The Grand River Conservation Authority’s (GRCA) 2016 photo contest has received a boost thanks to a partnership with Kitchener’s Centre In The Square that gives photographers another reason to enter the contest.
The overall Grand Prize winner will not only receive a $500 gift certificate from a local camera retailer, but will also have the chance to attend the National Geographic Live Explorer Series for 2016-17. This prize is valued at nearly $400 for two sets of tickets to hear presentations by four extraordinary explorers, filmmakers and photographers who are both documenting and helping preserve the world’s natural beauty.
The GRCA encourages participants to explore nature with cameras and submit photos throughout the contest. After the contest closes on Oct. 28, prizes will be awarded for the best photos in three categories:
– recreation: images depicting people enjoying recreational activities in the GRCA’s parks, natural areas and trails, and along the rivers;
– nature: the flora, fauna, landscapes and riverscapes within the Grand River Parks and the river system. This includes local wildlife, aquatic life, plants and studies of patterns in nature; and
– panoramic photos: The panoramic category is dedicated to wide-format landscapes or riverscapes and photos of people enjoying activities in Grand River Parks and natural areas. These can be captured by stitching multiple images together, or by using a panoramic camera.
In addition to the grand and category prizes, a Grand River Parks Membership, valued at $125, is given away at the end of each month. Each photographer who submits one or more photos during a calendar month is entered into this random draw.
So far, there have been three lucky winners – Gary Curran of Guelph (May), Ron Rhodes of Waterloo (June) and Joseph McPhail of Dundas (July). Random draws will take place at the end of August, September and October, so there are still three chances to a win a Grand River Park Membership pass. The pass provides access to all Grand River Parks for one year and comes with vouchers valued at more than $90.
This is the third time the GRCA has held a photo contest of this type. The winning pictures and a selection of other entries can be seen on the GRCA’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/grandriverconservation.
More information, including contest rules and information on how to submit photos, can be found on the GRCA website at www.grandriver.ca/photocontest. The photos will be used by the GRCA in publications and online.
The new prize, tickets to the National Geographic Live Explorer Series presentations includes:
– Nov. 30 at 7:30pm – Ocean Wild: The Light Beneath the Seas: Brian Skerry has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater using his camera to tell the story of some of the ocean’s most elusive inhabitants;
– Feb. 23 at 7:30pm – Gorongosa Reborn: acclaimed cinematographer and filmmaker Bob Poole has documented the story of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park;
– March 30 at 7:30pm – Stranger In A Strange Land: Veteran photographer Jodi Cobb takes you on a whirlwind retrospective of a four-decade career that has seen her go undercover to reveal hidden societies; and
– May 31 at 7:30pm. – Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous: In a tale for the ages, Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim recounts the discovery of what appears to be the first truly semi-aquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, a giant predator that was bigger than T-Rex.
Full details of this new prize are available online at www.centreinthesquare.com/national-geographic-live-speaker-series.
