2024 INTERNATIONAL PHOTO CONTEST (SCIENCE IS OUT THERE)

07-06-2024

When it comes to the term "science," many people may perceive it as an academically challenging subject that is distant from everyday life. However, in reality, science is intricately connected, both directly and indirectly, to human existence. This includes aspects such as physical health, nutrition, lifestyle, travel, communication, weather, geography, and the environment. There is a diverse range of sciences that address these facets of life. Meanwhile, photography can serve as an excellent tool for communicating various stories, and it is no exception when it comes to scientific subjects. Scientific communication through photography is an activity that involves combining scientific content, the skills of science communication, and aesthetic viewpoints. This integration aims to produce works that are not only interesting but also effectively convey scientific meanings.

The National Science Museum, Thailand (NSM Thailand) invites everyone to submit photographs capturing your perspectives, stories, experiences, or impressions relevant to science, accompanied by captions highlighting the beauty, meaning, or significance of the images. This would provide a great opportunity for the entrants to reflect on and share how these images relate to the science that surrounds us in our daily lives.

Entry Overview

⮚ Free of charge and open to international individuals (each entrant may submit up to 5 entries for each category)
⮚ Theme of the competition: Science is out there (Science one may encounter in daily life)
⮚ Category of submission: Excellent Photo
⮚ A title and description in English must accompany all submissions.
⮚ Each category awards first, second, and third place. There might also be honorable mention awards as appropriate. Award-winning and selected entries will be featured in the photography exhibition.
⮚ Please see 'Rules' below for full image eligibility criteria.
⮚ Submit online or download and fill out the application form found at https://bit.ly/3Obw6YD and send it together with image files to Email: nsmphotocontest@nsm.or.th
⮚ Deadline for submissions: 15 August 2024 (11:59 p.m., UTC+7)

Submit your entry here

Competition Category

Excellent Photo:

The panel of judges will assess all entries for an excellent award. Judging is based on the image's aesthetics, the content's accuracy, and the captions that must align with the image and be related to science. The evaluation will be conducted by a committee of experts and qualified individuals in the field of science communication. In the initial round of judging, each committee member will score each entry with a maximum score of 100 points, divided into 60 points for the image and 40 points for the caption, respectively.

Rules

⮚ All photos submitted for the Excellent Photo category must follow all the below requirements:

Must be in .jpeg or .jpg file format.
No smaller than 3000 pixels on the shortest side.
Taken by the entrant with any kind of digital camera.
⮚ All entries must have an English title of no more than 140 characters.

⮚ All entries must have an English caption of between 250-700 characters. It may include scientific facts, information, or inspiration associated with the subject matter captured in the photo.

⮚ All entries must be a fair and truthful representation of reality and the subject and/or scene, which has not been significantly manipulated or altered. Editorial alterations to photos (e.g., color, contrast, definition, shadows, highlights, cropping, leveling, etc.) are permissible if the alterations do not alter the reality of the subjects or objects of the photo.

⮚ All entries should be relevant to the designated theme/topic.

⮚ All submissions must include the following information: Name of photographer/artist, age of the photographer/artist on the day of submission, and country of residence. If the submission is a photograph of an identifiable person, people, or artwork, a photo release or consent form signed by the person, people (or the guardian of a child under the age of 18), or the owners of the artwork that has been photographed must also be included. Download the consent form here: https://bit.ly/3Obw6YD

⮚ The contest is free of charge.

⮚ By entering the competition, all entrants hereby accept these Competition Rules and Terms and Conditions.

⮚ When signing up for this competition, all entrants agree that the organizer (NSM Thailand) can process the data provided to the NSM in the submission form and during the competition. NSM needs to process the data to register entrants’ participation, judge the submissions and save what entrants have submitted, and publish submissions if they are awarded. Necessary permission, such as for photographing children's faces, is the responsibility of the author and must, therefore, be sought. All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, including the submissions from the entrants that are not selected, will be saved in our archives, and used to promote the winners and the program. Entrants always have the option to withdraw their consent and their submission from the competition.

⮚ All entries must not have received any awards from any competitions before, whether in public stages or internal competitions of associations, clubs, or any other organizations. They should have no restrictions regarding copyright from any entities. The photos must not have been published in magazines, books, or any other documents, nor published on websites and social media related to income generation or commercial purposes. This includes photographs available for sale in image banks (Stock Photo), whether in Thailand or abroad. The photographs taken with similar components, such as capturing multiple images in the same session, making minor adjustments to the components of the image, converting the image from color to black and white, cropping a new image, or photographs taken with the same components as others that have been published or awarded from any stage are also not permissible. All of these conditions are subject to the discretion of the judging committee.

⮚ All entrants should keep RAW files of their entries. In case of suspicion, the judges reserve the right to ask for photos in RAW format.

⮚ All photos must be original work, taken by the entrants. No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains. The photo must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person. AI-generated images are not permitted. The organizer has the right to remove or disqualify any relevant entry, if necessary.

⮚ Entrants will retain full ownership of the copyright for each entry that they submit to the organizer. By entering the competition, all entrants grant to the organizer the right to use, publish, and exhibit their photos either in whole or in part, and use or edit their captions for educational, marketing, and promotional purposes in any media, such as printing, websites, and exhibitions (without notice and with no fees for any of the above uses). While we make every effort to credit photographers, including in printed reproductions of their works, we cannot guarantee that every broadcast use of the photos will include the photographers' names.

⮚ In the case that entrants win multiple prizes, they will receive only the highest prize available for each round of the contest.

⮚ Entries must be submitted via the designated online form, with up to five entries for each category/age group.

⮚ Entries must be submitted by 15 August 2024 (11:59 p.m., UTC+7).

⮚ The contest winners will be announced by 1 September 2024, via https://contest.nsm.or.th/ and Facebook page NSM Thailand.

(The schedule might be changed as appropriate.)

Prizes

The first, second, third, and honorable mention places of each category and age group will receive prize money and a certificate.

Category: Excellent Photo

⮚ First Prize: $1,000 and a certificate

⮚ Second Prize: $700 and a certificate

⮚ Third Prize: $500 and a certificate

⮚ honorable mention (10 prizes): $100 each and a certificate

Award-winning and selected entries will be featured in the photography exhibition as part of the contest outreach program.

Judging the Competition

⮚ Judging criteria include the assessment of multiple components: the aesthetic beauty and quality of the photo, the title and description accompanying the photo, as well as the portrayal of a message relevant to the theme/topic of the competition.

⮚ The panel of judges includes the representatives of international organizations.

⮚ Each judge will assess and give a score to each entry via an online form managed by the organizer (NSM Thailand).

⮚ The highest score for each entry is 100 points, of which 60% (60 points) and 40% (40 points) are for the photograph and its accompanying title and description, respectively. Details of the scoring are shown in the table below:

Photograph (60 points)

• The portrayal of ideas, concepts, or messages relevant to the competition theme/topic.

• The quality and artistic value of the photograph. This includes composition, lighting, color, sharpness, and subject.

• The technique(s) employed to capture or create the photograph.

Accompanying texts (40 points)

• The portrayal of ideas, concepts, or messages relevant to the competition theme/topic.

• The construction of the messages in cooperation with the photograph, style, and expression

Key Dates

Submission Deadline: 15 August 2024 (11:59 p.m., UTC+7)

Announcement of award winners: by 1 September 2024, via https://contest.nsm.or.th/ and Facebook page NSM Thailand

For more information, please contact:

National Science Museum, Thailand (NSM)