THE MONO AWARDS 2024 - Terms And Conditions

Our terms and conditions have been approved by the PhotoWatchDog, the advocate for fair photo competitions in Australia.

ELIGIBILITY

1. The Mono Awards is open to photographers from around the world.

2. Images must have been taken on or after 1 January 2022. If EXIF data indicates an image was captured before 1 January 2022 it may be disqualified.

3. Images previously entered in The Mono Awards may not be entered again.

4. An entrant may enter multiple times in one or more categories.

5. An image, or a similar version of that image, that has been a Winner or Runner-Up in any of the following Yaffa Media photo competitions – Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers, Photographer of the Year, The Landscape Awards, Wilderness Photographer of the Year or The Capture Awards – will not be eligible to be a Winner or Runner-Up in The Mono Awards.

6. Category winners of The Mono Awards 2022 and 2023 are not eligible to enter The Mono Awards 2024.

7. All elements must have been photographed by the entrant and images submitted must be 100% photographic in origin. The use of stock images or clip art is forbidden.

8. An image created wholly or in part with the assistance of artificial intelligence, 3D, or illustration processes may not be entered.

9. Employees of Yaffa Media Pty Ltd (the competition organiser) and the sponsors of The Mono Awards 2024 are not permitted to enter the competition.

10. Freelance writers and photographers who have been paid to contribute to Australian Photography or Capture since 1 January 2023 are not permitted to enter the competition.

CURRENCY

11. All pricing, including entry pricing and prize money, is in Australian Dollars (AUD).

MONOCHROME

12. Images must be in black and white or monochrome. For the purposes of this competition a black and white image is defined as one that only includes shades of black, white and grey. A monochrome image may only include shades of one colour, such as brown in the case of a sepia image. Images with more than one hue, such as split-toned, spot-colour, or colour images are not eligible. Images may be captured in black and white or mono chrome, or converted from colour to black and white or monochrome in post-production. Images may be captured digitally or on film.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

16. An image created wholly or in part with the assistance of artificial intelligence, 3D, or illustration processes may not be entered.

This is a photography competition and, as such, any entered images must have been entirely captured with a camera (digital, film or phone camera) by the entrant. Images created with artificial intelligence using image-creation programs (such as, but not limited to, MidJourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc) may not be entered. Images edited using Generative AI in programs such as Photoshop, Topaz Photo AI, etc, where pixels are added that did not exist in the original photo, may not be entered. The competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files (this may include RAW files and images taken before or after the entered image) to verify the photographic integrity of a submitted entry. Failure to produce original image files may result in disqualification. Competition organisers reserve the right to disqualify an image if the photographic integrity of a submitted entry cannot be verified.

DIGITAL MANIPULATION

17. Images entered into the competition must be entirely photographic in origin. Adjustments may be made to cropping, noise, sharpness, shadows, highlights and contrast, including dodging and burning. Stitched panoramas, focus stacks, and HDR images, where two or more exposures are captured in the same location and merged to form a single image, are also permitted. Other composite images are not permitted. Cloning of dust spots, scratches, and minor distractions is permitted. Digital lens and perspective correction is permitted. Competition organisers reserve the right to request original image files (this may include RAW files and images taken before or after the entered image) to confirm the compliance of an entry. Furthermore, they reserve the right to disqualify any image if they feel it lacks authenticity due to over-manipulation.

DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY

18. The Mono Awards supports the safe and legal operation of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), including drones. All entries captured with an RPA must comply with local rules and regulations. Any images suspected of being captured illegally will be disqualified. In order to be eligible for a prize, entrants must be able to provide verifiable EXIF data including drone type, position (latitude and longitude), and altitude information. Competition organisers reserve the right to disqualify any image they suspect may have been captured illegally.

COPYRIGHT

19. Entrants retain copyright of their images. The entrant provides The Mono Awards, Australian Photography, and Capture a limited-use authorisation to publish and distribute their photographs for the sole purpose of promoting The Mono Awards. Images will be credited with the name of the photographer if used by The Mono Awards, Australian Photography, or Capture in any promotion.

20. The entrant must be the creator of all elements in their submitted images. Any post-production and editing must be the work of the entrant.

IMAGE REQUIREMENTS

21. Image format: Images must be in JPEG (.jpg) format

22. Image dimensions: Images entered should be at least 2,500 pixels on the longest edge.

23. Image file size: Individual images must be no larger than 5MB.

24. Images must not include watermarks or other branding. The competition organiser reserves the right to disqualify any entry with a watermark or other branding.

CLOSING DATE

25. Closing date for entries is 11.59pm (AEST) Monday 10 June 2024.

JUDGING

26. Entries will be shortlisted by staff of Australian Photography and Capture, published by Yaffa Media (ABN 54 002 699 354), 17-21 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills, NSW.

27. A panel of leading photographers will judge the shortlisted entries.

28. In the event of a tie for first or second place, the relevant images will be returned to the judges for an additional round of voting.

29. The judges' decisions are final, and no further correspondence will be entered into.

WINNERS' ANNOUNCEMENT

30. Winners and Runners-Up will be announced at www.australianphotography.com, www.capturemag.com.au, and www.themonoawards.com.au in September 2024. Winners, Runners-up and Top 30 entries in each category will be published in the October-November 2024 edition of Australian Photography magazine.

Prize winners will also be notified by email.

CERTIFICATES

31. Certificates will be emailed in September 2024 to entrants who receive Commended, Highly Commended, Top 50, Top 40, Top 30, Top 20, Top 10, Runner-up or Winner awards.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE

32. Following the winners' announcement, People's Choice judging will begin. This will be conducted on The Mono Awards' Facebook page where the Top 30 from each category will be featured. Voting will be open for approximately two weeks. The image with the most likes in each category will be named People's Choice winner and will be notified by e-mail.

PRIZES

33. Prize money is in Australian dollars.

34. Product prizes are subject to availability, not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. If a prize is unavailable, the competition organiser reserves the right to substitute the prize with a prize of similar value and/or specification.

GENERAL

35. Entry fees are non-refundable.

36. The entrant indemnifies Yaffa Media Pty Ltd against any claim, legal or otherwise, that may arise out of publication of images.

37. Yaffa Media Pty Ltd reserves the right to disqualify any entry deemed to be in breach of the above Terms and Conditions.

38. By entering images into this competition the entrant guarantees to Yaffa Media Pty Ltd that all of the above Terms and Conditions have been met. Any entry found to breach the above Terms and Conditions will be disqualified and all prize money and product prizes must be returned to Yaffa Media Pty Ltd.