Rules and Guidelines 

1. Eligibility – The contest is open to any amateur or professional photographer. The submitted works should be clearly inspired by the Lehigh or Delaware Canals, though it is not necessary to feature a section of canal with water. Scenes depicting historic canal structures, people enjoying canal towpaths, and wildlife along the canal are all welcome.
2. Locale – All photographs must be taken within the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor which includes the Bucks, Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, and Luzerne Counties. A map of the Corridor can be found at: https://delawareandlehigh.org/map/ 
3. Deadline – Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 11:59 PM
4. Multiple Entries – Photographers may submit up to five (5) photos of their choosing. Please complete one online form for each photo and complete all fields on the form. Forms with incomplete fields will be disqualified.
5. Model Release – Photos containing recognizable people must be accompanied by a model release form signed by the subject and a parent or legal guardian, if the subject is under 18 years of age. The model release form is available here: Model Release Form
6. Format – Images should be a resolution of 300 dpi or higher. Images should be in RGB color range and be submitted in JPG (at high quality) format. Do not resample small files to fit requirements.  
   • Images can have minimal manipulation such as cropping and exposure adjustments, but advanced techniques (layering, masking, gradation, etc.) achieved through photoshop, lightroom, or other editing apps which create end products that do not reflect the scene as it appeared in reality are strictly disallowed.
7. Prizes and Acknowledgements (*note all winners get free admission to the exhibit) –  
   • 1st Place: A pair of dinner cruise tickets to use at the winner’s discretion (estimated value: $110); credited reproduction of the work on postcards to be available in the National Canal Museum Gift Shop; credited feature on the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor website and social media accounts.
   • 2nd Place: An individual, yearlong membership to the Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Corridor (estimated value: $50);  
     • Benefits of membership include: complimentary unlimited entry to the National Canal Museum; unlimited rides on the Josiah White II canal boat; discounts on events like the D&L Heritage Half Marathon; discounts in the National Canal Museum shop. 
   • 3rd Place: A family pack admission ticket to the National Canal Museum (estimated value: $39) 
   • 4th – 25th Place: Certificate of Acknowledgement   
8. Photographer’s Rights: each photographer will retain all rights to any photograph submitted – including ownership if applicable – other than those rights listed in the next sentence. By entering the contest, each photographer hereby grants to the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor: (i) a nonexclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, and publicly perform the photographs submitted to the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor; (ii) the right to use the photographer’s name, city, and state of residence in promotions and other publications; (iii) the right to use the photographs for promotional and fundraising campaigns (with photo attribution).
9. Timeline 
   • Submissions – October 12 through November 28 (pieces will not be accepted after midnight on the 29). 
   • Judging – November 29 through December 3 
     • There will be two channels of voting: professional in-house voting, and public voting via Facebook gallery during the same time period 
     • The top 25 will be selected from the professional category and displayed 
     • The top 1 photo will be selected for display from the public category 
   • Winner Announcements – by December 3 
   • Exhibition – There will be a D&L Member Preview of the exhibition on Saturday, December 4, followed by public viewing on the following dates between 11:30-3:00.  Admission to the exhibition is free.  
     • December 5 
     • December 11 & 12 
     • December 18 & 19