Recognizing the value pollinators provide to humans and our ecosystem, Penguin Court, a preserve of the Brandywine Conservancy, and the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners, a consortium of over two dozen gardens in Westmoreland County, are pleased to host the fourth annual Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge.
Open to the public, this contest has categories for adults 18 and over and youth 17 or younger. Images must include a pollinator found and photographed in Pennsylvania, such as bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, hummingbirds, moths, or wasps in any of their life stages. Photos of people hand-pollinating plants will be considered, too; however, the person must provide written consent if they are identifiable in the image. Please do not include photographs of pollinators taken in conservatories, butterfly houses, and the like. We want to promote native pollinators.
New this year will be a contest category dedicated to moths in any of their life stages. Entrants must have captured these photographs in Pennsylvania, too.
A maximum of three entries per person can be submitted, and all photo entries must be submitted electronically by August 3, 2024. First, second, and third place winners in both the adult and youth categories, as well as honorable mentions, will be announced at the “Monarchs, Milkweed, and More” event on Sunday, August 25, 2024 at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier, PA. Additionally, first place winners in the adult and youth categories will receive a prize in the moth class.
Additional rules and regulations, judging criteria and more can be found below.
Rules and Regulations
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Include your name, address, email, phone number, and category (Adult – 18 years and over or Youth – 17 years and younger) with your submission, plus the approximate date and location of where the photo was taken. The photo must have been taken in Pennsylvania. Please do not include photographs of pollinators taken in conservatories, butterfly houses, and the like.
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A parent/guardian permission form must be submitted with each child’s entry in the Youth category. Download it by clicking here.
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Submitted photos must be named in the following format: LastName-FirstName_Submission#. Example: Doe-Jane_Submission1. Due to the volume of entries, staff cannot take time to rename submissions.
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High-resolution images are recommended (at least 1MB in size, max 20 MB).
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The photo must be in its original state and cannot be altered in any way, including but not limited to removing, adding, reversing, filtering, or distorting subjects within the frame. Modest adjustments to brightness, saturation, and contrast are permitted.
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Photographs with watermarks will not be accepted.
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All photos must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Submissions will not be accepted once the deadline passes.
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A maximum of three entries is permitted per person.
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Entries must be submitted as a PNG or JPG file via this Google form.
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Photos must include a pollinator, in any of its life stages, photographed in Pennsylvania. Suggested subjects include bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, hummingbirds, moths, wasps, or even people hand-pollinating plants. A person must provide written consent if they are identifiable in the submitted image(s).
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Entries will be judged by three representatives of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and/or Westmoreland Photographers Society.
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By entering the contest, entrants agree that photos submitted can be used by Penguin Court, Brandywine Conservancy, and Westmoreland Pollinator Partners for marketing and educational purposes, royalty-free. Photo credit will always be given.
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First, second, and third place winners in each category – Adult and Youth – will be announced at the “Monarchs, Milkweed, and More” event on Sunday, August 25, 2024 at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier. Honorable mentions will be shared, too. Additionally, a first-place prize will be awarded to the Adult and Youth who take the best moth photograph.
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The winning photographs will be framed and on display at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (SAMA) in Ligonier, PA from August 25 – September 6, 2024. It will be the winners’ responsibility to pick up their framed photograph from SAMA, if they wish to have it.
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The prize must be collected by the winner and is non-transferable.
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If the winner is not present, they will be contacted on August 26, 2024 via email and with a phone call. If no response is received after four business days, a new winner will be selected, and the previous winner will forfeit all rights to the prize. Penguin Court and Westmoreland Pollinator Partners will make reasonable accommodations to get the prize to the winner. (Some prizes could be mailed, but plants, for example, could not.)
Judging Criteria
All photos will be judged based on the contest theme: Pennsylvania Pollinators and will include Relevancy, Originality, Impact, and Photo Quality. Each criterion has a maximum score of 25 points. The maximum score for any photo is 100 points. The three photos receiving the highest scores in each category—Adult and Youth—will place, while the photograph with the highest score in the Moth class will place.
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Relevancy (25 points): Rank the photo’s relevancy to the contest theme
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Originality (25 points): Rank the photo’s originality and creativity
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Impact (25 points): Rank the photo’s emotional impact
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Photo Quality (25 points): Rank the photo’s quality for clarity, focus and technical details
Prizes
Adults
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1st Place = “Gardening for Moths, a regional guide” book (Value $37); free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 9 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $54)
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2nd Place = “Gardening for Moths, a regional guide” book (Value $37); free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 6 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $36)
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3rd Place = “Gardening for Moths, a regional guide” book (Value $37); free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 3 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $18)
Youth
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1st Place = The Caterpillar Lab’s “Rainbow of Moths” 1000-piece puzzle (Value $35), free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 7 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $42)
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2nd Place = The Caterpillar Lab’s “Rainbow of Moths” 1000-piece puzzle (Value $35), free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 3 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $18)
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3rd Place = The Caterpillar Lab’s “Rainbow of Moths” 1000-piece puzzle (Value $35), free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 1 native plant in 3.25-inch pot from Penguin Court (Value $6)
Moth Class
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1st Place Moth Category = “Gardening for Moths, a regional guide” book (Value $37); free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 7 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $42)
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1st Place Moth Category = The Caterpillar Lab’s “Rainbow of Moths” 1000-piece puzzle (Value $35); free admission for up to 4 people to Longwood Gardens and a discount on membership (Value $100); and 7 native plants in 3.25-inch pots from Penguin Court (Value $42)
Prize Sponsors
“Monarchs, Milkweed and More: the Moths Edition” is financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program Environmental Stewardship Fund under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and conservation administered through the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Laurel Highlands mini-grant program.