all competitions

#contest all competition - The Animal Photo Contest 2011 brief

This is a brand new category for 2011 and is all about telling the story about how animals make our lives better! Whether it’s the wildlife in your garden or the animals at a nearby farm that make you smile, an unusual bird that made your holiday special, or a pet that has helped transform someone’s life, we’re looking for photos which show how animals have a positive impact on our lives.

As well as being a fantastic photo it should be a celebration of how amazing the animal is – and for this category we ask for 100 words explaining the story behind the photo and how the animal makes your or someone else’s life better. So if you’re 18 years old or younger on 5th September 2011 and have a special story we’d love to hear from you!

The Animal Photo Contest 2011 prizes

* Olympus SZ 10 cameraThe winner of the under Making Life Better category will receive a Young Photographer Award Trophy, an Olympus SZ 10 camera, a certificate and a special goody bag, plus a £50 voucher to spend at the finest toy shop in the world, Hamleys.

* The runner up in the under Making Life Better category will receive an Olympus VR 310 camera , a certificate and a special goody bag.

* Highly commended finalists will receive a certificate and a special goody bag.

* All finalists will be invited to the award ceremony on 16th December at the Tower of London, where wildlife presenter and film maker, Simon King OBE, will present the awards.

Getting started

You can choose any animal that you feel has made your or someone else’s life better. Think about what it is that makes the animal so special and what they have done. Perhaps you like to visit the squirrels at the local park or maybe there’s a pet that has made you feel happy after something sad has happened, or a bird that visits your garden every day that makes you smile.

We’re looking for photos that have been well considered and capture the mood or emotion of the story. When you’re thinking about what you’d like to photograph, consider the following ideas:

* Location – is there a place or area that you go to see animals? Perhaps you like to visit the squirrels or ducks at the local park or maybe you have lots of wildlife living in your back garden! What it is you like about them and how do they make you feel?

* Animal – is there a particular farm or wild animal that you see often and makes you smile, or does a pet do something special everyday that makes your life better?

* Event – is there a particular story that you want to tell us – maybe you had a lovely walk and spotted some amazing wildlife that made it extra special, or did a pet do something that made you laugh or helped you smile when you were sad about something?

Entering the Animal Photo Contest 2011

So, if you're under 19 years old on 5 September 2011 then you can to enter this category. You can enter a maximum of five pictures in this category, so choose them wisely.

Don't forget to include 100 words about your story. This will be displayed if your picture is a finalist, so say where you took the photos, why you took it and give any details you think help tell the story behind it.

A quick rundown of some of the rules...

* Entry is free.

* Don’t photoshop or change your image, we like them just the way they are.

* Make sure you have taken the photo you entered; entering someone else’s photo is not allowed.

* If you are aged 16 or under you will be asked for a parents/guardians e-mail address when you register. An e-mail will then be sent to your parent or guardian with a link to activate your account and agree to the rules, without this you won’t be able to upload photos.

* Only create one account, if you create more than one you may be disqualified.

* Upload the biggest file you have of your photo, but no bigger than 10MB.

* Please give each photo a title and write a description, these are used at the judging stage and are helpful to the judges to understand your thoughts behind your photo.

* Remember that when a photo is uploaded it is entered into the competition and cannot be changed.

* Make sure you upload your pictures before 00.01am on Tuesday 6 September 2011 (GMT) otherwise it will be too late.

Animal Photo Contest 2011 website: http://ypa.rspca.org.uk/categories/making-life-better/