The Potawatomi Zoo is looking for your best photos of creatures big and small at the Potawatomi Zoo to be featured in our 2024 Zoo Calendar and in other print and web-based projects. We look forward to seeing your work!

All Rules and Guidelines DOWNLOAD HERE

Photo Release DOWNLOAD HERE

Entering
1. Submissions for the 2024 Conservation Calendar may be submitted via e-mail to PZSphoto@potawatomizoo.org between July 31 and August 17.
2. Please follow the Submission Guidelines and Subject Matter Guidelines to make sure your photos can be considered.

Submission Guidelines
1. You may enter one photo per category, for a maximum of 12 photos.
2. Submissions must include your name, mailing address, and daytime phone number. If under 18, please include your age and a parent or guardian’s contact information with permission to enter.
3. Due to the number of submissions received, we may not be able to respond to each message or submission.
4. Photos must be landscape/horizontal orientation to be considered.
5. Current Potawatomi Zoo staff, consultants, volunteers, and docents may not participate.
6. Photos should be at least 3000×2000 pixels @ 300dpi (as a guideline, file size should be at least 2 MB for color).
7. If cell phone photos are submitted, please make sure the photo is sent “full-size”. Do not submit screen shots or images saved from social media.

Photo Categories
1. Birds
2. Black and White Photos (does not have to be black and white animals)
3. Cats
4. Giraffes
5. Humor
6. Large Mammals (red river hogs and larger)
7. Wildlife (wild animals living on Zoo grounds, but not part of the Zoo)
8. Small Reptiles and Amphibians (emerald tree boa and smaller)
9. Large Reptiles and Amphibians (iguana and larger)
10. Small Mammals (Chacoan peccaries and smaller)
11. Flora (plants at the Zoo)
12. Zoo Farm

Subject Matter Guidelines
1. Photos must be taken at the Potawatomi Zoo within the last 12 months.
2. Photos should not include animals no longer living at the Potawatomi Zoo.
3. Photos should be landscape/horizontal orientation.
4. If there are people in your pictures, please provide explicit permission to use the pictures via a model release. Model release available on website or by request to pzsphoto@potawatomizoo.org.
5. Do not enter photos that you didn’t take or that infringe upon anyone else’s copyright.
6. We reserve the right to disqualify photos for any reason.

Voting
1. Voting will take place August 21 to September 7.
2. At least four photos will be submitted to the public in each category for voting on Facebook and Instagram.
3. The finalists’ photographs will be posted in separate albums on the Zoo’s Facebook and in separate posts by category on Instagram.
4. Anyone can vote for their favorite photo by using the “like” feature on each photo on Facebook and commenting with the number of their favorite picture on Instagram. There will also be a voting form for those who don’t use social media.

Winning
1. The photos with the most votes in each category will be the winners of each category.
2. No one photographer may win more than 2 categories.
3. Winning photographs must be fit in the calendar’s dimensions to be included in the calendar.
4. In case of a tie vote, the category winner will be chosen by the panel of judges.
5. The photos that receive the top five votes over all categories will go to a panel of judges to select the cover image.
6. Winners from each category will be announced September 13 on the Potawatomi Zoo’s social media sites.
7. The winning photos of each category will be featured in the Zoo’s 2024 calendar.

Prizes
1. The 12 winners from each category will receive two copies of the 2024 calendar.
2. The photo selected for the cover by the panel of judges will be considered the Grand Prize Winner. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a one-year membership to the Potawatomi Zoo and a copy of the 2024 calendar.
3. Submitters are not eligible to win the Grand Prize in consecutive years.

We reserve the right to change or amend any of the above rules at any time.

Permission to Use Submitted Photos by Potawatomi Zoo and Zoological Society.
By submitting any photos into the contest, you give Potawatomi Zoo and Potawatomi Zoological Society permission to use them now and in the future for purposes of publication, including but not limited to marketing and promotional materials, educational materials, printed materials, television broadcasts, web sites, internal communications and signage. You will not be compensated for such use outside of prizes awarded as described above at the discretion of the Potawatomi Zoo. However, whenever possible, we will give you credit for the photos. By entering the contest, you agree to all of the above.

We truly appreciate all submissions for our contest, and we hope it will serve as a fun and exciting way to showcase the Potawatomi Zoo and promote civic pride in this unique community amenity.

Calendars will be mailed in mid-December to Zoo Members.

Photo Credit to Elise Rollins