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Below you will find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, please contact us directly or call us toll free at 1-800-563-9453.
1. Who can enter the CWF Photo Contest?
To enter and be eligible to win, you must be a Canadian resident who has reached the age of majority of the province or territory in which you reside; you must not be an employee of, a member of the immediate family of, or domiciled with an employee of any division of the Canadian Wildlife Federation or its subsidiaries, affiliates and agencies. You must be a member of CWF’s Photo Club.
2. Do I have to be a Canadian Wildlife Federation member to enter?
No, you don’t have to be a member of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, but you do have to be a member of the CWF Photo Club. Registering is easy; join today! No purchase is necessary.
3. What is the contest schedule?
Contest launch: July 1
Submission window: July 1 to September 30
Submission deadline: 11:59 p.m. EST, September 30
Winners announced: October 31
4. How and where do I submit my photo?
Beginning on August 1, all photos may be uploaded digitally to the CWF Photo Club entry page. You must already be a member of the CWF Photo Club in order to submit a photo. Registering is easy; join today! No purchase is necessary.
5. What size and file type should my photo be?
Your digital image should be saved as a .JPG (not a .JPEG) between 2 MB and 10 MB in size. The file name/label must have a suitable title. The contest photos may be used in future promotional materials, websites and other media to raise awareness and support for CWF. Unfortunately, we require high-resolution files and cannot accept images smaller than 2 MB. It is not possible to resize an image to make the file larger. If you're using a digital camera, the file size is determined right at the beginning; however, you can change the settings on your camera to increase the amount of information and detail stored and take larger file sizes.
6. Can I submit more than one entry?
Yes, we allow multiple entries per person.
7. Can a professional photographer enter the contest?
Yes, this contest is open to both professional photographers and amateur photographers.
8. Do I have to submit my photo digitally?
Yes. All photos must be submitted digitally on the entry page. In order to submit a photo you must first be a member of the CWF Photo Club. Registering is easy; join today! No purchase is necessary. Please note: when you add your credit directly onto the photo, it will limit how we can use the image. Please consider not adding your credit directly onto the photo. Credit will be added by our creative staff in keeping with our guidelines.
9. What are the five categories of the Photo Contest?
There are five sub-categories in our Reflections of Nature Photo Contest:
- Connect with Nature – Photos of Canadians of all ages enjoying nature through exploration, relaxation, adventure, family and sport. Examples: child on a hike, paddling a river, people immersed in nature.
- Canadian Landscapes – showcasing Canada’s vast and beautiful wilderness through the eye of the beholder. Examples: mountains, sunsets, skyline, waterfalls or open natural spaces.
- Focus on Fauna – capturing wildlife in Canada, from the smallest of creatures to the largest of mammals. Example: Any species of Canadian wildlife, terrestrial or marine.
- Finding Flora – exploring the beauty of Canada’s native plants of all shapes, sizes and colours. Examples: water drop on a leaf, flower in bloom or a tree in the heart of winter.
- Urban Intersection - dedicated to the intersection of Nature and Canadians within our cities and urban spaces. Show us your favourite greenspace, your urban oasis, or a surprising encounter with beautiful wildlife in an urban setting.
10. Does my submission have to be Canadian in content?
We are looking for Canadian plant and animal species along with Canadian landscapes. Species that are not native to Canada, such as giraffes or kangaroos, or non-Canadian landscapes, such as tropical beaches, do not qualify for the CWF Photo Contest.
11. What about pictures of Canadian animals in captivity?
Although zoos and farms are great places to see some of Canada’s species, a picture of an animal in captivity does not qualify for the CWF Photo Contest.
12. How are the winners chosen?
CWF has a panel of photography and design experts that will judge each photo. In order to win, the selected entrant must first correctly answer, unaided, a time-limited, skill-testing mathematical question that will be administered by telephone, e-mail or mail.
13. How will I know if I won the contest?
On or before October 31, the Canadian Wildlife Federation will contact the winner via e-mail or phone and make arrangements for the awarding of his or her prize.
14. What are the contest rules and guidelines?
A detailed list of the official rules is available online at cwf-fcf.org. Here are some of the highlights:
1. All entries must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on September 30.
2. One winner will be chosen by a panel of judges.
3. Select Winners will receive fabulous prizes and will have their photo published in the January/February issue of Canadian Wildlife magazine!
15. I keep getting an error message, "500 Servlet Exception." What does that mean?
There are a few reasons for this, none of which are your fault. Do not fear; your photo was still submitted (you can tell in the browser address bar - it should end in "/entry-completed.html"). We are waiting for our service provider to fix this issue on their end, but in the meantime, we encourage contest participants to use Chrome instead of Firefox browser.