We are excited to announce the return of the Bruce Trail Conservancy Photo Contest! To celebrate the personal connections we make to our ribbon of wilderness, we invite you to show us your “Moments of Wonder on the Bruce Trail.”

Show us the places on the Trail that make you stand in awe. Perhaps this is a peaceful spot for reflection, an area where you go to see wildlife, a companion who makes every hike better, or one of the many unique geological features of the Niagara Escarpment.

Entries will be narrowed down to ten finalists based on photographic quality and visual impact; originality; and how well they express the theme. All finalists will be featured in a future issue of Bruce Trail Conservancy Magazine. The Grand Prize Winner and two Runners Up will each receive a one-year membership to the BTC and one of three prizes generously provided by Arc’teryx Queen Street. 

Official Rules – Photo Contest 2023

Contest Period

September 1, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. (ET) to October 15, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (ET)

How to Enter

1.  Take a photo or choose one from your collection that depicts wonder or joy on the Bruce Trail.

2.  Submit your photo through the online form at brucetrail.org by October 15, 2023.

Eligibility

• Contest is open to all – Bruce Trail members and non-members alike.
• Photos must be taken on or of the Bruce Trail.
• Photos should express “Wonder” or “Joy”.
• Photos must be the original work of the entrant.
• Photos must not depict inappropriate or unsafe behavior. For your own safety and to protect the sensitive species and habitats along the Trail, please stay on the Bruce Trail at all times.
• Photos do not have to have been taken within the contest period. Older photos are eligible. Photos from any season are eligible.
• Photos must be in digital JPG, PNG or GIF format. High-resolution scans of older prints or transparencies are acceptable as long as they are submitted in JPG, PNG or GIF format. Resolution should be high enough to accommodate a printed space of 9″ x 9″ at a resolution 300 dpi.
• Minor digital enhancement is permitted, but photos that have been significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified. Submissions may be watermarked if desired, but the watermark should be inconspicuous enough to not interfere with the judging of the photo. A watermark-free version must be made available to judges by the photographer if asked in order to be eligible.

Use of Photographs

Your photographs help The Bruce Trail Conservancy preserve a ribbon of wilderness along the Niagara Escarpment for generations to explore. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography.

Ten finalists will be selected and will be displayed publicly on the BTC’s social media channels following the Contest period (including the photo, first name and last initial). If a caption is provided it will be shared at the discretion of the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

By entering the Contest, you grant The Bruce Trail Conservancy the non-exclusive right to publish, use, distribute, reproduce and publicly display your photograph, and to create derivative works from your photograph, in perpetuity, in any of its online, print or other media publications, materials or exhibitions, for purposes of promoting The Bruce Trail Conservancy’s mission and awareness of its programs, including but not limited to editorial, advertising, publicity, and fundraising purposes, without payment of compensation unless prohibited by law.

You grant The Bruce Trail Conservancy permission to provide your name when publishing, reproducing or otherwise using your photo and when identifying you as an entrant or prize winner in the Contest.

While The Bruce Trail Conservancy will make every effort to credit photographers when using photos, there may be circumstances where it is not possible to do so.

Subject to the rights granted to the Bruce Trail Conservancy, you retain all other copyrights and rights to future use of the photographs you enter into the Contest.

Releases

If your photograph includes an identifiable person or people, you must secure permission from each person (or in the case of a minor, the minor’s parent or guardian) to use their image in the Contest, and for the photograph to be used in various promotional activities by the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

You must be able to provide copies of those permission releases to the Bruce Trail Conservancy upon request. The Bruce Trail Conservancy reserves the right to disqualify an entry if it finds, in its sole discretion, that an entrant has not secured a necessary release.

Judging

After the close of the entry period, ten (10) winning entries will be chosen from all eligible submissions. The judging panel will be composed of individuals from the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

Photographs will be judged on photographic quality and visual impact; originality; and how well they express the theme. The decisions of the judges are final and binding.

The ten contest finalists will be featured in a future issue of Bruce Trail Conservancy Magazine and the BTC’s social media channels. Winners will be notified by email by the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

Prizes

The Grand Prize Winner and Runners Up will be featured in a future issue of Bruce Trail Conservancy Magazine. Arc’teryx Queen Street is generously providing the merchandise prizes for this contest. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

Grand Prize – Beta AR Jacket ($750 CAD Value) + a One-Year BTC Membership
First Runner Up – Atom Hoody ($360 CAD Value) + a One-Year BTC Membership
Second Runner Up – Mantis 26 Backpack ($180 CAD Value) + a One-Year BTC Membership

The colour of the product will depend on availability at the time the winner of the contest is announced. Arc’teryx Queen Street will be happy to work with the contest winners to provide them with their choice of colour and sizing.