2024 Photo Contest

The contest runs from Sept – August every year; entries are due in mid-August. Get your camera ready!

CCCC’s annual Photo Contest is a fun contest for both amateur and professional photographers and is geared toward photos of Yampa Valley and Rocky Mountain Sandhill Cranes.

“Sunset Snack” by Anita Merrigan; 1st Place in the 2020 Amateur Division

Eligibility:

The contest is open to all photographers. Greater Sandhill Crane photos can be submitted in 5 categories:

Yampa Valley Greater Sandhill Cranes (Routt & Moffat Counties) – Amateur Division

Yampa Valley Greater Sandhill Cranes (Routt & Moffat Counties)– Professional Division

Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes- Locations outside the Yampa Valley (open to both Amateur and Professional photographers)

Altered Reality Images of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes – locations both within and outside the Yampa Valley.

Video of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes (NEW!)

All photos submitted in any category must be taken between September 1, 2023 and August 8, 2024. Entrants must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person, or submit images that involve willful harassment of wildlife or damage to the environment by the photographer. No trespassing on private property to take photos.

Photo Subject:

Categories 1 and 2:

Greater Sandhill Cranes and/or Sandhill Crane habitat in the Yampa Valley (Routt and Moffat Counties).

Normal processing of the original file is acceptable. That includes:

Cropping,minor adjustments to color, white balance, tone, lighting levels and curves, shadows and highlights, saturation, contrast, sharpness, moderate dodging and burning, removal of dust spots and moderate reduction of image noise.

Photographs that have been digitally or otherwise altered beyond standard optimization can be entered in the Altered Reality category 4.

Category 3: Greater Sandhill Cranes found outside the Yampa Valley:

Specifically the states included in the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico. Category 3 is open to both Amateur and Professional photographers.

Normal processing of the original file is acceptable. That includes:

Cropping,minor adjustments to color, white balance, tone, lighting levels and curves, shadows and highlights, saturation, contrast, sharpness, moderate dodging and burning, removal of dust spots and moderate reduction of image noise.

Photographs that have been digitally or otherwise altered beyond standard optimization can be entered in the Altered Reality category 4.

Category 4: Altered Reality Images of Greater Sandhill Cranes found within and outside the Yampa Valley:

Specifically the states included in the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico. Category 4 is open to both Amateur and Professional photographers.

Images that display a change in natural color, form, shape or any combination of these that deny the photographic process.
Images that have been enhanced, reduced, or transformed beyond the way the subjects appear in nature
HDR frame stacking
Stitched panoramas
Images that have been manipulated by the addition, removal, or alteration (painting over, cloning, or blurring) of anything in the original subject and scene that were photographed
Added borders or filter applications
Changes in color so significant that the processed colors are widely different from the original colors
Changes in density, contrast, color and/or saturation levels and dodging and burning that significantly alter the image by obscuring or eliminating information in the picture

You may be required to provide CCCC with original image files (RAW, jpg, etc.) in the timeframe provided upon request (generally within 7 days). Judges will determine whether changes to an image are significant enough to change an entry to the Altered Reality category. Failure to provide original files may result in the disqualification of the Photograph at CCCC’s sole discretion.

Category 5: Videos of Greater Sandhill Cranes found within the Rocky Mountains:

Specifically the states included in the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico. Category 4 is open to both Amateur and Professional photographers.

NEW!!! Video Category- Videographers may submit a video to the Video Category regardless of having entered Photographs in the first three Divisions, and regardless of your status as Professional, Amateur, or Youth.

To be eligible to win a prize, all submitted videos must depict Greater Sandhill Cranes of the Rocky Mountain population and accurately reflect the subject matter. Video captured by “digiscoping” (holding a mobile phone or digital camera to a spotting scope) is allowed. Normal processing of the original file is acceptable, including:

Minor adjustments to color, white balance, exposure, saturation, contrast, sharpness
Removing sound (audio is optional)

Videos that have been digitally or otherwise altered beyond standard optimization will be disqualified. That includes:

Watermarks (text/graphic overlay)
Vignetting
Adding audio from another clip

You will be required to provide CCCC with the original Video file and additional information (generally within 7 days). The decision by CCCC to disqualify any submission is final. Videos submitted online MUST meet the following requirements: a) Depict birdlife (i.e., must contain at least one bird or bird part); b) Be no larger than 50 megabytes; c) Be an .MP4 file (preferred) or .MOV file; d) Be  3 to 30 seconds in length.

All videos must adhere to Ethical Birding Photography Guidelines: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/80d54c17/BHLMtFj6ckG8rbYfasY71w?u=https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography

Photos of cranes may include other birds and wildlife that share crane habitat.

Prizes:

Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at the Yampa Valley Crane Festival in five categories:

Yampa Valley Cranes, Amateur:

Gift certificates to PhotoGraphicsArt in Steamboat Springs, CO

1st place – $150 gift certificate
2nd place – $100 gift certificate
2 Honorable Mentions – $25 gift certificate each

Yampa Valley Cranes, Professional:

1st place – $200 cash
2nd place – $125 cash
2 Honorable Mentions – $50 cash each

Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes outside the Yampa Valley – Amateur and Professional:

1st place – $200 cash

Altered Reality Images of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes within and outside the Yampa Valley – Amateur and Professional:

1st place – $200 cash

Video of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes (NEW!):

1st place – $200 cash

All winning photos and videos will be featured on the Yampa Valley Crane Festival website and CCCC social media.

To Submit Photos/Videos:

To submit photos, please email photocontest@coloradocranes.org with the following information: photographer’s name, phone number, location of photo, date it was taken, and a title for the image for each photo, and attach each photo in jpeg format. Submissions must be received no later than August 8, 2024. Two submissions per person are allowed in each of the applicable categories. Entrants are eligible to win one prize per category.

Photo and Video Use Rights:

By submitting photos to the contest, you are agreeing to allow the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, sponsor of the Yampa Valley Crane Festival, to use your photo or video with appropriate credits on promotional materials and as part of the festival. Winning photographs and video, with credit, may be featured in national promotion of the Yampa Valley Crane Festival.