Photo Contest

Fire Management Todayinvites you to submit your best fire-related images to be judged in our annualcompetition. Winners in each category will receive awards (first place – ¾ certificatefor camera equipment worth $300 and a 16 – by 20 – inch framed and matted copy ofyour photo; second place – an 11 – by 14 – inch framed and matted copy of yourphoto; third place – an 8 – by 10 – inch framed and matted copy of your photo).Winning images will appear in a future issue of Fire Management Today; otherscould appear as well. All contestants will receive a CD with the images andcaptions (as submitted) remaining after technical review. The CD will identifythe winners by category.

Categories

• Wildland fire 

• Aerial resources 

• Wildland-urban interface fire 

• Prescribed fire 

• Ground resources 

• Miscellaneous 

Rules 

• The contest is open to everyone.You can submit an unlimited number of entries taken any place or time. No photosjudged in previous FMT contests may be entered. 

• You must own the rights to theimage and it must not have been previously published.

• We prefer an original slide or negative; however,we’ll accept duplicate slides or high-quality prints (for example, good focus,contrast level, and depth of field). Please note that we’ll be keeping your slide, negative, or print.

• We’ll also accept digital image files if the imagewas shot at the highest resolution using a camera with at least 2.5 megapixelsor if the image is scanned at 300 lines per inch or equivalent with a minimumoutput size of 5×7.  Digital image files should be TIFFs or highest-quality JPGs.

• Please indicate only one competition category perimage. To ensure fair evaluation, we reserve the right to change the competitioncategory for your image.

• Provide a detailed caption for each image. For example: 
                  A Sikorsky S–64 Skycrane delivers retardant on the 1996 Clark Peak Fire, Coronado National Forest.  
                  AZ. Photo: name, professional affiliation, town, state,year image captured.

• A panel of judges, withsignificant photography and publishing experience, determines the winners. Theirdecision is final.

• Photos will be eliminated fromcompetition if they lack detailed captions, have date stamps, show unsafefirefighting practices (unless that is their express purpose), or are of lowtechnical quality (for example, have soft focus or show camera movement).

• You must complete and sign theattached release statement granting the USDA Forest Service rights to use your image(s). Mail your completed release with your entry or fax it (+1-970-295-5815)at the same time you email digital image files.

2004 Fire Management Today Photo Contest

Release Statement and ContactInformation

Enclosed is/are _________(number) slide(s)/print(s)/digitalimage(s) for publication by the USDA Forest Service. For each image submitted,the contest category is indicated and a detailed caption is enclosed. I have theauthority to give permission to the Forest Service to publish the enclosedimage(s) and am aware that, if used, it/they will be in the public domain andappear on the World Wide Web.

Contact information:

Name______________________________________________________________________________

Institution affiliation, if any _______________________________________________________________

Home or business address______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone number__________________________ Email address ______________________________

Mailentries to:

USDA Forest Service,Fire Management Today Photo Contest, Madelyn Dillon, 2150 Centre Ave., BuildingA, Suite 361, Fort Collins, CO 80526, U.S.A.

or

Email images andcaptions to:

 mdillon@fs.fed.usand fax signed release form to +1-970-295-5815 (attn: Madelyn Dillon)

Postmark Deadline: 5 March 2004

PastWinners

FirstPlace, Ground Resources. Firefighter burning out a section of fireline on the 1988 Fayette LakeFire, Jim Bridger Wilderness, Bridger–Teton National Forest, WY. Photo:Richard Claypole, USDA Forest Service, Klamath National Forest, Happy CampRanger District, Happy Camp, CA, 1988.

FirstPlace, Prescribed Fire. Single strip of prescribed fire under ponderosa pines on the Fort ValleyExperimental Forest, Coconino National Forest, AZ. Photo: Allen Farnsworth, USDAForest Service, Coconino National Forest, Peaks Ranger District, Flagstaff, AZ,1996.

First Place, Aerial Resources.  AP3–A airtanker delivering retardant on the 1999 Yellow Pine Complex, ModocNational Forest, CA. Redding Hotshots (foreground) are preparing to help burnout a large section of fireline after the retardant drop. Photo: James Gould,USDA Forest Service, Klamath National Forest, Happy Camp Ranger District, HappyCamp, CA, 1999.

FirstPlace, Miscellaneous.  Lupinescarpeting the floor of an open old-growth ponderosa pine forest maintained byfrequent lightning fires on the Powell Plateau, North Rim, Grand Canyon NationalPark, AZ. Photo: Allen Farnsworth, USDA Forest Service, Coconino NationalForest, Peaks Ranger District, Flagstaff, AZ, 1998.

Second Place, Miscellaneous.  Brackenfern, one of many carpeting the forest floor 2 years after a prescribed fire onthe Coconino National Forest, AZ. Photo: Allen Farnsworth, USDA Forest Service,Coconino National Forest, Peaks Ranger District, Flagstaff, AZ, 1998.