Pictures speak a thousand words

Let us know what coral reefs mean to you and help us to showcase Australia’s coral reefs to the world!

In celebration of International Year of the Reef 2008, Reef Check Australia and Project AWARE have formed a partnership to present the “What do coral reefs mean to you?” photography competition.

The goal of the competition is to showcase the Australian public’s ‘vision’ of the value of our coral reefs and the threats that they currently face. These “values” include social activities and recreational pastimes such as diving, snorkelling, sailing and fishing, traditional cultural activities for many indigenous Australians and commercial ventures such as tourism and gathering seafood.

Winning entries will be used in our campaigns to help us raise awareness about the beauty and the issues facing coral reefs. Our online gallery will open for submissions between May 1st and June 30th 2008. From July 1st Reef Check Australia members will be invited to vote for their favourite entries on the internet through until the 31st August. Any member of the general public can become a Reef Check Australia member free-of-charge and join our competition.

Participants can submit digital images through the online gallery system available here . Digital files including scanned transparencies and photographs are all acceptable provided they meet the entry criteria summarised in rule 3. A maximum of one entry per person per category will be accepted.
In addition to the online voting system the panel of judges will be looking for original, beautiful or striking shots that capture the overall theme of the competition and/or each of the component categories. Entries to this competition are not limited to underwater photography but rather to entries that capture the relationship(s) between human beings and coral reef ecosystems.
To join or vote in the competition you must first sign up to become a Reef Check member via the registration page. Prizes include livaboard dive trips to the Great Barrier Reef and other merchandise.

Reef Check members are able to submit photos to our competitions, vote on competition entries, join the Reef Check supporters community, receive our newsletters and download Reef Check screensavers.

Competition participants will be invited to submit entries in five separate categories.

Reef Check Australia and Project AWARE request all snorkellers and divers follow the Project AWARE tips for underwater photographers. These useful tips will help you to get the bet possible pictures underwater whilst ensuring that we all conserve the marine environment. “Take only pictures, leave only bubbles”

Please see Terms and Conditions for competition rules. Also check out the fantastic prize packages for winning entries.

See previous winners: Photography Competition 2007