Picture This

We want to make our first photo contest as simple as possible, so here goes. To submit a photograph for any or all of our five categories, send us an unmounted 5 x 7 or 8 x 10 color or black-and-white print and affix to the back of each submission the following information:

1. The category for which it is being entered.
2. Your name, address and a daytime telephone number.
3. This signed statement: "I certify that I have read the rules and agree to abide by them."

Now for the rest of the rules. The contest is open to anyone age 18 and over except Smithsonian Institution employees, their immediate families (children, siblings, parents and spouses), and others living in their households (whether related or not). No purchase is necessary. Professional photographers (meaning people who earn more than half of their annual income as photographers) are also ineligible. Please submit no more than one print for each category. Entries must have been shot and be owned by the entrant. Images previously published or pending publication are not eligible. By entering the contest, you agree that Smithsonian may publish your photograph and name and may use both in future promotions of the magazine. The magazine will not be responsible for lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected or illegible submissions, and photographs will not be returned.

Because of the large number of submissions, we will not be able to acknowledge receipt of your entry or entries. Please don’t e-mail or call us about submissions. Fifty finalists—ten in each category—will be selected by Smithsonian editors; finalists will be notified by March 31, 2004. At that time, finalists will be asked to submit an original slide, negative, or digital file. (Digital files should be not less than 300 dpi at 5 x 7 or four megabytes.) Those materials will be returned.

We will award five winners, one in each of the photo contest categories as well as a sixth, grand-prize winner. The winners of each category will receive $500. The grand-prize winner, chosen from the 50 finalists, will receive $1,000. Any taxes on the prizes will be the winners’ responsibility. Winners must sign an affidavit and license in order to receive their prizes. We will publish the winning photographs, and perhaps some runners-up, sometime in 2004.

All entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2003. Prints may be from digital high-resolution or film originals. Send your submissions by mail to Photo Contest, Smithsonian Magazine, P.O. Box 50383, Washington, D.C. 20091. Please do not use Federal Express, UPS or other overnight services. The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

The contest categories, drawn from those subjects we’re especially interested in (that are also capable of being photographed), are:

Americana—Events, objects or activities connecting the American people to their history or cultural heritage.

The Natural World—Animals, plants, landscapes, geological, natural or climatological features and scientific processes and endeavors.

People—Portraits, both studied and spontaneous, of individuals or groups from all walks of life.

The Arts—Depictions of art, sculpture, textiles, etc., and of people interacting with same or in performance.

Travel—Images that capture geography, peoples, activities and cultures in the United States and around the world.

And thanks for participating!

Carey Winfrey | READ MORE

Carey Winfrey was Smithsonian magazine's editor in chief for ten years, from 2001 to 2011.