Enter annual wildlife photo contest through Oct. 15

The deadline for the South Carolina Wildlife/Hampton Wildlife Fund Photo Contest is 5 p.m. on Oct. 15.

Eligibility: Photos must have been taken in South Carolina. Entrants must hold the rights to the photographs they enter. Photos may not have been previously submitted to (or taken on assignment for) South Carolina Wildlife. Employees of South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and their immediate families are ineligible.

Categories: Entrants may submit a maximum of three photos in up to three subcategories.

Native Wildlife Species (portraits and behavior)

Birds

Insects

Mammals

Reptiles and Amphibians

Nature

Landscapes (natural landscapes throughout S.C.)

Patterns and textures in nature

Plant life (wild-growing plants and foliage native to S.C.)

Weather (seasons and weather occurrences in nature)

Recreation

Hunting (hunting scenes in S.C.)

Fishing (saltwater and freshwater fishing scenes in S.C.)

Nature/outdoor recreation (hiking, camping, boating and other nature-related outdoor activities)

Sporting dogs (training, dogs in action)

All submissions will only be accepted through the SCWildlife.com contest form. Email entries sent to staff will not be accepted. By entering the contest, photographers grant lifetime usage rights of entered images to South Carolina Wildlife magazine, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Harry Hampton Memorial Wildlife Fund. This agreement does not in any way limit the right of the photographer to print, publish, display or sell the images.

Judging criteria: Photos will be judged based on the following criteria: impact, sharpness, composition, exposure, lighting and difficulty.

Winners: Winning entries will appear in a gallery at SCWildlife.com. Contest photographs will also be on display at the Palmetto Sportsmen's Classic in March and showcased via social media.

Prizes: Judges reserve the right to decide whether a category merits any or all awards. Prizes will be awarded to the top-winning photographer in each category. Prize details will be announced on SCWildlife.com.

Calendar: Some entries may be selected to appear in the annual South Carolina Wildlife July-August calendar issue or other editions. Photographers will receive a copy of the issue if their photo has been selected.

Ethical photography: At South Carolina Wildlife magazine, we encourage ethical photography. Avoid disturbing wildlife in its natural environment, and leave behind only footprints.

To qualify: Upload your entries through SCW's new digital submission site. Photos must be in JPG format and at least 2MB in size. Entrants may submit no more than three entries total across the 12 categories.

Watermarks: When submitting your entries, please leave out watermarks to help us keep our judging process anonymous and make winning photos ready for print.

Photo manipulation: Entries may be disqualified based on their degree of photo manipulation.

Deadline: Entries must be uploaded before 5 p.m. on Oct. 15 through the photo contest website.

Enter the contest: Enter using our new online submission process.