BEFORE submitting any photography work for the photo contest please read this complete page.

Each photo contest will run from the date it is first displayed on the site and continue until the designated ending date specified by MountainHomeQuest.com.

Contest Dates: 03/01/10 through 09/01/10. All phots must be received no later than 08/1/10. Snail mail entries must be postmarked by 08/01/10.

Entry Fee: none

Eligibility: Must be 18 years or older to enter. No employees of Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, No family members or employees of MountainHomeQuest, No licensed Real Estate Agents, and no professional photographers.

Types of photos:

Photos must be North Georgia Scenery related. The beauty that surrounds us. Categories include Nature, wildlife, landscapes, old barns, farms, horses, moutain views, rivers, communities, etc. All photos must be in color and taken from 2000 to 2010 calendar year. The photo subject must be relevant to North Georgia Scenery.

Photo Formats
Entries may be color prints or digital images. Black and white images are not eligible. All photos submitted MUST BE in a JPG or GIF FORMAT ONLY.

Submitting Digital Images
Digital images may be submitted in email format to lmccurley@ellijay.com with the following information:

1. the photographer's name

2. the photographer's address (or where you would like the check sent, should you win)

3. the photographer’s phone number and email address

4. profession

5 . a title for the shot

6. subject line ”2010 Annual Photo Contest”

Digital images should be formatted to 72 dpi, no larger than 600 by 450 pixels and no smaller than 300 by 225 pixels. Images should be submitted in JPG (at high quality), or GIF format. File sizes must be less than 500K per image. Images must be in natural color. Black and white, sepia tone, and duotone images are not eligible. Digital images will not be returned.

Submitting Print Images

Mail your print images to 101 Federal Lane, Talking Rock, GA 30175

Image Modifications:
Minor digital enhancement is permitted, but images that have been significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified.
Not Permitted:
No borders or frames may be added to images; 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.
Permitted Modifications:
Images may be cropped and rotated as necessary as long as the rectangular format is maintained and the size is within the specifications above; Images may be resized as long as the aspect ratio is maintained; Red-eye removal and spot editing; One-step enhancement (such as "AutoFix", "QuickFix", "Auto Levels", etc.); Use of filters to sharpen, soften, blur, despeckle, or remove noise; 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.

Judging
Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, photographic quality, and effectiveness in conveying the impact and/or unique character of North Georgia. Photo entries will be chosen based on the quality, content, and clarity of the image. All images are shrunk down for display on the contest page, therefore try to take pictures that are still going to have good clarity and detail when viewed at a smaller size.

Photographer/Copyright

Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Do not submit a photo taken by someone other than yourself. You must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Your submission of the photo and entry form is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo.

Number of Entries

Three photos from any one person will be considered for entry into our contest. This increases your chance to win the full $500 prize.

You are allowed to submit up to 5 photo entries, but each photo must be submitted individually by email or snail mail format. DO NOT send a whole photo collection at one time on one email, or they will be discarded.

Due to the large number of photos submitted, it may take a week for a particular photo entry to appear in the web content, so be patient and check back regularly to see if your entry may be included.

Winners

The Winners of a contest are determined by MountainHomeQuest! Once we have decided which photo entry is our favorite in any given contest, the details will be displayed on the website.

Starting with the 2010 Photo Contest, the 1st Place Winner will receive $350 and a listing under the Annual Photo Contest Winner's RoundTable, while the 2nd Place Winner will receive $100 and 3rd Place Winners receive $50 and a listing under the Annual Photo Contest Winner's RoundTable.

The winning photos will be posted online. First, Second and Third Place photographs will be featured on www.mountainhomequest.com and several other owned sites. All winning photographs, along with the photographer's name, email address (optional) and information about the photo, will be displayed on the Web site as well as in the yearly calendar. There will be 3 cash winners. In addition, 9 winners will be selected to be featured in the yearly calendar along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place cash winners. Photos may be used to promote future contest.

Ownership/Use Rights
Photographers retain the copyright to their photographs. By entering the contest, photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed on MountainHomeQuest owned sites without any fee or other form of compensation, and agree that we may display winning photos in a "past winners" photo gallery and use the photos for promotion of future contests, and may make and retain copies of the photographs for archival purposes. Photos will be credited to the photographer named in the entry form.

Entries (including non-winning entries) may be selected for display or use in other MountainHomeQuest Web pages. Entrants agree that MountainHomeQuest may contact them with news, promotions, and updates. Entrants agree to be added to our contact database. We hate spam so no worries about being bombarded with email. In addition, we protect your privacy. No information will be sold or given out. In the event that ownership of any photograph submitted to MountainHomeQuest is contested in any manner, we retain the discretion to disqualify that photograph and discontinue use of the photograph.

All photos submitted are the property of the entrants and are not to be copied, unless otherwise stated. MountainHomeQuest.com can use any image submitted and display it in other areas on this Web site, but a photographers byline will be included.

Return of Photos
Photos, regardless of the medium, will not be returned. Please do not send your only copy of a photo.

Results

The "Results" can be viewed on www.MountainHomeQuest.com at end of the contest period, and the "Final Voting Results" are archived and included at the end of all contests for viewing at any time as well.

Once a photo contest has ended you can still view all of the Entries and see who the Winner was from the Photo Contest Archive.

Additional Terms and Conditions
MountainHomeQuest 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, MountainHomeQuest 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. MountainHomeQuest reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend all or any portion of this contest without notice if factors beyond MountainHomeQuest control, including technical difficulties, disrupt or corrupt the fair or secure administration or operation of the contest. Void where prohibited. No purchase or payment necessary to enter or win.

By participating in the contest, you agree to release and hold harmless MountainHomeQuest and their employees, officers, affiliates, agents, and advertising and promotional agencies from any and all damages,injuries, claims, causes of actions, or losses of any kind resulting from your participation in this contest, including infringement of intellectual property rights. MountainHomeQuest and their employees, officers, affiliates, agents, and advertising and promotional agencies assume no responsibility or liability for any damages, injuries, claims, causes of actions, or losses of any kind arising in whole or in part from this contest.

Changes to this photo contest can be made at any time without notice, and inquiries or questions should be addressed to lmccurley@ellijay.com