HOW IT WORKS

Who can enter Stills:

Stills is a photography platform for students enrolled in school in Aotearoa.
There are two sections, Junior and Senior.

JUNIOR SECTION - ‍for students in years 1 - 8.
Photo entries for this section are open ended - they can be anything you want!
Landscapes, animals, nature, your friends, your whānau, something that moves, something that stays still, or maybe something that grows... What captures your attention!?
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For this section there will be awarded 1st and 2nd (winning prizes from FUJIFILM), plus 3rd place and national finalists. There will also be some special awards (such as Superstar Storyteller, Exceptional Eye, and the Best Landscape Photograph... see full list here).
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If your photo is taken on film, we also have an award for Best Film Photograph (presented by Black & White Box).
The pool for this award will be all film photos, from both Junior and Senior sections combined.

SENIOR SECTION - for students in years 9 - 13.
Photographs for this section must be entered into categories.
For 2023 we have 5 categories - plus an award for the Best Film Photograph (presented by Black & White Box).

The awards for the Senior category are 1st and 2nd (winning prizes from FUJIFILM), plus 3rd place and national finalists in each category.

There will also be 1 first place overall senior winner. ‍‍

‍Remember, Stills is about the creativity, composition and story of your photo, not about how many megapixels your camera has!

- 2024 dates announced soon -
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ENTRY PROCESS / RULES

∙ Stills is free to enter and open to any student years 1-13 nationwide.

∙ All entrants must be enrolled in an NZ school (including home school and correspondence school).

∙ Students can enter more than one image - each image is assessed as an individual entry.

∙ Juniors (years 1 - 8) must enter into the Junior Section. Seniors (years 9 - 13) must enter into the Senior Section.

∙ Entries must not contain any offensive or illegal content. Images must be original and taken by the entrant no earlier than 1 Aug 2022 (so within a year of 'Stills' entries opening for 2023).
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∙ You cannot enter any images that are entered in, have been entered in, or will be entered into other photography competitions. This includes images previously entered into 'Stills'.

∙ Post-production editing is permitted on all photos, and any editing on Enhanced category entries must use an original photo taken by the entrant as a base.

∙ Images can be portrait or landscape and must adhere to upload guidelines of minimum 3MB and maximum 10MB.

∙ If your image is selected as a top contender, we may contact you to get a more high-resolution print file, specifications 300 DPI and 2500 pixels on short edge minimum size.
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∙ By submitting an entry form, Rockquest Promotions Ltd, and its various platforms including but not limited to Stills, and affiliated sponsors and partners have permission to use, reproduce, publish and exhibit image/s, your name and school for promotional and display purposes. Copyright of the original image belongs to the photographer.

∙ All entrants agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions when entering. These can be read below.

AWARDS


Here are the awards up for grabs!

SENIOR -
First Place overall
Winning: FUJIFILM X-T5 + XF18-55mm kit
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Altered Category:
First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + XF15-45mm kit
Second Place - winning a FUJIFILM instax Evo + instax mini film 20pks
Third Place
National Finalists
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Special Objects Category:
First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + XF15-45mm kit
Second Place - winning a FUJIFILM instax Evo + instax mini film 20pks
Third Place
National Finalists
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Connection Category:
First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + XF15-45mm kit
Second Place - winning a FUJIFILM instax Evo + instax mini film 20pks
Third Place
National Finalists

Life In Motion Category:
First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + XF15-45mm kit
Second Place - winning a FUJIFILM instax Evo + instax mini film 20pks
Third Place
National Finalists

Place Category:
First Place - winning a FUJIFILM X-S20 + XF15-45mm kit
Second Place - winning a FUJIFILM instax Evo +  instax mini film 20pks
Third Place
National Finalists
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Junior
First Place - FUJIFILM X-S20 + XF15-45mm kit
Second Place - FUJIFILM instax Evo +  instax mini film 20pks

PLUS
National Finalists

Junior - Additional Awards:
Exceptional Eye Award ‍
Superstar Storyteller
Excellent Editor
Developing Talent
Magical Moment Award
Best Landscape Photograph
Nature's Marvel Award
Paw-some Photographer Award


Open - Additional Award:
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Black & White Box Best Film Photo Award
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This award is open to any photograph taken on film, regardless of section (junior or senior) or category.
The Black & White Box Best Film Photo Award winner will receive , a 35mm slr film camera, 2 x rolls of film, and a $100 in store voucher.

To enter for the Best Film Photo Award, let us know in your entry form that your photograph was taken on film on your entry.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

By entering Stills, you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions:
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ELIGIBILITY
‍1. All contestants must be enrolled in and attend a school for at least 15 hours a week. If you leave school (sign out) during the course of the competition, you become ineligible to continue. You can change schools during the competition. (School means secondary, area, intermediate, primary, official home school or correspondence school.
2. All contestants must be no older than 19 (nineteen) years of age on Oct 20 2023
(ie - you are not eligible if you turn 20yrs old before the competition close date).
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ENTRIES
‍3. Entries must not contain any illegal content.
4. Entries must not contain personally identifiable information about you or any other person(s).
5. Entries must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks or any other intellectual property rights of any third parties.*
6. In regards to censorship - while not wanting to put constraints on the creative process of entrants we would like to point out that images that could offend may not have commercial potential and therefore may not suit this competition. Judges for this event are drawn from NZ’s creative industry. Entrants are urged to consider this point carefully.
7. In the entry process - there is section where a signature confirms you accept these terms and conditions (signed by a parent or guardian for students in years 1-8, or the entrant themselves in years 9-13).

By submitting an entry form, Rockquest Promotions Ltd, and its various platforms including but not limited to Stills, and affiliated sponsors and partners have permission to use, reproduce, publish and exhibit image/s, your name and school for promotional and display purposes. Copyright of the original image belongs to the photographer.

‍*For further information on rules around privacy and street photography, you can refer to the below resources. Remember, it is always best to err on the side of caution and ask permission from the subject to be in your photo.

NZ Police
Privacy NZ

FAQ

My photo could fit under multiple categories. Which one should I enter?

The Open categories are intentionally broad, so you can be inspired by lots of different things! You can enter multiple images per category, so read over the descriptions carefully and think about what images you would like to submit.

If you get stuck, feel free to contact us!

What camera do I need to use?

You can use any camera you like! When you upload your photo, you will need to let us know what kind of camera you used, but there are no rules or restrictions. Experiment with different shooting styles and equipment, or keep it simple with a cellphone camera. We would also love to see unusual photos taken on film, GoPros or polaroid!

Do I have to edit my photo?

We encourage you (particularly Seniors) to give editing a try - small tweaks to colours, exposure levels, filters and crops can make a huge difference.
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You don’t need to, though - especially if submitting the image without editing is a deliberate creative decision.

Can I enter more than one photo?

You can enter as many photos are you like! They will be judged as individual entries.

Can I enter an old photo?

You can enter any original photo you’ve taken within the last 12 months - maybe at a sports tournament, Showquest or Smokefreerockquest event or on holiday.

Who are the judges?
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Stills is judged by a panel of professional photographers. Top images will receive written feed-forward from our judges to help them continue developing & upskilling. Keep an eye on our social media for the announcement of our 2023 judging panel!