TWiT Photo: Guest Quest

OFFICIAL RULES

Eligibility
TWiT Photo Guest Quest Contest (hereafter referred to as “The Contest”) is open to emerging photographers worldwide. The Contest defines an emerging photographer as one who has 5 years or less professional experience.  A “professional photographer” is defined as one who derives a minimum  of 51% percent of his or her total income from his or her photography career. At the time of entry to participate, you must be at least 18 years of age. Employees of TWiT LLC and Catherine Hall Studios (hereafter referred to as “Authorized Parties”) and members of their immediate families are not eligible. Void where prohibited by law or regulation.

TWiT Photo aims to foster relations with the social networking community through The Contest and requires all entrants to participate via any one of the four third party services (Google+, Facebook, Flickr and 500px).

Entrants must have the ability to appear via Skype or in person at the TWiT studio in Petaluma, CA. To appear via Skype, entrants must have hardwired DSL/cable high-speed Internet and be available for Skype testing before the show appearance can be confirmed. To appear in person, entrants must be responsible for travel arrangements, including logistics and expenses, to the TWiT studio in Petaluma, CA.

The Authorized Parties reserve the right to verify all eligibility requirements.

Entry and Deadlines
You may submit only 1 (one) entry into the contest on only 1 (one) submission platform. Duplicate submissions will result in the entrant being disqualified. Images must be 1200 pixels on their longest dimension, non-watermarked, and saved in High Quality JPG format in sRGB or Adobe RGB color space.

Submission deadline is at 11.59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on November 22, 2011 (November 23, 2011 at 7:59 a.m. GMT). Pacific Daylight Time Clock used for contest may be accessed here:  http://wwp.pacific-standard-time.com/.

Judging Process
The Authorized Parties will conduct preliminary judging on all entries. A panel of qualified judges will review the entries of all finalists and select their top choices on the basis of technique, composition, impact, creativity, visual appeal and cohesive visual style. Based on the judges’ selections, the Authorized Parties will determine the potential winner and honorable mentions in their sole discretion.

Currently, the panel of judges includes Art Wolfe, Colby Brown, Tamara Lackey, Frank Doorhof and Zack Arias. Due to judges’ varying schedules, the judging panel may be subject to change.

Prize
Grand Prize: The contest winner will appear as a guest in a Winter 2011 episode of TWiT Photo and will be featured on the TWiT blog and Catherine Hall Studios blog. The selection of the episode is in the sole discretion of the Authorized Parties.

Honorable mentions: Two additional entrants, including a selection of their work, will be featured in an article on Catherine Hall Studios blog, promoted through Catherine Hall Studios’ Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts, and mentioned on TWiT Photo.

Inappropriate Content
Obscene, provocative or otherwise questionable content may not be considered. The Authorized Parties retain sole discretion as to what constitutes inappropriate content and reserve the right to reject entries that are not submitted properly.

Copyright and Permissions
Each submitted photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material taken by the entrant of The Contest. By entering The Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does 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.

If the photograph includes other people, you must be prepared to provide a signed written model release from all persons who appear in the photograph. You do not need to send the release with your entry. If you win, we will contact you if a model release is needed.

Licenses/Releases
If the photograph contains any persons or any elements subject to the rights of third parties, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all legally binding 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.

By submitting an entry, the entrant grants to the Authorized Parties an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use his/her name, city, state and country of residence for credit purposes on any TWiT Photo programming; TWiT’s websites; Catherine Hall Studios blog and Catherine Hall Studios’ Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and 500px accounts, without further compensation, notification or permission.

In addition, entrants grant to the Authorized Parties an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the photographs submitted in the entry, in any media now or hereafter known, including but not limited to: Facebook; Google+; 500px; Flickr; YouTube; TWiT, LLC; TWiT Live; TWiT Photo podcast; TWiT website; TWiT blog; TWiT social media channels; as well as Catherine Hall Studios website; Catherine Hall Studios blog; and Catherine Hall Studios social media platforms, for purposes of the promotion of this Contest and other TWiT, LLC, and/or Catherine Hall Studios’ contests and/or for purposes of advertising and promoting TWiT, LLC, and Catherine Hall Studios on any TWiT Photo programming; TWiT’s websites; Catherine Hall Studios blog and Catherine Hall Studios’ Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and 500px accounts, except as otherwise stated herein, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.

Right to Disqualify
The Authorized Parties reserve the right to disqualify any entrant who directly or indirectly tampers with the entry process, the operation of the TWiT and Catherine Hall Studios websites or any third party platform, or otherwise violates the rules. Activities that could lead to the disqualification of an entrant include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) any attempt to influence the judges, (b) creation of multiple accounts to submit multiple entries, (c) any type of activity that appears to be (or is even suspected of being) unfair, inappropriate, or gaming the system.

Limitation of Liability
The Authorized Parties are not responsible for entries that are (a) late, stolen, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, garbled or incomplete or (b) not received or reviewable due to computer, Internet or electronic malfunction. The Authorized Parties reserve the right to cancel or modify the contest and award the prize through an alternate means if fraud or technical failure compromises the integrity of the contest, as determined by the Authorized Parties in their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, you agree that the Authorized Parties and its officers, directors, members, managers, employees and agents shall not be liable for injury, losses, damages, or costs of any kind resulting from participation in this contest or acceptance of or use or misuse of a prize or parts thereof. By entering, participants agree to be bound by these rules.  In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an electronic entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the third party platform is registered.

Third Party Services
The Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Google, Facebook, Flickr or 500px. Before participating in The Contest, you must agree to the respective terms of your selected submission platform, see the Terms of Service from Google, Facebook, Yahoo and 500px. By participating, entrants agree to release, discharge and hold harmless the Authorized Parties, and each of their respective 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 The Contest or any Contest-related activities and the acceptance of any reward hereunder.

Conditions
The Contest is subject to U.S. federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries will be void if the Authorized Parties determine the entry to not be an original, or if the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft. Entrants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the Judges are final on all matters relating to the Contest; and (c) if he/she wins that the Authorized Parties may use the entrants’ name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice in any publicity or advertising relating to The Contest or future promotions without compensation or approval. In the event that the selected winner is ineligible or refuses the reward, the reward will be forfeited and the Authorized Parties, in their sole discretion, may choose to issue the award to another entrant.

Reward Notification
The winner and two honorable mentions will be notified via their respective submission platforms within one week of the winner announcement on December 6, 2011, on TWiT Photo. If the selected winner or honorable mentions do not respond within seven (07) days of the notification, the reward/s will be forfeited. The Authorized Parties, in their sole discretion, may choose to issue the award/s to another entrant.

This contest is presented by TWiT, LLC, P.O. Box 1018, Petaluma, CA 94953, and Catherine Hall Studios, 3400 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Suite 205, Lafayette, CA 94549.