It’s that time of year again, when the idea of a perfect photograph motivates shutterbugs all over town to outdo themselves in the name of art. Metro Detroit’s biggest and best photo contest, sponsored annually by Metro Times, brings together hundreds of works in two categories — black & white and color — by daring, inventive, hyper-achieving amateurs in a festival of poetic vision. First-, second- and third-place winners in each category, as well as runners-up, get published in our special contest edition of July 9-15. And whatever appears in print also goes up on our Web site to be seen by readers all over the world.
But absolutely every entry will be exhibited at the Detroit Artists Market (4179 Woodward Ave., Detroit), with an opening party and awards ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9. This show allows folks to appreciate the variety and scope of the entries that always give our judges more than they can handle when it comes to picking finalists. On hand to award prizes and certificates will be the contest judges and Metro Times editors. This will be one high-five evening of music and refreshments, ogling and schmoozing, wondering and grooving.
Contest judges are recruited from the ranks of Detroit professionals, artists and educators — practitioners of the art with years of experience and great expectations when it comes to standards and quality. And each year entries come pouring in from downtown Detroit, the suburbs and beyond.
If you’ve ever wondered how your work stands up in the larger scheme of things, how your carefully cropped, printed and framed shots compare to what other camera jockeys are doing, this is your chance. The excitement is there, in the air — you can feel it and, better yet, you can see it. The eyes of photo aficionados from the local, national and international scenes are waiting to scope you out.
RULES — DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES, Wed., JUNE 11, 5 p.m.
1. Eligibility: All persons are eligible except professional photographers and employees of Metro Times and their immediate families. A professional photographer is defined as a person who earns more than one-half of his or her annual income from the profession.
2. Deadline: Entries must be received by Metro Times no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2003.
3. Entries: Prints must be 8" x 10" and mounted on white mat board no larger than 11" x 14". (No framed prints, please.) Photos should not be dry mounted to board, in order to be able to remove them for possible publication; tape print to board and then mat. The front of the mat board should be free of any identifying marks. There is no limit to the number of photos each person may submit.
4. Fee: An entry fee of $5 per photo must accompany your submission.
5. Submitting your entry: Fill in an entry form for each photo submitted and affix it to the back of the entry. Additional forms may be photocopied or are available at Metro Times offices. Only those entries that are accompanied by self-addressed envelopes bearing sufficient postage will be returned. Entries may also be picked up at Metro Times from Aug. 1, 2003-Sept. 1, 2003.
6. Judging: Submissions will be judged by a panel of recognized photographers and arts professionals. The decisions of the judges are final.
7. Awards: Prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners in each category. Ten entries in each category will be awarded honorable mentions, and a selection of judges’ picks will be displayed on our Web site.
8. Announcement of winners: Winners will be honored at the Photo Show Awards presentation and party, 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 9, 2003 at Detroit Artists Market (4179 Woodward, Detroit). A selection of the winning photos will be published in the Wednesday, July 9, 2003 issue of Metro Times.
9. Ownership and publication rights: All entries become the property of Metro Times. Entrants grant permission for their photographs to be published in Metro Times and used on our Web site. Photographers retain the rights to original negatives. Metro Times and the exhibition gallery are not responsible for damage to or theft of photographs submitted.
Click here to download the entry form.
George Tysh is the arts editor of Metro Times. E-mail [email protected]
