Smithsonian announced the 2012 Photo Contest 50 finalists on March 4, 2013. Now it’s your time to vote for the Readers’ Choice Award winner. Voting will be open until March 29th at 2PM EST.
I really like this one - tiny yet strong ants holding on to the fruits and each other. And the eyes and those mandibles… yikes. Photo by Eko Adiyanto (Bekasi, Indonesia). Photographed in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia.
For a better look at more neat photos, visit Smithsonian.com and cast your vote!
The 11th annual contest is now open until November 29, 2013 at 2:00 PM EST. On a weekly basis beginning April 2, Smithsonian judges will post the best of the incoming entries to Smithsonian Retina. Finalists will be announced on March 3, 2014.
Smithsonian also notes, “This year we are also looking forward to highlighting the best photographs taken with mobile devices. Let us know that it was taken with your phone or tablet reader and show us the wonders of this new generation of photography.” So that means folks with smart phones and tablets can enter to win too.
Here’s what the judges look for in a winning photo:
“Technical quality, clarity and composition are all important, but so too is a flair for the unexpected and the ability to capture a picture-perfect moment.”
Photo Contest Prize Details
Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories. Smithsonian will notify the 50 finalists by February 28, 2014. Finalists’ entries will be published on the magazine’s Web site on March 4, 2014. At that time, readers can vote online for one readers’ choice winner. The Smithsonian will award eight prizes, as follows:
Grand Prize: $2,500
Category Winners:
The winners of each of the five categories will receive $500Readers’ Choice:
The winner of the online Readers’ Choice award will receive $500Mobile:
The best photo in any of the five categories that was taken with a mobile device will receive $500.One cash prize per person; winners may receive additional noncash prizes. Winners must sign a release and license, declaration of eligibility, and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on a prize.
Photo from Smithsonian.
9:06 pm on March 25th, 2013
The ants photo looks so unnatural, I’ve observed ants before but have never seen them carrying anything that huge before. It looks amazing though.
11:25 pm on March 25th, 2013
Yes it’s odd that they hang like that… I don’t usually give ants much thought, but this photo made me see them in a new light. There were lots of other nice photos from the contest, especially one of the solar eclipse. Check it out if you get the chance.
8:52 pm on April 7th, 2013
I went through the whole thing. They were all nice, especially the solar eclipse.