provided to The Santiva Chronicle
Sep. 15 marks the deadline for submissions to the 33rd annual “Ding” Darling Amateur Photo Contest. All entries must be submitted electronically. Cash award prizes are raising this year: $500 for first place, $300 for second, $200 for third, and $50 for honorable mentions. Award payouts have nearly doubled from past years.
Complete rules for the contest, sponsored by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS) are listed below. For an entry form and other contest information, visit dingdarlingsociety.org/photo-contests. DDWS will announce winners and award prizes late October 2025.
Entries must be delivered by email to ddamateurphotocontest@dingdarlingsociety.org by Sep. 15, 2025. Entrants can pay by sending a check to the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society (P.O. Box 565, Sanibel, Fla. 33957) with a memo “for photo contest” or online at tinyurl.com/dingphotofee.
Note you must submit entries electronically. To maintain its commitment to the environment, DDWS does not accept photo contest entries by mail.
• There is a $25 per person entry fee that provides you with a membership to DDWS and is used to defray the cost of the contest. One fee covers two entries per person.
• Only amateur (all ages) photographers are eligible to enter (may not possess a professional photographer tax identification number for the sale of photographs).
• Photos must be taken at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and within two years of entry date.
• Each person may enter up to two photos but is eligible to win only one award.
• Photos must be submitted electronically via email to ddamateurphotocontest@dingdarlingsociety.org. Each photo must be a JPEG file of at least 3000 x 2400 or 4 megabytes (MB). Panoramic photos are not allowed.
• Photos that have won awards in previous “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society photo contests may not be resubmitted.
• Judging will be anonymous. Please do not put your name or anything that will identify you on your photograph.
• Judging criteria:
1) Technical excellence (sharpness, lighting, composition, exposure)
2) Originality/creativity
3) Interest
4) Ability to be reproduced for publication
Only limited image modifications are permitted. Minor manipulation should be used only to produce a more natural-looking photograph. Cropping is allowed but adding any elements not existing in the original scene will not be accepted. Judges, at their discretion, will disqualify any photos that appear to be manipulated beyond these guidelines.
All photo files will become the property of DDWS. Photos may be used by DDWS in any way with appropriate credit to the photographer.
• First, second, and third place winners and honorable mentions will be formally announced in late October. Cash prizes will be awarded: first place $500, second place $300, third place $200, honorable mentions $50.
• The contest’s three judges include a refuge staff person, professional photographer, and member of the Sanibel community.
ABOUT DDWS
As a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, DDWS works to support J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge’s mission of conservation, wildlife and habitat protection, research, and public education through charitable donations and Refuge Nature Shop profits. To support DDWS and the refuge with a tax-deductible gift, visit dingdarlingsociety.org or Ann-Marie Wildman at 239-789-8991 or wildman@dingdarlingsociety.org.
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