Kern Valley Spring Nature Festival   2008 Spring Nature Activities at a Glance  

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     Spring Nature Bird List        Events only at KRP    NatureFest Photo Contest   

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2008 Kern River Valley Spring Nature Festival

Photo Contest

Rules | Entries

The Kern River Valley Festival committee is sponsoring this second annual Photo Contest to honor and encourage residents and visitors to the Kern River Valley to participate in educating the public through photography. All Entries must be photos of the natural environment or of people enjoying nature from the Kern River Valley, Southern Sierra, Kern, Tulare, or Inyo Counties. Ellen Schafhauser is managing the 2008 Photo Contest.

FORMAT. Up to 8.5"x11" mounted prints of film or digital photographs either in black and white or color. All prints must be matted on no larger than 11"x14" matting, NO GLASS FRAMES PLEASE.

CATEGORIES - Enter one photograph in one of the appropriate categories. Age Groups - Youth (12 and under), Teen (13-18 years), Adult (19 and up), Professional (any age category). 

1. Professional (only one category but any of the following are appropriate subjects)

2. Wildlife (Adult)

3. Plants (Adult)

4. Landscape (Adult)

5. Close-up - Macro (Adult)

6. Environmental Education (Adult)

7. Landscape (Teen)

8. Close-up - Macro (Teen)

9. Landscape (Youth)

10. Close-up - Macro (Youth)

LABEL FOR BACK OF PHOTO: All prints must be labeled with the following information placed on the back of the PRINT:

• Entry Category and Age Group

• Common Name (and scientific if known) of subject

• Location of photograph

• Date of photograph

• Contestants Name and age if entering in children's category.

• Address

• Phone and email

To ensure anonymous voting, no names on the front, please, but titles and date are acceptable. The NatureFest committee encourages contest entrants to also submit electronic copies of their entries (jpg format) so that they can be posted on this web page. Photographers names will be omitted until after the judging on Saturday night.

TITLE FOR FRONT OF PHOTO: title of image and date may be put on front of matting to help tell the story.

AWARDS. Qualified winners will be awarded first, second, and third place ribbons in each of the ten categories.

OTHER RULES. Each contestant may submit a maximum of two PRINTS per category. Photos must have been taken by the contestant.

SUBMISSION OF PRINTS. PRINTS must be available for viewing no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, April 30. You may either drop off your prints or mail them to: Kern Valley NatureFest, c/o Kern River Preserve, P.O. Box 833, 18747 Highway 178, Weldon, CA 93283. PRINTS must arrive at this address by Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Photographers do not need to be present to win. To ensure that your entries are posted on the website prior to the festival submit electronic copies to the NatureFest webmaster ASAP.

JUDGING. Prints will be judged at the NatureFest by the attendees of the dinners on Friday May 2nd and Saturday May 3rd. Attendees will pick up ballots below the photos and vote Friday and Saturday until 6:30 p.m. One vote per person per category. Winners will be announced after the program on Saturday night. (If more than 10 prints per category are received, photos will be juried down by our panel to the best 10 per category).

PLEASE ENCLOSE A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE: PRINTS will not be returned, except upon advance request, and will become the property of the Kern River Valley Nature Festival. The NatureFest shall have the right to use these photographs in its publications and educational programs, with full credit given to the photographer.

Five Ecological Habitats Converge in the Kern River Valley

Chaparral | Great Valley Grassland | Great Basin Desert | Mojave Desert | Sierran Forest

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Weather: Weather in the Kern Valley in late April is usually spectacular (sunny, 65-80° F daytime highs), but it can be variable. On mountain trips prepare for very cool to freezing weather. For your comfort, we suggest bringing water, snacks, a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, jacket for cool weather, and sturdy shoes (waterproof boots may be handy in riparian areas).

Field Trips: Carpooling is encouraged - be sure to start the day with a full tank of gas before heading out! Participants on long field trips should pack a lunch and drinks for the day. All field trips held rain or shine.

Fees/Registration: There is no general entrance fee to attend the Kern River Valley Spring Nature Festival. All fee activities are limited to twenty or less participants... usually ten to fifteen. Mail your registration form ASAP and be sure to list alternate field trip requests. All fees go to support the Festival and are not refundable. Vendor fees are waved at Circle Park but are 10% of net or $100 whichever is lower for booths selling merchandise at the Kern River Preserve.

Schedule of Events: Additional events may be added between now and the Spring Nature Festival weekend.

Volunteer NatureFest Steering Committee: Steve Kenton, Bill & Birdie Foster, Reed Tollefson, Jeff King, Ellen Schafhauser, Ron Gillentine, Sandra Wieser, Darrell and Marya Barnes, Bob Barnes, Chuck White, Wendy Rannals, Gordon & Chris Hancock, Chuck Wild,  Steve Anderson, Bob Lowe, Buz Lunsford, Brenda Burnett, Charlotte Goodson, Valerie Cassity, Marsha Smith, Lee Sutton, Alison Sheehey

A big thank you to all of the 2008 Festival Sponsors: Audubon-California (Kern River Preserve), EK Schafhauser Photography, Friends of the Kern River Preserve, Herp-Ecology, Kern River Courier, Kerncrest Audubon Society, Kern River Valley Revitalization, Inc., Kern Valley Sun, Nature Alley, Southern Sierra Research Center, USDA- Forest Service – Sequoia National Forest, TLH (Turn-left Here), Valley Wild

JOIN US FOR FUN IN THE CALIFORNIA SUN

Visit the Kern River Preserve in Weldon, California. Open every day of the year from dawn to dusk.