Local Testimony, the Annual Contest of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography

 

Instructing Guide

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Preface:

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Local Testimony, the annual contest of photojournalism and documentary photography, is exhibited every year alongside the annual World Press Photo exhibition. It presents the best works of Israeli, Palestinian, and foreign photographers active in our region, chosen by an independent jury and the exhibition curator. The exhibition reflects the events of the past year and immortalizes human moments which bear cultural and social importance in different spheres of life.

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Those entitled to participate:

1. 
   Israeli, Palestinian, and foreign photojournalists and documentary photographers and professional artists active over the past three years at least, provided they are:
   (a) Photographers with a press card.
   (b) Photographers who do not have a press card, but whose photographs have been published in the printed and online media over the past year, may participate in all the contest’s categories, except for the News category.
   (c) Artist photographers who have exhibited their work in solo or group exhibitions in contemporary art museums and galleries over the past four years, may participate in all the contest’s categories, except for the News category.

2. The competition will only accept photographs that were taken in Israel and/or in the Palestinian Authority, or photographs that document events that took place outside these areas, but have close connection to them. For example, documentation of an Israeli humanitarian or other delegation abroad.

3. Exclusive photographs of public or individual public relations bodies, of events that were closed to other photojournalists will not be accepted, unless they were carried out in agreed-upon frameworks (pulls) by all photographers.

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Rules for Participation

1. Registration for the contest will be carried out only by uploading photographs to the Local Testimony website. Uploading a photograph to the website will constitute confirmation that the registered photographer has read the Instructing Guide and has expressed his agreement to all its conditions.

2. The photographs sent to the jury will only be photographs that were taken between 1.9.2023 and 31.8.2024. Photographs that have been submitted to other local photography exhibition may not be submitted to Local Testimony.

3. Photographed series and the Long Exposure category may include photographs taken in earlier years, provided that at least one third of the submitted photographs were taken in the above-mentioned year. Series should present a special story that transcends the limits of a photograph sequence.

4. A photograph can be submitted only once. An identical photograph cannot be sent to different categories, and a photograph that appears in a series cannot be submitted separately as a single photograph.

5. The submitted photographs must be original and the work of the photographer. By uploading the photographs to the website, the photographer declares that he/she owns the copyright for the photograph.

6. Participants in the competition will not receive any monetary compensation for their participation in, or exhibition of their work in the exhibition and the Local Testimony website, or for the use of their photographs for the public relations, advertisements, and promotion of the exhibition of that year only.

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Submission method:

1. Photographs that have been drastically processed, in a way that has effected essential changes to the photographs’ original content matter, will not be accepted. AI technology, such as ChatGPT and Bard, and computer generated images may not be used.

2. Photos may be cropped to a reasonable extent, but cropping that are radically altered from the original will not be accepted.

3. The photographs should be submitted to the jury process only in a JPG format of a resolution of 1500 pixels on the smaller side of the photo, and the file’s weight should not exceed 2.5 MB.

4.  The photographers’ personal details should not appear on the submitted photographs. The photographs will be submitted devoid of frames, logo or the name of the photographer, addresses, or any other information imprinted on the photograph or included in accompanying text.

5. The participants will add a concise title that will not exceed 30 words, to the description of every photo or series.

6. The photographers should make sure that every light-weight photo submitted to the contest has a high-quality original in high resolution suitable for printing at a size no less than 100X70 centimeters.

7. In the event that your photos are selected for the exhibition, you will be requested to send the files to the editorial board in high resolution, in a tiff or jpeg format, of a maximal quality suitable for printing at a size no less than 100X70 centimeters, and a color profile Adobe RGB (1998) of 300 DPI.

8. The photographer must be prepared to submit a RAW file if so requested.

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The contest categories:

Preface -

1. Photographs in seven categories and a video category will be submitted to the jury. In each photo category up to 12 single photographs may be submitted, or one series consisting of 5-8 photographs. Exceptions: in the “Long Exposure” category a series of 15 photographs should be submitted.

2. The Local Testimony editorial board reserves the right to transfer photographs from one category, or to cancel a category, as they see fit.

3. Prizes to a total value of ₪45,000 will be awarded to the prize-winning photographers. The prizes are: Photo of the Year; Series of the Year; Democracy Prize, and Video of the Year. (An additional ₪15,000 prize will be awarded in memory of Roee Idan RIP, courtesy of the Union of Journalists in Israel. The Democracy Prize and the Video of the Year Prize are courtesy of “Shomrim” – The Center for Media and Democracy.)

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The categories:

1. News – Major current events covered in the main media channels. This category is only open to photographers with press cards. 

2. Religion and Faith – faiths, customs, rituals and ceremonies.

3. Society and Community – ways of life and struggles of diverse communities living in the local reality.

4. Urbanism and Culture – art, design, architecture and street photography

5. Sports – professional, competitive and amateur sports – athletes and their fans

6. Nature and the Environment – photographs of nature, flora and fauna, alongside issues that relate to ecology and preservation of the environment.

7. Long Exposure – a photo-narrative which has had time and documentary depth dedicated to it, creating an individual, expressive visual language. A series in this category should include 15 photographs.

8. Video – video works and short video clips that have appeared on social networks, produced between 2023 and 2024, that fall in line with the contest’s categories. The length of a submitted video should not exceed 7 minutes, and the file’s weight should not exceed 200 MB.

Video creators should register for the contest by 31.8.2024. The deadline for submission is 5.9.2024. The films will be transferred through websites that transfer large files to: info@edutmekomit.co.il or as a link. The participants will add a short description of the video that will not exceed 30 words.
Make sure that the file name is your name in English, in Latin characters.

 

Time Frame:

1. Submission of photo files will commence on Tuesday, 13.8.2024 and end on Saturday, 31.8.2024 at 23:59.

2. The jury process will take place during September 2024.

3. The names of the photographers participating in the exhibition will be published during October 2024.

4. The Local Testimony editorial board reserves the right to change the above-mentioned dates.

 

The Exhibition

1. Local Testimony, or anyone on their behalf, are not responsible either directly or indirectly for all demands, complaints, or claims of any third party for the publication of the selected photographs due to violation of copyright, impairment of intellectual property or the person’s privacy.

2. The Local Testimony editorial board and jury are practiced in selecting the works and the way they in which they will be exhibited, based on their professional considerations. It will not be possible to interfere with these considerations or withdraw from participation due to the selected composition of the works or the way in which they are exhibited.