Official Rules & Instructions

Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Monthly Photo Contest 

Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens proudly offers a monthly photography contest to celebrate the best images captured at the park. The competition challenges photographers – novices to pros – to experience, explore, and capture the natural beauty of our lily and lotus ponds, tidal marshes, nature trails, and wildlife.

We invite you to grab your cameras (smartphones, too), and come to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to find the photo that speaks to you. There will be a new contest round each month, so come back often to enter your new photos of the park! New winners are announced each month and featured on our social media and e-newsletter. 

Contest Details

How it works

Each month, submit your favorite photos of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. 

  • Photos can be submitted on a rolling basis and will be considered for the month they are submitted until the last day of the month at 4pm ET, when submissions close for the month. 
  • The winning photo will be announced on social media at the beginning of the month on our social media channels.
  • The winning photo will be featured on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages and in our e-newsletter. 
  • Photos are selected by either Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens staff or board members. As such, staff and board are not eligible to enter the contest. 
  • Please be sure to fill out the Google Form to enter your photos. Any photo submitted via email will not be considered. 
  • Submit up to five photos per month. 

How to enter

Simply submit your photo(s) through the Google Form every month for a chance to be featured on our social media! 

Enter Here: https://forms.gle/ytj93Re8rytjpEnN9  

Rules

  • Participants must be 13 years of age or older to enter. 
  • Participants may only submit up to five photos each month. No repeat images from month to month. 
  • A photographer may only submit their own work.
  • Entries must be taken within the grounds of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.
  • Eligible photographs include scenic pictures of nature and wildlife. Photos with people in them will only be accepted if the photo shows the back of the subject or is taken at a distance so that the face is unrecognizable.
  • Images that include a watermark or photographer’s name will not be accepted.
  • Please submit images electronically in JPG format. Do not mail entries, as they will not be returned.
  • Photos may not be defamatory, obscene, inappropriate, political, or contain content owned by a third party. Photos must also follow the rules of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. For example, dogs in photos must be on a leash and children on bikes must be wearing a helmet.
  • No photos taken from drones are permitted. Drones are not permitted by law to be flown in DC and the surrounding metropolitan area.
  • Final discretion on the appropriateness of photos and entry into the contest rests with the staff of the FoKAG.
  • Staff, board members, and family/relatives of FoKAG and National Capital Parks-East are not eligible. However, volunteers of these organizations are eligible.
  • Photographers whose photos are selected for voting are encouraged to share their image with their networks, however, paid advertising of any kind is prohibited.
  • Participants may enter each month, even if they won in previous months. 

Please note that by submitting a photo to the contest, you are agreeing to the following:

By entering the contest, entrants agree to consent in perpetuity to the use of the photograph(s) submitted for entry by Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens or any other designees of FoKAG (including any agency, client, periodical or other publication) in exchange for acknowledgment of photographer in photo credit whenever possible. This consent applies in all forms known now or in the future, in all media and in all manners, including but not limited to advertising, art, editorial, electronic and exhibition. Acceptance of submitted photos for judging is conditional upon all rules and regulations being followed by the entrant and proper identification of the photo.

Privacy

Please note that all of your personal information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with organizations outside of the FoKAG. Your name will appear with your photograph while entered in voting. Your other personal information will not be revealed.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You are providing your information to the FoKAG and not to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

FoKAG does not do paid promotion of individual images in this contest, though promotion for all photographs may be done.

Winners

Winners receive bragging rights and their photo featured on our social media channels and e-newsletter. Photographers are credited in the bottom right corner of their photos when used in FoKAG media. We are also working to provide winners with unique access to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to take photos and meet the other winning photographers.