Official Contest Rules
 
Patagon Journal announces the 2023 Patagonia Photo Contest. Founded in 2012, this is the sixth version of the contest. A photo competition about Patagonia and the world’s last wild places, this is an international contest open to people from any country except individuals who work for or volunteer with Patagon Journal.
 
CATEGORIES
Photos entered in the Wildlife, Landscape, Culture, and Outdoor Adventure categories must be images taken in Chilean or Argentine Patagonia. We have chosen the widest definition of the geographical region of Patagonia for this contest, which on the Chilean side begins with the Araucania region, and in Argentina begins south of the Rio Colorado; and in both countries ends in Tierra del Fuego. 

This year, we also have a special multi-format category about the world's last wild places. Entries in this category may be from any country in the world, and can be in different formats: a single photo, a photo story (2 to 5 images), or a video of up to 3 minutes.
 
Wildlife: Photos of Patagonian terrestrial or aquatic animals, birds and insects. 
Landscapes: Images that show the power, magic, and beauty of the Patagonia region’s spectacular mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, steppe and coastal ecosystems. 
* Culture: Portraits of Patagonian life that capture a sense of place, from cultural traditions and rural lifestyles to the changing cities. 
* Outdoor Adventure: Photos of climbing, kayaking, fishing, cycling, trekking or other outdoor sports taking place in Patagonian nature and the outdoors.
* Last Wild Places: Images or video that communicate why it’s urgent to conserve, protect, and restore any of our world’s vanishing wild places. That might include, for example, highlighting threats to wild places, showing rewilding or conservation initiatives, or in some other original, creative way expressing the innate value of wilderness.  
 
GENERAL RULES and CALENDAR
Each participant can submit 1 photo in each of the four Patagonia-themed categories. If you subscribe to Patagon Journal you may submit up to 4 photos in each of these categories. In the Last Wild Places category, you may submit 1 photo or video; Patagon Journal subscribers can submit up to 4 photos or videos in this category. The participant must be the creator of the content. All entries must be received by March 31, 2023, 23:59 p.m. (Chile time). We will announce the winners in May 2023. 
 
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Photos should be submitted as jpegs and have at least 2000 pixels on the longest side of the image. If the participant's photo is selected as a winning photo or finalist, they must have access to a higher resolution version for printing. Digitally enhanced photos are acceptable as long as the final image is real and not a composite of separately taken photos. Photos must not include the photographer's watermark. 
 
Before sending the photo files, each image should be renamed with the category and the photographer's last name. (nature, environment, travel, outdoors) Ex: outdoors_perez_2, if the photo is the second of two photos in the outdoors category.

To enter a video, you must first upload the video to one of the accepted platforms (YouTube, Vimeo, or Instagram) and then enter the video URL in the submission page. The video can be no more than 3 minutes. 
 
All photos and video must each include a title and brief description. 
 
HOW TO ENTER
Participants can submit their photos online through our Woobox contest platform here: https://woobox.com/jxsgg6
 
For questions, or if you have problems uploading your images, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
SELECTION OF WINNERS
Photos and videos will be judged based on content, composition, and originality. Our panel of judges will decide the overall winners, which will be announced in May 2023. 
 
A public voting period for the Readers Choice Award will be held from April 21 to May 1. 
 

JUDGES
This year's panel of judges are:
 
 
             Linde Waidhofer - A landscape photographer who lives partly in Colorado, partly in Aysén Patagonia, Linde's photos (www.westerneye.com) have appeared in National Geographic and Sierra Club books, and in magazines in Germany, Italy and the U.S. She has also published several photo books on Patagonia, including The Carretera Austral, South America’s Most Spectacular RoadUnknown Patagonia; and Chelenko, the Thousand and One Faces of a Patagonian Lake.  
  
 
 
 
     Tomás Munita – A Chilean independent documentary photographer from Santiago who worked for several years as a photographer at The New York Times, Tomás' photos (www.tomasmunita.com) have won many awards, including four World Press Photo awards. His photographs in a story about the gauchos of Patagonia in National Geographic earned him the Gabriel García Márquez Award in 2015.
 
 
 
  
 
Colin Henderson – An outdoor photographer from Edinburgh, Scotland, some of the publications Colin  (www.colinhendersonphoto.com) has contributed to include National GeographicMen's HealthOutsideOutdoor PhotographyBackpacker and Runner's World. A contributing editor to Patagon Journal, his work in Patagonia includes writing the 2008 Los Glaciares National Park Travel & Trekking Guide.
  
 
 
 
     Darío Podesta – A wildlife biologist and photographer, Dario (www.dariopodesta.com) lives in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, where he also works at the scientific research center Centro Nacional Patagonico (CENPAT). His photos of Patagonia and South America have been published in several books and magazines. He is a three-time winner of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition of the Natural History Museum in London.
 
 
   
 
                 Sofia Heinonen – An activist by nature, 15 years ago Sofia led the first rewilding project in South America with the restoration of Esteros del Iberá, the largest wetlands in Argentina. A biologist, she has been designing strategies for the creation of protected areas for more than 30 years. She worked at national and regional NGOs and the National Parks Administration of Argentina before become executive director of Rewilding Argentina (www.rewildingargentina.org) in 2005.
 
 
 
 
                 Alex Muñoz – Alex is the Latin America director of National Geographic Pristine Seas (www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/pristine-seas), an initiative that since 2008 has contributed to the creation of 26 marine reserves around the world, including two in Patagonia. From 2008 to 2016, he was executive director of Oceana's Chile office, where he led campaigns on salmon farming, among other issues. 
  
 
  
 
Pablo Valenzuela  – Passionate about abstract photography and minimalist landscapes, Pablo (www.pablovalenzuela.cl) has been photographing Chile’s natural and cultural heritage since the early 1990s. His work is published in more than a dozen photo books, several of them about Patagonia, and he is featured regularly in expositions each year. Pablo is a contributing editor to Patagon Journal. 
 
 

 
 
PRIZES
We will award a first and second place winner for each category, three honorable mentions, and a Reader’s Choice award. The Patagonia Photographer of the Year award will be given to the overall grand prize winner from among the 4 first place category winners. Additionally, this year for the first time we will award the Last Wild Places award. 
 
PATAGONIA PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: The winner of the grand prize will win a trip for 5 nights/6 days for 2 people to explore the wildlands of Aysen Patagonia with Patagonia Big Five. The wildlife will travel along the southern Carretera Austral, Cerro Castillo National Park, Puerto Rio Tranquilo and Patagonia National Park. The trip includes overnight stays at Península Bahía Catalina (4 nights) and Casa Balmaceda.
 
1st PLACE: The winners of the 4 Patagonia categories will receive a gift certificate of approx. 300 dollars for use in the Patagonia stores of Chile. As well, they will receive photo books from Puelo Patagonia and Parque Patagonia Argentina and the complete collection of Patagon Journal magazines. 
 
2nd PLACE: The second place winners in the four Patagonia categories will receive Peak Design camera straps from Andes Photo; and from AndesHandbook they will get a pack of 5 guide maps and an annual subscription.
 
LAST WILD PLACES AWARD: The winner of this special multiformat category will receive a 3-day hiking trip for 2 persons on the “W” trail of Torres del Paine National Park with Chile Nativo, and four large photo exhibit format books from Rewilding Chile and Parque Patagonia Argentina of national parks in Patagonia.
 
READERS CHOICE AWARD: The public will choose their favorite photo, and the winner will receive a 3-night stay for 2 people with Explora Hotels at their choice of either Patagonia National Park or Torres del Paine National Park. The stay includes all meals and beverages, daily excursions, and airport transfers.
 
1ST and 2ND PLACE, LAST WILD PLACES AWARD, READERS CHOICE AWARD, HONORABLE MENTIONS: All first and second place winners, three honorable mentions, and the winners of the Last Wild Places and Readers Choice awards, will be printed for expositions in Chile and Argentina. Additionally, they will receive a subscription (print + digital) to the magazine. 
 
We will notify winners by email. If we do not receive a response within 5 days, we will select the next best photo in succession until the prize is claimed.

 
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
By submitting a photo, the contestant retains his/her ownership and copyright. Contestants grant Patagon Journal, however, a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works of their entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, educational, promotional, publicity, exhibitions, books, online galleries, social networks or other Patagon Journal purposes. Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit as feasible. Patagon Journal will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses. Participating photos in the contest may also be published by other media outlets or organizations for the purpose of promoting or reporting on the Contest. 
 
All entrants hold the Sponsors and their respective regents, directors, officers, employees, emeriti, fellows, interns, research associates, and volunteers (the “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against all claims of any nature arising in connection with entrant’s participation in the contest and acceptance or use of a prize. Patagon Journal reserves the right to disqualify or reject photos for any reason, or cancel or terminate the Contest for any reason. In the event of a dispute regarding the winners, Patagon Journal reserves the right to award or not award the prizes in its sole discretion. Patagon Journal reserves the right to disqualify any entrant whose entry or conduct appears in any way to: inhibit the enjoyment of others; tamper with the competition; violate these rules or other applicable law or regulation; infringe on the rights of third parties; or act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.