Hidden Valleys of Southwest Wisconsin is the tourism and economic development board that has been charged by the legislature to publicize and promote the counties of Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Monroe, Richland, and Vernon Counties.

long list of rules

FOUR SEASONS IN HIDDEN VALLEYS PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST RULES

1. The purpose of the contest is to photograph unique people, interesting events and/or the captivating scenic beauty within the Hidden Valleys area of Wisconsin for promotion of the counties in southwest Wisconsin; the counties include Crawford, Iowa, Monroe, Grant, Juneau, Richland, Green, La Crosse, Vernon, and Lafayette Counties.

2. All photographs must be in color – either prints or digital; no black and white photographs will be considered. All submissions shall not be older than three years old. All photographs must be original work of the photographer. Print photographs are to have a printed label on the rear of the photograph and the label should include the title or content of the photograph, and the name and address with telephone number of the photographer. Multiple entries from the same photographer should also include numbers on the rear label. For example, ten photographs submitted – 1/10, 2/10, etc.

3. Digital photographs/images should include the name, address and telephone number of the photographer in the body of the e-mail along with the identity of the content of the photograph subject. Photographs should be formatted to 72 dpi, no larger than 600 X 450 pixels and no smaller than 450 X 358 pixels. Panoramic photos are not permitted. Images should be submitted in JPG (at high quality) or TIFF format. File sizes must be less than 500K per image. Images must be in natural color. Minor digital enhancements are permitted but images that appear to be significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified.

4. NOT PERMITTED MODIFICATIONS TO DIGITAL IMAGES:

No borders or frames shall be added.

No watermarks, signatures, or copyright notices may be added to images. All winning images will be displayed with the photographer’s name.

Adding or replacing elements in an image is not permitted.

Artistic filters are not permitted.

5. PERMITTED MODIFICATIONS TO DIGITAL IMAGES:

Images may be cropped and rotated as necessary as long as the rectangular format is maintained and the size remains within the specifications above.

Images may be resized as long as the aspect ratio is maintained.

Red eye removal and spot editing is allowed. One step enhancements are permitted (AutoFix, QuickFix, Auto Levels).

Use of filters to sharpen, soften, and despeckle is allowed.

Use of corrective functions to improve the natural appearance of the image, such as levels, contrast, brightness, curves, intensity, tone, hue, saturation, lightness, value, color balance and tint.

7. Each photograph should be submitted separately.

8. Print photographs may be submitted in 4 inch by 6 inch OR 5 inch by 7 inches. No Polaroid photographs will be accepted.

9. All print photographs and digital photographs must be mailed no later than midnight of August 15, 2007. Please mail entries to Hidden Valleys, Inc., P. O. Box 29, Richland Center, WI 53581.

10. All photographs will be the property of Hidden Valleys, Inc. to be used in any promotions whether print or television, Power Point, Internet or other promotional forms.

11. Photographs with people must be accompanied by a release form to allow Hidden Valleys, Inc., to use said photograph in promotions without liability.

12. Judging will be conducted the week of September 1, 2007. Winners will be contacted immediately upon completion of judging and no later than September 15, 2007. Please do not call Hidden Valleys, Inc., or the Board of Directors for results.

13. No entries will be returned.

14. Age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion will not be a basis for disqualification.

15. Winners will be invited to the annual meeting of Hidden Valleys, Inc., in May 2008.

16. All winning photographers will be recognized in resultant publicity with a by-line.

17. Judging will be based on creativity, photographic quality, and effectiveness of conveying the beauty and/or the uniqueness of southwest Wisconsin. All decisions will be final.

18. Hidden Valleys, Inc. is not responsible for computer system, hardware, software, or program malfunctions or other errors, failures, or delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human or technical in nature. Furthermore, Hidden Valleys, Inc. is not responsible for (i) lost, misdirected, misplaced, illegible, unintelligible, incomplete or late entries or (ii) any act, failure to act, or delay regarding the transmitting or processing of entries.