The Aperture Academy is proud to present the 2012 Extraordinary Exposures Photography Contest.

Please read all the contest entry rules before submitting. Remember, the legal-eagles insist that if you enter, you are saying you understand all these rules and agree to them, so don't forget to read them! Thanks, and good luck!

ELIGIBILITY: The Aperture Academy Extraordinary Exposures Photography Contest ("Contest") is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older. Employees of Aperture Academy LLC ("Sponsor"), and its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child and sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and/or those living in same household of each, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate or win. Void where prohibited by law. Sponsor reserves the right to verify all eligibility requirements. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

HOW TO ENTER:
Limit of ten (10) entries per person. Each entry submitted by any person must be substantially different from any other entry submitted by that person, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Additionally, each entry may not have won previous awards and may not have been previously published online or in print as part of a previous photo contest sponsored by Aperture Academy. Entries that are found to have won previous awards or to have been published as part of a previous photo contest will be disqualified.

Photographs should be in keeping with the general theme of the Extraordinary Exposures Photography Contest and be appropriate for one or all of the entry categories of Nature's Landscapes, Wildlife and Urban Landscapes, including, but not limited to photos of historical locations, scenic and animal life.

How to Submit Entry:
Visit http://www.apertureacademy.com/photography-contest-enter.php and complete and submit the online entry form and follow the directions provided to upload your photograph(s). All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time ("PT") on December 31, 2012.

Entry Submission Format: Photos must be submitted in .JPG format and cannot exceed 1MB in size.

Please note: Entries submitted online will be eligible for (i) the Grand Prize, (ii) First Prize, (iii) Second Prize, and (iv) Third Prize. (All prizes as described below.)

Entry must be the original work of the entrant and entrant must be the sole owner of the copyright of such entry. Entry must be in keeping with the Sponsor's image and may not be inappropriate or offensive, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, nor can it defame or invade publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person's personal or property rights or any other third-party rights. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry it deems to be offensive, inappropriate, that is not in keeping with Sponsor's image or that is otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these Official Rules. Entrant must have obtained express written consent to submit any entry that contains persons other than entrant or third-party elements not owned by entrant and, if requested to do so, produce such written consent from appropriate parties in a form and manner acceptable to Sponsor.

GRAND PRIZE JUDGING: One (1) potential Grand Prize winner will be determined from among all eligible entries received by a panel of qualified judges, based equally on the following criteria: Adherence to Theme, Composition and Creativity/Originality ("Judging Criteria"). The entrant who submitted the entry receiving the highest score, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be the potential Grand Prize winner.

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Potential winners will be notified by e-mail on or about December 31, 2012 and will be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and, unless prohibited, a Publicity Release, a W-9 Form and any additional documents that may be required by prize provider within fourteen (14) days of date of issuance. If any potential winner is an eligible minor in his or her jurisdiction of residence, prize may, at Sponsor's discretion, be awarded in the name of the parent or legal guardian, and such parent or legal guardian will be required to fulfill all requirements imposed on winners set forth herein. Noncompliance with this time period or with these Official Rules, or the return of any prize notification as undeliverable, may result in disqualification and, at the Sponsor's discretion, the prize will be awarded to an applicable runner-up.

If, for any reason, the Sponsor does not feature any of the winning entries, no compensation or substitution will be provided; however, remainder of prize package will be awarded and Sponsor will have no further obligation to Grand Prize winner. All prize details are at the sole discretion of the Sponsor. No substitution, cash equivalent or transfer of prizes permitted by winners. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) of comparable or greater value, in its sole discretion. All federal, state and local taxes as well as any costs and expenses associated with prize acceptance and use not specified herein as being awarded are sole responsibility of each winner. Prizes are awarded "as is" with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by the Sponsor. Limit one (1) prize per household.

USE OF ENTRY:
Entrant MUST be the sole owner and copyright holder of image(s) entered into this contest. By submitting an entry, Entrant grants Sponsor and its designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use the entry and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes in Sponsor's online and brick and mortar retail galleries for the purposes of displaying winning images, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law. In addition, each winner grants to the Sponsor and its designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use and distribute the entry (as submitted, or as cropped by Sponsor), and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes, in any and all media now or hereafter known, including without limitation on Aperture Academy's website or in Aperture Academy's retail gallery, FOR PURPOSES OF PROMOTION OF THIS CONTEST AND OTHER SPONSOR CONTESTS AND/OR FOR PURPOSES OF ADVERTISING AND PROMOTING SPONSOR and, except as otherwise stated herein, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law. ENTRANT WILL RETAIN COPYRIGHT OF THEIR ENTRY/IMAGE(S). SPONSOR DOES NOT SEEK ENTRANT TO SURRENDER OWNERSHIP OR COPYRIGHT OF ANY IMAGE(S) SUBMITTED FOR ENTRY.

Use of Personal Information: Your personal information collected in connection with this Contest will be used in accordance with Aperture Academy's Privacy Policy (available at http://www.apertureacademy.com/terms-policies.php#privacy), including, without limitation, for marketing and promotional purposes.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for late, lost, garbled, damaged, incomplete, delayed, undelivered, or misdirected entries or photographs or for computer, technical, printing, typographical, human or other errors relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, inability to access any website associated with the Contest, errors which may occur in the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes or in any Contest-related materials. If for any reason the Contest (or any portion thereof) is not capable of running as planned, including infection by tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, at their sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and, if terminated, at their discretion, determine winners from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of such action using judging procedure described above. By participating, entrant agrees (i) to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors and judges, which are final and binding in all respects, and (ii) to hold Sponsor and its respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, prize suppliers and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective directors, officers, employees and agents of the foregoing (collectively, the "Released Parties"), harmless against any and all claims and liability arising, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, out of or in connection with participation in this Contest, acceptance and use of any prize or Released Parties' use of any of the rights granted herein. Sponsor may disqualify (and void all associated entries) anyone from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that such person is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception or other unfair practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrant or Sponsor's representatives or who is otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these rules. ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

WINNERS' LIST: For the list of winners (available after January 31st, 2012), send a separate, stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Aperture Academy Extraordinary Exposures Photo Contest Winners' List, 1875 S. Bascom, Suite 600, Campbell, CA, 95008.

Great! Click here to go to the submission form and start uploading your photos!

Now that you've read all the legal mumbo jumbo, guidelines, photo specs, etc., it's time to click here and submit your photos to the contest. Good luck!