Audubon's "Birds in Focus" Deadline is September 7th!

Before I tell you about the contest (and the fast-approaching deadline) let me tell you that this amazing photograph was made by Rob Palmer and was not only published on the cover of Audubon magazine, but was also featured in my book Winning Digital Photo Contests. It was actually one of the first photos I chose for the book and the minute that I saw it I knew I wanted it in the book! The intensity of this moment, so perfectly captured, is what bird photography is all about. (Photo Copyright Rob Palmer.)

OK, now, if you're a bird photographer and you haven't already entered this year's Audubon contest (which is co-sponsored by Nature's Best Magazine--a wonderful nature magazine that features some of the best work in the world, beautifully reproduced), then now is the time: the contest closes on September 7th. One interesting note here is that there is a fee if you enter online, but if you mail prints, it's free to enter. So read the details and see which works best for you--but keep the deadline in mind.

Here's the info, direct from the contest site:

Each participant can submit up to 10 photos, so you have 10 chances to win. Your winning entry will appear in the January-February 2011 issue of Audubon and in Nature’s Best Photography.
Deadline: September 7, 2010
Categories:
Professional (18 or older who has made $5,000 or more in past year on photography)
Amateur (18 or older who has made between zero and $4,999 in past year on photography)
Youth (13 to 17 years old as of May 15, 2010)
Two ways to enter:
1. Submit your digital photographs online and pay a fee: CLICK HERE
2. Mail paper prints for free: CLICK HERE

No purchase necessary. Contest begins 05/15/10 and ends 09/07/10. Must be at least 13 years of age and a legal resident of the U.S. or Canada (excluding Quebec) to enter. Entrants under the age of majority must get permission from their parent or legal guardian to enter the Contest and provide payment information. See Official Rules for complete details and how to enter without paying the entry fee. Void where prohibited.

Nature Conservancy's 5th Annual Photo Contest

The Nature Conservancy's 5th Annual Photo Contest is underway and if your picture is a winner, it will be printed in the 2012 Nature Conservancy calendar that reaches nearly two million households worldwide. In addition, winning photos will be featured on The Nature Conservancy's website, www.nature.org, which is visited by more than three million people annually. They are looking for "...beautiful nature photography representing the diversity of life on Earth." That's a pretty broad invitation should provide lots of subject matter possibilities for you.

Entering the contest is really simple--you can just upload your photos to their Flickr account:  the Conservancy's Flickr™ group and tag them with PhotoContest-TNC10. Not familiar with Flickr? Find out more about this easy way to enter.

If you need ideas or inspiration, or want to see who your competition is, just check out their Flickr site. I love this idea of using a Flickr site to run a contest because it gives everyone a chance to see what other photographers are entering.

Deadline for the contest is October 4, 2010. The complete rules are here:  review the full rules.

Contest Tip: When it comes to entering nature competitions, remember that you want to avoid any sign of humanity or civilization or what judges call "the hand of man." In other words, you don't want a beautiful shot of an sunset with a telephone pole in the distance. Try to be sure that everything in your photos is completely natural and related to your subject. Is it fair to clone out a stray piece of garbage or a telephone pole? Read the rules--some contests allow minor retouching to remove human blips, others don't. Above all: be honest if you did any retouching, especially cloning.