2023 PHOTO COMPETITION RULES

we would like you to share your amazing photographs with us by entering our Photo Competition.

The theme for the 2023 Cornwall AONB photography competition is;

Celebrating People & Place in Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Cornwall AONB has a rich culture, both past and present, that contributes greatly to local distinctiveness. The stunning landscapes of the Cornwall AONB are celebrated in the works of authors, artists and performances by theatre companies. The protected landscape is formed of rolling farmland, wild uplands, sheltered estuaries, rivers, and the varied coastline and coastal landscape.

Cornwall AONB is unique, the only AONB in the UK that has 12 separate sections, 10 are coastal, 1 is estuarine and 1 is moorland.

AONBs are living and working landscapes where human activities are part of everyday life; people enjoy all aspects of the countryside and 75% of the Cornwall AONB consists of farmed land.

For this year’s Photo Competition, we want you to portray what makes Cornwall AONB so special to you, from the flora and fauna, bees and birds and diverse landscapes. Local people and tourists visit sections of the Cornwall AONB to experience and enjoy its varied landscapes and features.

The historic environment contributes to local identity and wellbeing from prehistoric landscapes and archaeological features to mining remains and glorious parks and gardens.

The deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 31 march 2024.

There will be a limit of 3 photo entries per person. The photos must be taken in, from, or include the Cornwall AONB.  To accompany your entry, we would like you to write a short paragraph to say why you took each photo and explain why it’s special to you.

Winners will be notified during the autumn and the winning images will be showcased in an exhibition with poetry readings. A selection of the images will form part of a booklet of which those featured will receive a copy.

Prizes will be awarded for the first, second and third place winners of the competition. There will be a special Young Photographer of the Year prize for those under 18 years.


How to enter the 2023 Photo Competition:

  • Photographs must be of locations within the Cornwall AONB - see map of the AONB areas 

  • You may submit up to 3 photos per person

  • Photographs can be full colour or black and white and must be hi-res jpeg (.jpg format)

  • Send your images by email to: info@cornwall-aonb.gov.uk by the closing date of midnight on Sunday 31 March 2024

  • Include your name and address (your e-mail address will be used to confirm your entry and to contact you if you win. It will not be used for any other purpose or passed on to any third party.)

  • Include a short paragraph about why you took (each) photo and why it is special to you.

  • Include your date of birth if 18 or under 

  • By entering you agree to the conditions set out in the competition rules

 Competition rules

  1. You may enter up to 3 photographs

  2. The photos must be taken in, from, or include, the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  

  3. To accompany your photos please sign and return the Declaration Form which can be downloaded here to confirm sole authorship of the photo and confirms you have read and understood the competition rules

  4. All photographs must be your own work, and you must legally hold the copyright to them. To prevent our email system from rejecting your entry, the email size may be no larger than 10 Megabytes.

  5. To be eligible for the shortlist, your photograph must be taken with a sufficiently high-resolution camera (we recommend at least eight million pixels). Your image must be printable able at 300dpi at A4 size (210 x 297mm). Please save your picture as jpg format at the highest quality setting. 

  6. For those entrants under the age of 16, a parent or guardian will need to sign a written consent form.

  7. At our discretion, all suitable entries received will be displayed on the website, along with their caption, and the photographers name. 

  8. You give your permission for the Cornwall AONB and the Cornwall AONB Trust to publish your photos on our website and through digital media and to use without charge to promote the competition and the AONB in publicity material such as displays, leaflets, magazine and newspaper articles (produced by third parties) cards, calendars and other forms of publicity at our discretion. If your photo is used in this way you will be credited as the photographer. We will make no claims on your copyright. 

  9. If the people in your photo are recognisable, you must obtain their permission for the pictures to be entered into the competition and used for promotional purposes. 

  10. You agree to give Cornwall AONB and Cornwall AONB Trust a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty free, ten year license to use, copy, modify, translate and/or adapt, distribute, publicly display by any means and in any media and create derivative works of, and copy, distribute such derivative works of your photo.

All entries must be received by midnight on Sunday 31 March 2024 together with a signed declaration form which you can download here.

Judges will include members of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Team, Cornwall AONB Trustees and others such as an independent artist, and judges decisions on winning images are final.