‘My Mega Marine Moment’ Competition
We’re looking to champion the oceans – the realm of the whale shark – and the creatures our study subject shares this watery world with. If you’re following the MWSRP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or via our newsletter, then chances are the underwater world means a lot to you and you’ve had some pretty cool experiences in it – we’d love to see and hear all about them!
By creating our My Mega Marine Moment Competition as a ‘photo + story’ contest that focusses on all marine life, not just whale sharks, we are hoping to be as inclusive as possible. After all, very few people have had the privilege to see whale sharks in the wild and we imagine an awful lot of people submitting entries will be people who really wish they had!
The Theme
The theme is ‘Marine Life’. That’s a hugely diverse topic which covers the potential for a hugely diverse range of experiences in most corners of the world.
Seeing a whale shark pooping for the first time, getting ogled by a napolean wrasse and watching a manta ray barrel rolling just inches away – all awesome experiences which resulted in some reasonable photos
What We Are After
We are looking for a photograph and accompanying story which encapsulates a once in a life time photo or a memorable / particularly engaging experience with marine life. The judging will take into consideration both photograph quality and the story aspect equally, so it could be a phenomenal photograph with a simple story about how you captured it or it could be a ‘click and hope’ snap shot but with a super interesting or funny story behind it. Both have merit, both would be great to see!
Ideally, the photo and the story would be of one occasion, but there’s a little flexibility here for a ‘closely related’ picture / story. They can’t be worlds apart and both must be your own (unless you’re the person in the picture!). We know that sometimes when you’re having a memorable moment underwater the camera slides down the list of importance and you end up getting a crummy, ‘afterthought’ type shot or having to recharge the tank and go back down. But at the same time anything fanciful, obviously mismatched or deemed to be stretching the rules to the ‘closely related’ aspect will get filtered out before the short list!
Your accompanying story can be funny, surprising, promote awareness of a conservation issue, heart warming… whatever! It’s what happened to you and what you think makes the best read. Remember though, the picture counts too so balance the greatness of the story with your photo album carefully!
The NittyGritty Details
- Stories must be 1000 characters (no spaces) or less and must be written in English
- Photos should be of a resolution which represents them well but also ok to send via email. If you’re the winner, we may ask for a high res version afterwards
- Entries are only accepted via email and should be sent to competition@maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org
- Last entries will be accepted a minute before midnight GMT on Friday 7th November 2014
- Please do watermark your pictures with your details if you want them protected online – by sending them in you accept we’re not responsible for what happens to them once they’re posted.
- You must own the rights to the pictures and have permission to use them
- One entry per person
- By submitting an entry you accept and agree that we may publish the photo and the unedited story in your name on social media, our newsletter and website. Should the competition attract wider interest from third parties, we will contact you for permission to share on a case by case
- The short list of finalists will be announced sometime around the 10th or 11th of November 2014
How’s it Judged?!
The initial entries will be turned into a short list of finalists by the MWSRP team and some selected specialists in underwater photography.
The short list will then be put to public vote on the MWSRP Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MWSRP) and in the November newsletter too. It’s a simple case of most ‘likes’ before the December deadline wins, so round up your mates!
What’s In It For Me?!
Apart from the opportunity to shout to the world about your best marine life moment or underwater picture?! The satisfaction of knowing you’re promoting the awesomeness of the underwater world?! The shot at glory and fame(ish)?! Well, a highly sought after original MWSRP T-shirt and a goodie bag of random bits of Maldivian derived odds and bobs!
What’s The Next Step?
Send it in! Here’s the address again; competition@maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org. We’re looking forward to seeing what you’ve got. Good luck!
