American Western Landscape Photo Contest

Ah, Mother Nature. Her artistry is unparalleled, especially when it comes to one of her favorite palettes: the American west.

Close your eyes. C’mon. Go ahead. Now picture this: blazing orange sunsets. Cloudless blue sky. A pack of wild horses running. Cattle grazing. A solitary cactus blooming. A storm watch. A tornado. Dusk, captured on film. Early morning, steam rising from the earth. Starlit sky.

You get the idea.

So why am I going on like this? Well, we had so much fun with our last contest, we decided to run a new one: an American western landscape photo contest.

Seems like everyone has a camera these days. And you don’t need to be a pro to capture some amazing shots. And we want to see them, specifically shots of an American western landscape.

If you win, you get published on this here blog and on Facebook.

And you win a shirt of your choosing from AJ’s Western Wear. Sound good?

Here’s the 411: Be sure to read all the rules, terms, and conditions!

What: Western Landscape Photo Contest

When: Runs from 5/13/10 through Monday, 6/14/10 at 9:00 p.m. (EDT)

Where: Through this email address: clementine@westernshirts.com

Why: In celebration of the beauty that is the American western landscape

Who: Must be 13 years or older to enter and must have a mailing address in the United States (we don’t do international shipping). Open to amateurs and a pros alike. Photos must be your own.

How: Attach as a jpeg your western landscape photo in an email and send to clementine@westernshirts.com Note: by submitting your photo, you’re acknowledging that you own full rights to the photo.

So what constitutes an American western landscape? No doubt, many definitions abound, but here’s what we’re looking for:

* Capturing the beauty of the wide open spaces
* Capturing Mother Nature at her most powerful – from storm clouds to blazing sunsets to a solitary cactus in bloom
* There should be no people in the shot, but animals and objects are fine
* Color or black and white – the choice is yours

The winner will be announced on this blog and via Facebook after 6/14 but before 6/30. Feel free to share this contest with your photo bug friends!

Judges include me (Clementine) and some of the staff at AJ’s. All decisions are final.

What you get if you win:

1. Your winning photo will be published on this blog and promoted through Facebook (we have over 1700 fans at the writing of these rules, so you have a bunch of eyeballs to get this photo in front of…plus we welcome you promoting it as well).

2. You get to choose one (1) shirt that we’re currently carrying at AJ’s Western Wear. If the shirt you select is no longer available for whatever reason, we will do our best to get you a replacement shirt of equal value.

If you win, you agree to grant AJ’s Western Wear first electronic rights for 30 days. All rights revert to you after 30 days, and we will continue to keep the photo up on the blog/Facebook until/if you tell us to take it down.

Void where prohibited.

AJ’s Western Wear and Clementine are not responsible for lost, deleted, or misplaced entries or for any technical glitches caused by computers, email programs, this blog, Facebook, or any other device used for this contest.

If an insufficient number of entries are received, contest may be extended and/or canceled, without notice beyond an update to these rules.

Rules may be updated at any time, for any reason, and without notice.

Get cracking! The clock’s ticking. Wow us with your photography!