2023 Celebrate Michigan Photo Contest official rules
1) NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER TO WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
2) Eligibility. Subject to the additional restrictions below, the Celebrate Michigan Photo Contest (the “Contest”) is open to legal U.S. residents (excluding Puerto Rico), age 18 years or older, who have never derived more than 15% of their annual earnings from photography or teaching photography. Employees and contractors of The Detroit News (“Sponsor”), Gannett Co., Inc., Detroit Free Press, and each of their respective affiliated companies, and advertising and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members of, and any persons domiciled with, are not eligible to enter or to win.
3) How to Enter. The Celebrate Michigan Contest will begin at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) May 26, 2023 and end at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Monday, Aug. 21, 2023 (the “Contest Period”). There will be one (1) Entry Period and three (3) Contest Themes, as outlined below. During each Entry Period, entries will be accepted for any or all of the corresponding Contest Theme(s).
Contest Themes, Entry Period
All three Contest Theme contests will be conducted simultaneously:
Views and Vistas, 12:01 a.m. (EDT) May 26, 2023 – 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Aug. 21, 2023
Fur, Feathers, and Flora, 12:01 a.m. (EDT) May 26, 2023 – 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Aug. 21, 2023
Candid Captures, 12:01 a.m. (EDT) May 26, 2023 – 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Aug. 21, 2023
To enter, visit the Contest official entry page at https://detroitnews.secondstreetapp.com/2023-Celebrate-Michigan-Photo-Contest/, complete the entry form with all required information (including a photo title, caption, media release consent, your name, address, and email address), upload a photo or photos and follow all posted instructions. Click “Submit” to submit your entry.
All photos must be the sole, original work of the entrant, and must have been shot on or after May 26, 2018. Photos should be of a high resolution. Photos that were named finalists or winners in previous Celebrate Michigan Photo Contests are not eligible for entry. Photos with watermarks, signatures, dates, copyright notices or any other text on the image will not be eligible for prizes.
Enter as many photos as you like; however, multiple entries by means of software-generated or other automatic processes will be disregarded. You may enter the same photo in multiple Contest Themes, but a photo may not win more than one prize or be named a Finalist in more than one Contest Theme.
Photos must appear “as shot,” with only minor toning or cropping before submission. Photo effects created by a camera setting – slow shutter speed, high dynamic range, panoramic images – are eligible. Photos altered noticeably by software, or combined with other photos to make a single image, are not eligible.Photos taken by drone cameras are eligible only if the drone is registered with the FAA, was flown in accordance with the FAA’s Special Rule for Model Aircraft and federal and state laws, and did not violate U.S. airspace restrictions.
Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same email address. Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected, or illegible entries. Entries that do not comply with the provisions of these Official Rules will be disqualified.
Contestants acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall have the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, publish, promote, or otherwise display or use entries in any way it sees fit without limitation or compensation to entrants. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is alleged to infringe on any third party’s intellectual property rights, or that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, deems obscene, offensive or otherwise inappropriate for viewing by a general audience.
By entering, you agree to receive emails from Sponsor or those directed by Sponsor. You can opt out of the receipt of such emails by following the directions in any email received from Sponsor.
4) Winner Selection: Finalists. Four (4) Contest Theme Finalists will be chosen by The Detroit News photo staff from among all eligible entries received in the all Contest Themes by the following judging dates: 6/1/23, 6/8/23, 6/15/23, 6/22/23, 6/29/23, 7/6/23, 7/13/23, 7/20/23, 7/27/23, 8/3/23, 8/10/23, and 8/17/23. A panel of judges from The Detroit News photo staff will evaluate photos received as of the judging date for each respective Contest Theme according to the following criteria: 20% artistic merit; 20% appropriateness of theme; 20% technical quality; 20% originality and 20% overall appeal. Four (4) photos, one from each Contest Theme and one at-large, with the highest cumulative values on each of the above judging dates will be named the Finalists, for a total of forty-eight (48) Finalists selected throughout the Contest Period.
Contest Theme Winners. The winner of each Contest Theme will be selected by The Detroit News photo staff from among the 16 (+/-) Finalists in each and announced on or about 9/5/23.People’s Choice Awards. A ballot showing the 16 Finalists for each Contest Theme will accessible through a link at http://detroitnews.com/celebrate-michigan and open for public voting by individuals 13 years or older. The Voting Period for the People's Choice awards will be open from 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023 to 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept, 1, 2023.
Eligible voters may cast one (1) vote only for their favorite entry from the sixteen (16) Finalists in a Contest Theme. The one (1) Finalist in each Contest Theme receiving the most eligible votes will be the People’s Choice Winner, for a total of three (3) People’s Choice Winners. In the event of a tie, the People’s Choice Winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all tied entries.
Awards of Excellence. A panel of judges from The Detroit News photo staff will judge all Finalists from the three Contest Themes, except previously named Contest Theme Winners and People’s Choice Winners, according to the following criteria: 20% artistic merit; 20% appropriateness of theme; 20% technical quality; 20% originality, and 20% overall appeal. Judging will conclude by Sept. 3, 2023. The three (3) highest-scoring Finalists will be named the Awards of Excellence recipients. In the event of a tie, tied entries will be re-judged on the same criteria listed above.
Decisions of judges and Sponsor shall be final and binding in all respects. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
5) Prizes. The three (3) Contest Theme Winners and three (3) People’s Choice Award Winners will each receive $300 VISA debit cards. The three (3) Awards of Excellence winners will each receive $100 VISA debit cards. Limit one (1) prize per person.
6) Winner Notification and Acceptance. The Winners of the Contest Themes, the Awards of Excellence, and the People's Choice Awards will be notified on or about Sept. 5, 2023.
Sponsor will attempt to reach winners at the email address provided on winners’ entry form. Failure of winner to respond to such email notification within 48 hours of the date and time the email was sent, or return of email notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification of winner, forfeiture of his or her interest in all prizes, and selection of a substitute winner from among all remaining eligible entries. Winners may waive their right to receive prizes. Prizes are non-assignable and nontransferable. No substitutions allowed by winner. Prizes are not redeemable for cash. Prizes and individual components of prize packages are subject to availability and Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value. Winner is solely responsible for reporting and payment of any taxes on prizes.
Winner may be required to complete an affidavit of eligibility/liability certifying that the entrant’s submission is entrant's original work, that entrant owns right to the work, and that the entrant has complied with the Official Rules of the Contest. Winner will be required to sign a liability and publicity release (except where prohibited by law) which must be returned as directed by Sponsor. Failure to sign and return the affidavit or release, or to comply with any term or condition of these Official Rules, may result in a winner’s disqualification, the forfeiture of his or her interest in the prize, and the award of the prize to a substitute winner.
Except where prohibited, acceptance of any prize constitutes winner’s consent to the publication of his or her name and biographical information for any commercial or promotional purpose in any media, including the Internet, without further compensation. Prizes not claimed by eligible winners in accordance with these Official Rules will not be awarded and will remain the property of Sponsor
7) Participation. By participating, contestants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this Contest as solely determined by Sponsor. In the event the Contest is compromised by a virus, non-authorized human intervention, tampering or other causes beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper operation of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest. Should the Contest be terminated prior to the stated expiration date, Sponsor reserves the right to award prizes based on the entries received before the termination date.
Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries (either photos or ballots), poor quality photos, or for failure to receive entries or votes or other electronic communications due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Sponsor.
The authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry will be considered the entrant. An “authorized account holder” shall mean the natural person assigned to such e-mail account by the Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with such e-mail account. A potential winner may be requested to provide proof that he or she is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with a winning entry.
In the event of a dispute, all online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the ISP account from which they were sent. For these purposes, an ISP account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such ISP account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning ISP addresses for the domain associated with such ISP account. Any questions regarding the number of entries or votes, or the owner of an ISP account shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries or votes determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest.
8) Licensing. By entering the Contest, each contestant grants to Sponsor an exclusive, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to publish, print, edit or otherwise use the contestant’s submitted entry, in whole or in part, for any purpose and in any manner or media (including, without limitation, the Internet) throughout the world in perpetuity, all without limitation or further compensation. Each contestant further agrees that if his or her entry is selected by Sponsor as the winning entry, he or she will sign any additional license or release that Sponsor may require.
9) Construction. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.
10) Sponsor. The Celebrate Michigan Photo Contest is sponsored by The Detroit News. The decisions of Sponsor regarding the selection of the winners and all other aspects of the Contest shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the Contest.
For a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to “Winners/Official Rules” (as applicable), Celebrate Michigan Photo contest, The Detroit News, 160 W. Fort Street, Suite 300, Detroit, Michigan 48226. Questions about the Contest should be emailed to The Detroit News photo department at photoeds@detroitnews.com.