Happy Snappin’ 2024 RT Photo Content Now Open!
The Ninth Annual Rockaway Times Photo Contest is now officially open! As you know, there’s no doubt, Rockaway’s got talent and we like to put the spotlight on peninsula shutterbugs.
As we’ve done in years past, the Top 30 photos selected are made poster-size and put on display on the boardwalk. And some honorable mentions get placed at the ferry dock. The Top 30 this year will feature five photos from the category “Ferry Photos” and five photos from the “Jamaica Bay and Rockaway Parks” category. The final category will be “Rockaway Life” — that means anything and everything that has to do with this great peninsula. All great photos will be considered. The winning photographer wins a $500 Grand Prize, a front page feature and ever-lasting bragging rights. You don’t have to be a professional, you just have to take a great photo!
OK, now the IMPORTANT STUFF: The deadline this year will be at NOON on Monday, April 22. Other than our two formal categories, you can submit whatever photos you’d like. We would love to see a photo of your adorable pet, but remember, it will be competing against sunsets, parades, wildlife, surfers, you name it. Judges will only consider pictures that convey a local theme. You are allowed to submit up to FOUR (4) photos. They must be high resolution (some of those phone photos just don’t cut it; resist sending fuzzy out-of-focus pictures) and the photos must be of Rockaway, Breezy Point or Broad Channel or on the ferry/from the ferry. This is The Rockaway Times Photo Contest and we’re sure your vacation photos are great but we’re sticking to local shots. You must submit your name (or the name of the photographer), and please know that The Rockaway Times may use any of the photos as we see fit (in the paper, Summer Guide, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). We will give photo credit, but we will have full rights to the photo. And please, only send photos you have taken or have rights to or permission to use. Please make sure the photos are your own. We’ve had instances in the past where people shared great photos from professional photographers and even from Rockaway Times staff members into the contest. It must be original work, or it will be automatically disqualified.
Even more IMPORTANT STUFF: Send to the CORRECT email address. Submit your top photos to Contest@Rockawaytimes.com. We will still print our Local Color feature each week, but that’s a separate email and contest photos sent there cannot be considered, so please don’t mix them up.
Contest tip: We know we’ll get lots and lots of beautiful sunsets and sunrises but that means it’ll be tough for your photo to really stand out. Maybe your picture of kids on the beach or a great boardwalk scene or something that screams “That’s Rockaway!” will be the one that captures the judges’ eyes. Last year, Tom Farley won the judges over with his awesome winning shot of a skateboarder at the skate park on Beach 91st Street. And remember, send only your top 4 (no more!).
We’re thrilled to have our co-sponsors back for this year’s contest. The Jamaica Bay–Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC) who will be sponsoring the, well, Jamacia Bay and Rockaway Parks category, NYC Ferry who will be sponsoring the Ferry Photos category, and NYC Parks! Thank you for helping to make this one of the summer’s great events.
So, the 2024 Photo Contest is officially open! Happy snappin’, Rockaway! Remember: Contest@RockwayTimes.com
Photo by Tom Farley
