World Oceans Day YOUTH Photo EXHIBITION

Selected images will be recognised at the Earth Ambassadeurs World Oceans Day celebration on Friday, June 7, 2024. Selected images and finalists will form part of an information exhibit in which the photos will be paired with narratives explaining the importance of the oceans to humanity and relating humankind’s positive relationship with the ocean.

Recognition and diffusion of the selected images and finalists will be widely exposed throughout the organisation’s websites, the media and the informational materials related to event. 

Submission Rules 

• This exhibition is open to entrants of all skill levels.
• Judges will select a shortlist of up to 5 images per category which will be showcased at the World Oceans Day ceremony.
• Selected images will be announced on June 8, 2024, and published online shortly afterwards.
• Entries may have been taken from any camera, film (as scanned slides) or digital.

 Photo Submission Guidelines

Entries must be saved in jpeg format and should be sized to be between 2000 and 6000 pixels in the longest dimension. Please limit your images to a maximum file size of 5,000KB (5MB). Images will be viewed on a large monitor and should be in the AdobeRGB 1998 or sRGB color space. An image should only be uploaded into one category.

Note: Entrants should retain high-resolution and RAW files, if applicable, of their submissions. In the event your submission is selected, you will be asked to submit a high-resolution image for printing and display, and, if applicable, a RAW image to check if adjustments made to the image comply with the rules.

Flora and fauna or marine life should never be stressed or endangered for the sake of a photo. Entries suspected of exhibiting the following behavior will be disqualified:

• Photographers visibly damaging the environment (e.g. gear dragging or kicking up sand)
• Animals with signs of stress (e.g. puffed puffers, inking octopus)
• Animals moved to an unnatural environment or risky location.
• Marine life being touched (e.g. nudibranchs, coral polyps, seahorse tails).
• Divers exhibiting poor buoyancy control.

Post processing images is allowed. This includes global adjustments to exposure, contrast, burning, dodging, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, and tone. Minor cleaning of images is permitted, including the removal of backscatter, dust and scratches. HDR, panoramas, focus stacking or other techniques that involve using multiple images taken at the same time and place are also allowed.

Adding, removing or moving animals, people, plants or other objects is not allowed. For example, moving a fish, removing a reef element or adding a glow to a divers torch is not acceptable. While digital manipulation is permitted, please keep in mind this not a Photoshop competition. All images should accurately represent the subject matter and nature. Images that appear to be overly processed may be disqualified at the judges’ discretion.

Photographers retain all copyrights to their images. The Earth Ambassadeurs retain the right to publish the submitted entries in any format to congratulate or feature the selected images and their respective owners, and to promote future World Oceans Day events, as well as for awareness-raising purposes for the work of the Earth Ambassadeurs. Selected images will be included in a press release for third party websites and publications in the context of congratulating and/or featuring the images, and to promote future World Oceans Day events. Strict guidelines requiring photo credit and specific one-time press release usage are issued along with the press release.

 By submitting photo(s), the entrant affirmatively indicates acknowledgment and acceptance of these Official Rules and all other terms and conditions governing the submissions.  

Details for this competition copied from the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea