3rd Annual “Nature in the Park” Photo Contest Entries Needed by June 30

The Southwest Missouri Camera Club will again partner with Friends of the Garden to sponsor the “Nature in the Park” Photo Contest. Entries are due by 6 p.m. June 30 in both the adult and youth divisions (14 and younger). Results will be announced during the 5th Annual Friends of the Garden Butterfly Festival on July 20 at the Springfield Botanical Gardens.

This is the third year for the competition; entries are limited to one entry per person.

Sponsors include: Black River Imaging (blackriverimaging.com); Lawrence Photo (lawrencephotovideo.com); Mpix (mpix.com); National Art Shop (nationalartshop.com); TCI Graphics (tcigraphics.com); Southwest Missouri Camera Club (swmocameraclub.org); GREENE Magazine (GREENEMagazine.com); and Friends of the Garden (www.friendsofthegarden.org).

Prizes: All Winners will receive 2013 Family Memberships to the Southwest Missouri Camera Club. All entrants receive a valuable coupon to National Art Shop.

Adult Division:
1st place: $100.00 gift certificate to Black River Imaging.
2nd place: $50 gift certificate to Lawrence Photo & $25 gift certificate from Mpix.
3rd place: $25 gift certificate from National Art Shop & $25 gift certificate from Mpix.
Honorable Mention: $25 gift certificate from Mpix.

Optional Youth Division (Age 14 and younger)
1st place: $50 gift certificate to Lawrence Photo & $25 gift certificate from Mpix.
2nd place: $25 gift certificate to TCI Graphics & $25 gift certificate from Mpix.
3rd place: $25 gift certificate from Mpix.

Drawing: After the winners are announced, there will be a drawing for all participants for one (1) $25 gift card for National Art Shop.

Rules for entries:

1. All photos must have been taken within the confines of Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, including the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden located at 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield MO.

2. Digital or film cameras may be used.

3. Only basic corrections are acceptable for digital images: exposure, crop, contrast, sharpen.

4. All editing work must be done by the entrant.

5. Your image must be 8″ x 10″, mounted on 11”x14” foam core, with a black or white mat.

6. No frames or glass, please. We will add velcro on the back to display it in the Botanical Center.

7. Your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, division (specify adult or youth), must appear on the back of the entry. No identification should appear on the front of the entry. Entries are limited to one per person.

8. Photos may show natural habitat, plant life, landscapes, wildlife, or people interacting with nature during events and festivals. Photos are not restricted to a specific time of year.

9. If you include clearly identifiable people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary publication releases from the individuals depicted, and must be able to provide copies of those releases to Greene Magazine upon request.

10. Entries cannot be removed on July 20th. All entries will be proudly displayed at the Botanical Center through August 21st and the winning photos after that at Lawrence Photo. Selected winning photos will be published in GREENE Magazine. Winning entrants will be required to submit a digital copy of their image for publication.

11. Winners will be announced at 9:00 a.m. at opening of the Butterfly Festival on July 20, 2013.

12. There will be no entry fee, however donations will be accepted with proceeds going to Friends of the Garden Maintenance Fund.

13. Entries will be accepted through 6 p.m. on June 30th at The Botanical Center gift shop or mailed to:

Nature in the Park Photo Competition
Springfield/Greene County Botanical Center
2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, MO 65807

14. Entries must be collected at the gift shop between August 21st and August 30. Entries not collected by August 30th will be donated to an area non-profit organization.

Calling all Artists

Are you an artist? You may have just what we need. We’re looking for submissions to feature during the C-Street Stroll and throughout the month of August at Drury on C-Street, 233 E. Commercial. If you have a piece that is produce, garden or farm-related, we’d like to see it. Please contact Lucas Carlson at if you’d like to share your talents in the Fresh Off the Farm show.