Important Dates
Sponsoring Organizations
Juror: Greg Lasley
Rules and Conditions
To Enter
If Your Work is Selected for Exhibition

Important Dates

Naturescapes Exhibition
San Marcos Activity Center Walkers Gallery
September 4 – October 30, 2009

Naturescapes Awards Reception
San Marcos Activity Center
Friday, September 4, 2009
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Sponsoring Organizations

The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance

Learn more about SMGA.

The Hill Country Photography Club is an informal group of photographers of all ages and experience who are interested in exploring photography as an art medium. HCPC strives to help members improve their individual photographic styles as well as to learn more about the art and science of photography. The club holds monthly meetings, periodic workshops, and field trips. To be added to our email list, visit http://www.hcphotoclub.org and complete the form on the Membership page.

Juror: Greg Lasley
Greg Lasley first pointed a camera at a bird a Horned Lark at Great Salt Lake, Utah, in 1971 while he was in the U.S. Air Force. By 1976, he became interested in documenting appearances of rare birds by photographing and tape-recording them. From the late 1970s until the late 1980s, most of his wildlife photography focused on documenting rarities and obtaining slides of birds to illustrate his lectures for Audubon Societies and other nature-oriented groups. After spending 25 years in law enforcement, Greg retired from the Austin Police Department in 1997. From 1997 through early 2005, he divided his time between photographing wildlife and leading bird-watching trips over much of the western hemisphere for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. Greg now concentrates on photography and other wildlife pursuits. His award-winning photos appear regularly in a variety of nature and wildlife-oriented books and magazines. His photo credits exceed 2000 published images in more than 100 different books and magazines. His most recent book is Greg Lasley’s Texas Wildlife Portraits published in 2008 by Texas A&M University Press.

Rules and Conditions

• Entries are limited to photographs taken within San Marcos Greenbelt land, parks or other natural greenspaces, or any natural area in Hays County.
  
• Photographs must have been taken within the past two years, and must not have been accepted for a previous Naturescapes exhibition.
  
• The Naturescapes committee will receive and prepare the images for the juror, who will determine the images to be exhibited and to receive awards. The juror will see only the images and their titles, and will not know the names of the photographers.
  
• Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, photographic quality, and effectiveness in conveying the beauty and unique character of San Marcos and Hays County natural areas. Entries that fail to comply with the rules or are unsuitable for a family audience, will be disqualified. Decisions of the juror will be final.
• The juror also will make the final selection of the photographs that will be displayed in the Naturescapes exhibition. At the discretion of the judge, a $200 prize will be awarded for Best in Show, and $100 Awards of Excellence will be awarded for up to four of the next most outstanding photographs. Awards of Merit will be presented for additional images deserving recognition. Winners and photographers whose entries are selected for the exhibition will be allowed to sell their photographs.
• Entries must be submitted by the photographer who created them. While the photographer retains the copyright for his or her images, the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, the City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department and the San Marcos Area Arts Council reserve the right to unlimited use of the photos for the organizations' websites, displays, brochures, news releases, and other print and electronic media.
  
• The competition is open to resident and visiting photographers, amateur or professional. The contest juror is ineligible to enter photographs.
  
• To help defray contest expenses, a $10.00 contest entry fee is required for the first four photographs from each photographer. Up to 4 additional photographs may be entered for an additional $5.00, up to a maximum of eight entries for $15.00.

To Enter:

• You may submit a maximum of eight photographs.

• Entries must be submitted at http://hcphotoclub.org/naturescapes/ or received by the San Marcos Parks and Recreation Dept, 401 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, TX 78666 no later than 5:00 pm Monday, July 6, 2009. Entries will be accepted starting April 1, 2009.
  
• One completed entry form and a check or money order, or online payment of the appropriate entry fee payable to SMGA must accompany each photographer’s image(s).
  
• Images submitted for judging may be prints, or digital images on a CD or submitted online.
  
• Prints may be any convenient size, but must be unmounted and labeled on the back with the entry form number, the title of the photograph, and the name of the photographer. Do not submit mounted, matted or framed prints at this time.
  
• Digital images must be high quality jpeg measuring 800 pixels on the longest dimension at resolution of 72 ppi. Files should be named with the entry number, underscore, first name, underscore, last name (e.g., 1_john_jones.jpeg), and submitted online or on a single CD labeled with the photographer’s name.
  
• Make sure that the entry numbers correspond with the entry numbers on the entry form. Prints or digital files that are improperly numbered and labeled will not be considered for judging.
  
• We strongly encourage participants to offer their prints for sale; additional prints are easy to obtain if you have the original negative, slide or digital file.
  
• The prints and CDs submitted for judging will be returned after judging only if you include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your entry. Otherwise they may be picked up from Parks and Recreation the week of August 11, 2008.
  
• If your work is chosen for the exhibition, you will be notified the week of August 4, 2008.
  

If your work is selected for exhibition:

• Exhibition quality prints of your accepted work must be received at City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department, 401 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, TX 78666 no later than 5:00 pm, Friday, August 28, 2009.
  
• Your prints should be mounted, matted and framed; ready to hang; and labeled on the back with your name and the title of the image. We recommend at least a two-inch mat border on each side of the print and a simple frame.
  
• The outside dimensions of the frame must be at least 8"x10" and no more than 30" in any dimension.
  
• You must provide us with high-resolution files of digital images following the instructions in your acceptance notification.
  
• Photographers will pay a 30% sales commission for prints sold during the exhibition, which will be used to help defray exhibition costs.
  
• Prints may be picked up at the San Marcos Activity Center on Saturday, November 1, 2008 If you prefer to have your entry mailed or shipped to you, you must provide a prepaid, pre-addressed shipping case. Warning: any work without a prepaid, pre-addressed shipping case that is not picked up on time will be sold, with the proceeds going to benefit the San Marcos Area Arts Council.

Back to top