Participation Guidelines
The Kuusamo Nature Photo nature photography competitions are open to everyone!
- You can enter with previously published photos as well as photos that have been entered in other competitions both domestically and internationally
- The photos must be taken by the participant and they must have all rights to the photos
- If the photos feature recognizable individuals, the photographer must have their consent for the photos to be published
- Photos taken at any time can be entered in all categories
- The photos can be taken anywhere in the world
- Citizens of any country can participate in the categories
- See detailed participation instructions and links on each competition category page:
Participation Fee and Participation
The participation fee for the categories Hannu Hautala and Art of Nature are 30 €. Participants can enter both series with the same participation fee.
Once you have paid the registration fee, you will receive participation codes for both series as well as a receipt of the payment via email. ! Please check your spam folder if the message does not appear in your inbox.
You can take part in only one or in both categories. Please note that each registration code is specific to one category and can be used only once. If you participate in both series, fill out a separate competition form for each category and use the category-specific code. All images entered into one category must be uploaded at the same time.
Submissions to the competition can only be uploaded through the competition entry form. Once uploaded, the images cannot be edited or removed from the server. A maximum of five (5) images can be submitted to each category
The Instagram categories are free of charge and can be entered through the Instagram app.
Jury and Evaluation
The competition jury comprises Jonna Kalliomäki (Chair), Paavo Hamunen and Mika Honkalinna (permanent jury members), and Kaisa Sirén (changing jury member).
By entering the competition, a photographer agrees to follow the competition rules. The jury can disqualify an image that breaks the rules even after the selection and announcement of the winning images. The decisions of the jury will be final.
Please note that the cash prizes for the categories Hannu Hautala and Art of Nature are considered taxable earned income according to the Income Tax Act.
The results will be announced at our website and our social media outlets. They will also be widely covered in the media
Results Announcement
The results will be announced during the Kuusamo Nature Photo event and on the festival’s website, social media channels, and various media outlets.
Each photographer participating in the top eight of the categories Hannu Hautala and Art of Nature, as well as the top three participants in the Instagram categories, will receive an invitation to attend the Kuusamo Nature Photo event as special guests. The rankings of the participants will be announced during the award ceremony at Kuusamotalo.
The organizer’s intellectual property rights to the images
The organiser of the competition i.e. the Kuusamo Town Department of Culture has the right to use the awarded images free of charge for the purpose of Kuusamo Nature Photo news coverage and marketing in both print and electronic media, and also in the touring exhibition presenting the results of the competition. In addition, Kuusamo Nature photo may show any non-awarded photos free of charge in a multimedia presentation about the competition, which will be shown when the winners are announced at Kuusamo Hall.