What:

Albuquerque The Magazine presents our first-ever Pro Photo Contest. The winning images will be published in the September 2015 issue of ATM. The theme? Summertime in ABQ. The grand-prize winner will receive a $200 gift card to Camera & Darkroom, Albuquerque’s go-to shop for photography aficionados.

Who: The contest is open to Albuquerque–based professional photographers. To qualify as a professional, you must receive monetary compensation for photography work. Amateur photographers—those who do not receive monetary compensation for photography work—will not be considered for the contest.

When: The photograph must be new, original work shot during the first week of summer, June 21–28, 2015. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 3, 2015. Send your entry to prophotocontest@abqthemag.com.

Rules: By submitting an entry, you release publishing rights to Albuquerque The Magazine.

Finalists will be expected to provide a raw image to ensure compliance with the designated location and time frame requirements.

As for the image and editing:

You Must:

1. Shoot your image with a digital camera that records EXIF data.
2. Ensure that your camera date and time are set to the correct time zone before shooting. If the date recorded in your original image file is not within the specified contest dates, your entry will be disqualified.
3. Capture your image somewhere within the Albuquerque metro area, including Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Corrales, Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, Placitas, Tijeras, Cedar Crest, Sandia Park, and Bosque Farms. If the location recorded in your original image file is not within the specified area, your entry will be disqualified.
4. Shoot a single capture.
5. Submit only one image. One image per photographer will be considered. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
6. Submit your image in .jpg format no later than 11:59 p.m. on Friday, July 3, 2015.
7. Post-process your image yourself.
8. Retain your original, unedited file (exactly as recorded by your camera). Files that have been saved or altered with editing or transfer software will not be considered original.
9. Note: Third-party software including raw converters, filters, and actions are subject to the same restrictions as Photoshop: spot editing, selections, brushes, and layers containing data are grounds for disqualification.

You May:

1. Employ any feature of your camera, with the exception of combining multiple captures in-camera.
2. Use filters or utilities designed to preserve image integrity, however they must be applied uniformly to the entire image, and must not be used in a way that their use becomes a feature. No “effects” filters may be applied to your image.
3. Saturate, desaturate, or change the colors of your entry, but no selections are allowed.
4. Make basic corrections to exposure, contrast, and color.
5. Use only adjustment layers, which must be applied in “normal” mode.
6. Use RAW conversion software, as long as the changes are made globally to a single file on one layer and do not create new features or effects.
7. Include existing artwork in your entry, but photo-realistic artwork such as printed photos, monitor images, or realistic illustrations must either be clearly presented as artwork or used as a minor supporting element. Using photo-realistic artwork to simulate physical objects or backgrounds that provide the primary impact of an entry will be grounds for disqualification.
8. Request removal of your own entry during the voting period by e-mailing prophotocontest@abqthemag.com.

You May Not:

1. Crop, rotate, resize, stretch, or distort your entry.
2. Use selections or spot editing tools in post-production.
3. Use editing tools to create new image area, objects, or features (such as vignettes, lens flare, or motion) that didn’t exist in your original capture.
4. Add graphics, clip art, computer-rendered images, or parts of other photographs to your entry or its border. This includes copyright statements.
5. Submit a photograph depicting male or female genitalia, or acts of sex deemed inappropriate by magazine discretion.

Entries that violate any of the aforementioned rules will be disqualified.

Questions?

Please contact us at prophotocontest@abqthemag.com before submitting your entry.