by Sponsor in order to verify the participant's identity, postal address, and telephone number or to otherwise verify the entrant's eligibility to enter the Contest. Participants have the right to access, review, rectify, or cancel any personal data held by Sponsor by writing to FotoVisura Inc., 1319 VT RT 128, Westford, VT 05494 or sending an email to info@fotovisura.com. Personal data will be used by Sponsor and its affiliates exclusively for the purposes stated herein.
NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS: REMOVAL FROM MAILING LIST:
Any individual (or other duly authorized person) may elect to exclude the name and address of that individual from all lists used by Sponsor’s newsletter. To elect to have an individual's name excluded from Sponsor’s Newsletter, please write to: info@fotovisura.com or FotoVisura Inc., 1319 VT RT 128, Westford, VT 05494.