Amateur Travel Photography Contest

Sponsored by Aeroplan®

The Walrus Amateur Travel Photography Contest (the “Contest”) is open to all residents of Canada, excluding Quebec, who reached the age of majority in their provinces or territory of residence, as of July 1, 2011, except employees, retirees of The Walrus Foundation, Aeroplan Canada Inc. (“Aeroplan”) and their affiliates, franchisees, agents, associates, judges, dealers, representatives, advertising and promotional agencies, and members of the immediate family of these employees and retirees or any person with whom they are domiciled. Previously published and unpublished photographers may submit travel images and accompanying text providing that the submissions are unpublished works. There must be only one (1) photograph per entry.

All works that have appeared in print or on the Internet, including self-published works, as well as works that have been broadcast or delivered in front of a public audience, are considered previously published and are therefore not eligible. All entries must be original and unpublished works.

Entrants warrant they took the photograph, and own the rights to what they are submitting. Entrants will hold The Walrus Foundation, Aeroplan and their affiliates harmless from and against any and all loss, damage, costs, and other expense arising out of claims, whatever their nature, resulting directly or indirectly from breach of this warranty. By submitting their entry, entrants grant the following licenses, free of charge:

• The right to first-print publication of the winning entry. The right to reproduce and publish the entry in the magazine, on its website, and on any prospective derivative products; and
• The right to have the winner’s name and/or picture, including photograph, and/or voice used for advertising purposes related to this competition.

Submissions should be one image (and not a series). Each image in a series of images will be treated as an individual entry and will be judged accordingly. Participants may submit as many entries as they wish. For each photograph entered, entrants must pay the $25 entry fee where applicable.

Travel photography is defined as photographic images taken during travel outside the photographer’s place (city or town) of residence. Photographs can be landscapes or portraits, but they must be taken under natural lighting conditions, without the assistance of, for example, a flash. Images can be documentary or evocative, humorous or serious, but they must have as their focus a depiction of the place visited, and/or the people who live there. Images can be digitally manipulated (in, for example, Photoshop), but this should be done with the intent of correcting the colour balance or tonal properties of images, and not to collage additional elements into an image, or to create an image that cannot otherwise be recorded in a single frame in real time. Both film and digital files are eligible, but all files must be submitted in a JPEG (digital) format. Files should not be compressed.

Should participants make any false statement, they shall be automatically disqualified from the Contest. The Walrus Foundation, Aeroplan and their affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, shall assume no liability resulting from losses, delays, mistaken addresses on mail, typographical errors, technical, computer or telephone malfunctions, loss or theft of computer or telephone data, damage to software or computer equipment, fraudulent calls or any other mistake.

The Walrus Foundation, Aeroplan and their affiliates, shall assume no liability of any kind whatsoever in any cases in which their inability to act results from an event or situation beyond their control, including more particularly a strike, lock-out or any other labor dispute in their place of business or the places of business of the organizations or businesses whose services are used to hold this competition. All personal information, such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, year of birth and occupation, is collected solely for the purposes of administering this competition and shall not be used for any other purpose without your consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes. By entering, participants agree to abide by the Contest rules.

This Contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal legislation applicable.

Subject to the licenses given to The Walrus Foundation, entrants retain copyright of their entries.

To be declared a winner, entrants have to meet all the conditions described in these regulations. The prize-winner shall sign a document attesting to its or the prize-winner’s eligibility as stipulated in these regulations and releasing The Walrus Foundation and Aeroplan and their affiliates from all liability for any damage or loss resulting from participation in this Contest or arising from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize.

The prize shall be accepted as is and may not be exchanged or transferred. No substitutions will be allowed.

If the prize cannot be awarded as described in these rules, The Walrus Foundation and Aeroplan reserve the right to substitute a prize or prize component with another of comparable value. If no suitable entries are received for publication in The Walrus, the magazine reserves the right to cancel the contest. Acceptance of the prize releases The Walrus Foundation and Aeroplan and their affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, of any obligation toward the winner.

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these official contest rules, or the rights and obligations of an entrant in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein.

The personal information gathered about entrants in the course of this Contest will be used solely by The Walrus Foundation and Aeroplan for the administration of the Contest and in connection with publicity relating to the Contest.

Aeroplan is not responsible for the collection of the entries, notification of the winner or the conduct of the Contest.

• All submissions must be accompanied by the entry form, including the entrant’s name, address, phone number, and email address (for notification purposes), and credit card payment, cheque or money order where applicable.
• All submissions will be judged anonymously, so the entrant’s name may not appear anywhere on the image or in the filename.
• All photographs should be submitted as a non-compressed JPEG file of between 1.7 and 2.9 Mb, or 2,700–3,600 x 1,800–2,400 pixels (landscape or portrait orientation). Overly compressed files, and files smaller and larger than these limits will be rejected.
• All images must have been taken between January 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011 and submitted to Stacey May Fowles, The Walrus, 19 Duncan Street, Suite 101, Toronto, ON, M5H 3H1 by May 31, 2011.
• All images must be accompanied by an original statement of intent written by the photographer, not to exceed 250 words, including location and subject matter.

A fee of $25.00 (tax included) for administration purposes only is required for each entry. No entry fee in the Contest will be charged to Aeroplan members. The competition is not-for-profit, with all fees going toward covering administrative costs. Entries will not be eligible until payment has been received. Cheques, Visa, Mastercard or Amex payments, or money orders must be mailed to the above address and made it payable to: The Walrus Foundation. The entry fee will not be refunded if your submission is ineligible. All submissions are final: entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

All entries and payments must be submitted before May 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time). Entries must be postmarked by May 31, 2011 and cheques must also be dated no later than May 31, 2011. The winner will be announced on December 5, 2011 in The Walrus magazine and at www.walrusmagazine.com.

There is one (1) grand prize to be won that consists of a publication in The Walrus and at www.walrusmagazine.com, 100,000 Aeroplan Miles courtesy of Aeroplan, and an invitation to attend (with one (1) guest) The Walrus Foundation Gala in Toronto on January 2012. Odds of winning depend upon the total number of eligible entries received. Prize must be accepted as awarded, cannot be substituted, transferred, exchanged or surrendered for cash.

Aeroplan and The Walrus Foundation reserve the right, at their sole and absolute discretion, to substitute the prizes for prizes of approximately equal or greater retail value, at any time and for any reason, including, without limitation, by way of cash award.

If you are not an Aeroplan member, you can visit the Aeroplan website at www.aeroplan.com and enrol today. Aeroplan membership is free. Although online access is required in order to participate in the Contest, no purchase is required. Many public libraries, Internet cafés, retail businesses and others offer access to the Internet and a number of Internet service providers and other companies offer free email accounts. Aeroplan Miles have no cash value but are redeemable under the Aeroplan Program for flights and other rewards. The retail value of rewards obtained using Aeroplan Miles will vary depending on the Aeroplan reward schedules and other factors, details of which may be found at www.aeroplan.com. Aeroplan Miles may be redeemed only in accordance with the Aeroplan Program terms and conditions, which are subject to change without notice. Taxes, landing and departure fees, and other charges and surcharges may apply to Aeroplan reward travel, and are the sole responsibility of the winner. Full terms and conditions of the Aeroplan Program are available online at www.aeroplan.com.

The selected entrant will be notified by phone or email and instructed on how to claim his/her prize. Entrants who have not complied with these official contest rules will be disqualified. If the selected entrant cannot be located or does not respond or comply with all of these official contest rules within fourteen (14) days of notification, the entrant will be disqualified and forfeits the prize and The Walrus Foundation or its representatives may, at its sole and absolute discretion, select another eligible entrant whom The Walrus Foundation or its representatives will attempt to contact, and who will be subject to disqualification, in the same manner. Allow four (4) to six (6) weeks from the date of the draw for verification of contest winner and prize fulfilment. The winner will be contacted following verification with details on how to redeem the prize. The Walrus Foundation and Aeroplan will not be responsible for failed attempts to notify selected entrants.

Works are judged anonymously on the basis of originality, aesthetics, craftsmanship, and visual interest. Submissions are processed by judges Edward Burtynsky and Brian Morgan. Ten (10) finalists will be open to public voting from July 15, 2011 until August 26, 2011. All decisions by the judges are final, no exceptions.

Edward Burtynsky is known as one of Canada’s most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of over fifty major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Photograph: © Jim Panou 2009

Brian Morgan is the art director of The Walrus. He studied printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design and Emily Carr University (then Institute) of Art and Design. After a long stint as a bookseller in Vancouver, he worked as first a graphic designer and then an editorial designer, briefly for Saturday Night (2001), and later for The Walrus (2003–2005). With a number of talented collaborators, including Antonio De Luca and Jas Riyait, he has worked for C Magazine, Dose, and Globe Investor. Before he rejoined The Walrus in 2008, Brian was the deputy art director for Maclean’s.