ORGANIZED BY: Powerhouse Museum

Trainspotting is presented by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, commonly known as the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences also includes the Sydney Observatory and the Powerhouse Discovery Centre and is Australia’s leading cultural institution dedicated to celebrating human ingenuity.

In recognition of the Museum’s extensive rail and steam collection and to coincide with the Hunter Valley Steamfest held in the city of Maitland (168 km north of Sydney), New South Wales, Australia in April 2010 the Museum has announced its international photographic competition which is to focus on railways – whether infrastructure or locomotives powered by steam, diesel electric or electric.

1. Who can enter?

TERRITORY: international

ENTRANT STATUS: amateur, professional

AGE LIMITATIONS: you must be 18 years of age or older

2. Competition info

ENTRY CLOSES: 31st March 2010 (at 5 pm Australian Eastern Summer Time) – received by

ENTRY TYPE: online upload (via Flickr), mail, in person

ENTRY FEE: free

3. What should photos be about?

Share your passion for trains, railways and photography. Enter a photograph you have taken which captures railway infrastructure or locomotives powered by steam, diesel electric or electric.

There are 6 categories:

• Steam trains: Photograph’s subject is either a locomotive, or locomotives and their carriages taken in daylight.
• Diesel electric or electric trains: Photograph’s subject is either a locomotive, or locomotives and their carriages taken in daylight.
• Night shot: Photograph’s subject is steam trains, diesel electric or electric trains and also railway stations and platforms (with or without locomotives).
• Railway infrastructure: Photograph’s subject includes buildings and permanent installations such as stations, platforms, tracks, rail bridges, rail signage, turntables, and so on, taken in daylight or at night.
• Trainspotting: Photograph’s subject is the hobby of observing and recording the numbers of railway locomotives, taken in daylight or at night.
• Railway workers: Photograph’s subject is platform staff, train crew and staff, permanent way and infrastructure workers, depot workers and so on, taken in daylight or at night.

Entrants are encouraged to be interpretative and creative in their approach.

Maximum 3 images per person per category.

> Judging Criteria

• composition,
• technique,
• content,
• creativity

4. Photo Requirements

AREA WHERE IT CAN BE TAKEN: anywhere

AGE OF PHOTO: Photographs must have been taken within the last three years, since 1 April 2006.

IMAGE FORMAT: not defined

PHOTO EDITING: There is no information about any restrictions.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Only photographs of heavy rail or maglev (magnetic levitation) railway rolling stock will be accepted. Photographs of light rail systems (re trams and mono-rails) and model trains will not be accepted in any of the categories.
• Photographs that have won any prizes in any other competitions are not eligible.

5. Legal Issues

> Your legal responsibilities

It is the entrant’s responsibility to obtain any necessary permissions, including releases from people or models that appear in their photograph.

> Photo usage rights

By entering the competition the entrant grants the Powerhouse Museum, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, communicate to the public (via the Powerhouse Museum’s website and third parties’ websites) the image for non-commercial, educational and promotional purposes. Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit.

6. Judges

• Railway enthusiast
• Professional photographer
• Gallery Director
• Powerhouse Museum Director

There is no information who the judges are.

7. Prizes

A selection of entries received will be showcased on the Museum’s Photography blog as part of ‘Photo of the Day’ on the Museum’s website. Following the judging and announcement of winners at the Hunter Valley Steamfest on 17-18 April 2010, the winners will feature along with highly commended entries in a display at the Powerhouse Museum from early May through to August 2010 and on the Museum’s website.

Overall winner: AUD $5000

Category winners: AUD $2000

People’s Choice Award: visitors to the exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum will be able to select a photograph to be awarded the People’s Choice Award at the close of the exhibition

Powerhouse Museum Photographers’ Choice Award: the Museum’s photographers will choose an outstanding photograph from the selection of photographs displayed at the Museum.

8. Useful Links

Read official rules yourself (opens a pdf)!

Ready to enter? Upload your image to Flickr group!

Official website of the competition:
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/photocompetition/

I cannot take any responsibility for changing of rules or mistypes in this article. This article has only an informative nature. For official rules always refer to the official website!

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