The Tropical Paradise Photo Contest 2013

January 21-March 13, 2013

The Tropical Paradise photo contest is open to everyone. Traditional film, instant film, digital, and smartphone photographs are all welcome. To participate as a photographer, you must join the NYBG Flickr Group Pool*, add your photos to this pool, and tag them #tropicalparadise.

This year's contest is all about picturing paradise: find paradise in the natural beauty of the Conservatory, be inspired by the award-winning photographs from paradises around the world, and find inspiration to picture paradise in the community of your fellow photographers in the NYBG Flickr Group Pool.

To be eligible for the contest, a photo must be taken this year during the Tropical Paradise exhibition (this will be determined by the "date taken" field on each photo's Flickr page) and should have Tropical Paradise as its topic. Each submitted photo must be taken inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory**. Contest entries will be judged in one of two categories: Macro and Sense of Place (close-up and wide shot, respectively). The Grand Prize winner in each category will be awarded a seat in the Adult Education photography class of their choice!

Each week beginning January 19, all eligible photos tagged with #tropicalparadise in the NYBG Flickr Group Pool will be discussed by a panel of NYBG photography experts, and a winner in each of the two categories will be chosen with two runners-up. Of course, you will retain copyright of any images you share. By entering any images in the contest, you grant the Garden a limited non-exclusive license to display and reproduce such images for NYBG’s promotional purposes.

The first weekly contest will begin on Saturday, January 19 and close at 6 p.m on Friday, January 25. The first week's winners will be announced on Monday, January 28. Each succeeding weekly contest will proceed in this fashion. Here is a listing of each weekly contest's important dates and times:

Week 1: Saturday, 1/19/13 - First weekly contest begins | Friday, 1/25/13 - Entries close at 6 p.m. | Monday, 1/28/13 - Weekly winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

Week 2: Saturday, 1/26/13 - Second weekly contest begins | Friday, 2/1/13 - Entries close at 6 p.m. | Monday, 2/4/13 - Weekly winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

Week 3: Saturday, 2/2/13 - Third weekly contest begins | Friday, 2/8/13 - Entries close at 6 p.m. | Monday, 2/11/13 - Weekly winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

Week 4: Saturday, 2/9/13 - Fourth weekly contest begins | Friday, 2/15/13 - Entries close at 6 p.m. | Monday, 2/18/13 - Weekly winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

Week 5: Saturday, 2/16/13 - Fifth weekly contest begins | Friday, 2/22/13 - Entries close at 6 p.m. | Monday, 2/25/13 - Weekly winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

Please note: Tropical Paradise closes on 2/24/13, but entries for Week 6 will be accepted through Friday, as noted below.

Week 6: Saturday, 2/23/13 - Sixth weekly contest begins | Friday, 3/1/13 - Entries close at 6 p.m. | Monday, 3/4/13 - Weekly winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

Grand Finale: Tuesday, 3/5/13 Weekly winners will be posted in two discussions to the Garden's Flickr Group Pool | Tuesday, 3/12/13 - Grand Prize Winners announced on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk

We hope you'll join us in this fun contest. Please let us know (chose website in the drop-down menu) if you have any questions.

**Please note: Tripods are not allowed inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

* The Garden's Group Pool is a moderated group which means that every photo submitted must be approved by an NYBG staffer. In addition we ask that you adhere to the Group's guidelines:

- Please only post photos taken at The New York Botanical Garden.

- Please remember that this is a moderated group and our approval process can take from one day to a few days (though we strive to be punctual during this contest) depending on people's health, vacation schedules, and holidays.

- No trolling. No calling people names. Keep the discourse polite and helpful. If you are mean, you will be banned.

Can't make it to the Garden, or just want to practice at home? Check out these great photo tips from professional photographer Rich Pomerantz