1. Take a photo of wildlife you see on the grounds of any USC campus. (Note: respect their boundaries! Do not hurt, touch, harass or unnecessarily cause stress to animals while photographing.) The wildlife must be alive at the time of the photograph. Any image of deceased wildlife will be disqualified.
2. Submit an entry form with a high-resolution JPEG (minimum 300 dpi resolution) copy of your photo resized to 3000pixels on the longest side. There is a maximum file size limit of 10MB. If you have multiple images to enter please send them in separate entry forms. (Note: We may ask you to re-submit your photo if you don't send us an image with a high enough resolution or it does not meet the required size dimensions, please do not use your mobile phone.)
3. Entries are limited to a total of three photographs per student.  Note: If more than three entries are received, the first three will be counted as that student's entries.

Prize nomination period

The prize nomination period is open now and ends at midnight 31 October 2021.

Prize

Winners will receive:

1st prize: A$1,000 cash 
2nd prize: A$300 cash 
3rd prize: A$200 cash 

Windows Desktop Prize 

A new category this year is the Windows Login Image prize. USC IT will select an appropriate image to roll out for their next Windows upgrade which will sit as the background to the login page on all USC Windows computers (in computer labs and staff computers). The image needs to be horizontal and proportional to most PC screens, clean and clear with enough negative space for text such as the USC Logo and clock. This prize will be awarded at the discretion of the USC IT Services panel and will not be offered if a suitable image is not presented. The image will be installed on Windows computers across all USC campuses prior to the 2022 academic year and remain in place until the next upgrade is scheduled. 

Entry requirements

• You must be a student currently enrolled at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Please ensure you provide your current student ID number with the title and description of your competition photo/s.
• The prize is open to individual entries only, no group entries will be considered valid.
• Please note your image may be posted to the University of the Sunshine Coast’s social media feeds, including, but not limited to: Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram. (Appropriate credits will be included.)

Technical quality details

• You are welcome to use post-production software to crop, adjust colour and contrast however, please do not manipulate the image to add extra contents using editing software.

• The image should be sharp - the main subject of the image should be in focus and correctly exposed.

Judging criteria

The judges are a panel of USC staff from both Creative Industries and Animal Ecology Disciplines. Based on the eligibility and selection criteria, a group of finalists will be selected and the top three awardees selected to receive the 'Prize'.

All contest entries will be judged on:

• Technical quality (Exposure, colour, and focus accuracy)
• Composition (Balance, colour and colour harmony (e.g. subject placement and compelling composition)
• Originality (The Photographers unique/individual approach)
• Artistic merit (Perceived quality/value as a work of art (e.g. viewer impact, positive engagement))

Winner notification

Winners will be announced at the Design Showcase at the USC Art Gallery on 5 November 2021.

If the winners are not present at the reception they will be notified by email.

Works by finalists will be displayed on screens at the USC Maker Space (Sunshine Coast) and The Rise (Moreton Bay) during November.