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PhotoSCENE 2024-25
A Natural History Photographic Competition sponsored by Glasgow Natural History Society and the University of Glasgow School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine (SBOHVM).
This year will be the 14th running of this competition, the aims of which are to promote an interest in natural history, and the work of the School − in particular The Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment (SCENE), to promote a greater linkage between GNHS and the Institute, to provide photographs useful for publicity, and to enhance the GNHS evening talks programme.
Entry is restricted to members of the GNHS, and students and staff of the School (including Affiliates). Some of the winning entries will be published in the Glasgow Naturalist, and may also be used in the GNHS newsletter and online presence, or by the School. As mentioned last year we had very much hoped to be able to exhibit some of the entries in a local gallery but this is taking a little bit longer to organise than expected.
All photographs entered into the competition should have been taken in Scotland, or on University expeditions including those abroad, or on GNHS excursions. Permission must be given to the organisers to use submitted images for non-commercial purposes for 5 years. The copyright holder may continue to use the images for his/her own purposes.
Entries should have a natural history / biodiversity content, i.e. featuring animals, plants, fossils and / or the work of researchers and natural historians within the biological sciences − e.g. work in a lab, students on field courses etc. Scenery and landscape photographs are unlikely to be considered. All submitted photographs must have been taken within two years of the closing date. Judges, their immediate family members, and previous winning entries are ineligible to enter the competition.
Entries are limited to 5 per entrant, and must be accompanied by a note detailing the subject, when and where the image was taken, with what equipment, and any digital enhancement. Entries should be renamed with a descriptive title, e.g. not Image1.jpg but Leopard.jpg.
Simple digital enhancements are allowed, but must be declared, e.g. cropping, boosting contrast or sharpness, but wholescale alteration of pictures is not allowed. Panoramas consisting of more than one picture are acceptable as are focus-stacked images.
Entrants should ensure, when photographing animals, that as little disturbance as possible e.g. of occupied nests occurs. Photographs of Schedule 1 species in Scotland will not be accepted unless a current photography licence has been obtained from NatureScot.
Entries should be submitted to Lorna Kennedy no later than 31st October 2024. They should be submitted digitally as high quality jpegs suitable for printing, with prizes most likely to be awarded to images comprising at least 4 to 6 megapixels (6 megapixels means in practice an image with dimensions of 3072 x 2048 pixels or similar). Most modern phone cameras can produce files well in excess of this, enough for printing to A4 at 300 dots per inch. If you are in any doubt about whether an image would be acceptable, please send questions to the GNHS Photographic Convener Andy Wilson or Professor Stephen Phillips.
Prizes will be awarded by a judging committee, on the combined basis of photographic, artistic, and biological interest. The judging committee will be drawn from GNHS and SBOHVM members. The judges will be looking for images which have impact and contribute to a wider appreciation of the fragility of our natural environment. Successful conservation starts with awareness and photography is one of the foremost tools to achieve this.
As ever we are again grateful to the School for their cooperation, and organisational and financial help. The total prize fund will be £800 per year and prizes will be distributed at the judges’ discretion.
Competition results will be announced, and prizes awarded, at a members’ photographic night as part of the Society’s Winter Programme, which is usually held in the Glasgow University Boyd Orr Building sometime in February. Final details of this will be published in the GNHS winter programme of events as well as by email to members, staff and students of SBOHVM.
Previous PhotoSCENE Winners
The winning PhotoSCENE entries from each year to date can be seen here.