Avid twitchers and birding enthusiasts, listen up! We’re hosting an unprecedented competition in collaboration with Canon where you can submit your best birding images and stand the chance to win one of two incredible camera prizes.

Keep reading below to find out how you can participate!

COMPETITION DETAILS

Participants will have the option to submit as a professional or amateur photographer. The prizes for each category are as follows.

Professional Prize: Canon EOS R6 body with an RF 800mm lens, valued at R68 790

Amateur Prize: Canon PowerShot SX70 HS Camera, valued at R10 395

In addition to these amazing prizes, the top photographs from the competition will be showcased in an outdoor exhibition space on the Sea Point Promenade in Cape Town.

How to Enter

  • Select your best birding images. Take a look at our judging criteria below to help you determine what we’re looking for in a winning image!
  • Fill in the submission form at the bottom of this page. Make sure to complete all the sections of the form, including details of the equipment used, your camera settings, what type of bird is the subject of the image, etc.
  • Upload your image to the submission form. Your images must be in JPEG format. Please note that you can only upload one image per submission, but you are allowed to submit multiple times.
  • Hit that “Submit” button, and you’re all good to go! If you have been chosen as one of our two winners or made the cut for the exhibition on Sea Point Promenade, you will hear back from us via the email address you provided in your submission form.

Please note that if your image is selected as one of our winners or for the exhibition, we will ask for the original RAW image and a high-res TIFF for print purposes.

Judging Criteria

  • Firstly, the technical stuff. We’re looking for an image that is correctly exposed, using appropriate settings for the shooting scenario. Crystal-clear, tack-sharp focus is essential: we want to see all the right details in your image!
  • Secondly, the creative considerations. A pleasing and effective composition is a must to get noticed. Take into account factors such as your light quality, directionality and intensity. And don’t forget the background! Our feathered friends are not the only thing in the frame.
  • Finally, that special something. This is harder to define clearly, but in essence, it is the indescribable quality that makes your image stand out. It could be the subject’s pose, it could simply be the story the image tells. Basically, when we open your image, we want our first reaction to be, “Wow!”

One of our judges, legendary South African bird photographer Trevor Hardaker, breaks down the competition’s key details and some of the features he will be looking for in a winning image in the video below.

Terms & Conditions

  • The Orms x Canon Best Birding Images Competition (the “Competition”) is only available for residents of South Africa.
  • There will be 1 winner chosen per category and the selection of these winners is at the judges’ discretion. Additionally, a selection of outstanding images by various participants will be chosen to be exhibited on the Sea Point Promenade. The judges’ decision is in both cases final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding their decision.
  • The Competition runs from 6 June 2021 until midnight on 31 July 2021 and takes place via the submission form below.
  • Entries must be made by submitting a photograph of the nature described in the “How To Enter” section of this page via the submission form below. No entries on other platforms or via any other communication channels will be accepted.
  • The competition is open to all South African citizens except directors, members, partners, employees, agents, service providers and consultants of The Organisers (Orms and Canon) as well as their spouses, business partners and associates.
  • The prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
  • By submitting your work for the Competition, you acknowledge and allow Orms and Canon to make use of your original work for promotional purposes for a specified period after the competition.
SUBMIT YOUR IMAGES BELOW

Please note the image size restriction is 5MB.

    Choose Your Level:

    Equipment Used:

    Camera Settings Used:

    Type of Bird Captured

    Where in the world was the image taken?