2008 Photo Contest

Categories and Prizes

Categories

• Kids & Critters
• From Farm to Fork
• All in a Day’s Work on the Farm
• Natural Beauty
• Budding Artists – Brand new category for young shutterbugs!
  California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC) invites aspiring shutterbugs ages 13 and under who are children of Farm Bureau members to submit their very own photos showcasing California agriculture.

Prizes

• Grand Prize $1,000
• First Place $500 (each category)
• Second Place $250 (each category)
• Ten Budding Artists entries will receive a copy of the book "Imagine this... Stories Inspired by Agriculture," featuring stories written about agriculture by California students.

Download

Entry Forms (PDF, 171 KB)

PDF files require Adobe Reader.

Who Can Enter

The contest is open to any amateur photographer (one who receives no income from photography) who is a member of a County Farm Bureau in California. California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) employees, its affiliated companies and their immediate families are not eligible to participate in the contest. In addition, young aspiring photographers are invited to enter the brand new Budding Artists category presented by CFAITC. To enter this category, entrants must be 13 years old or younger and a child of a Farm Bureau member.

Contest Rules

You may submit one photo per category. Please make sure your entry form specifies which category you wish the photo to be judged in. Budding Artists entrants may enter any photos that highlight California agriculture.

Photos must be submitted in either 5" x 7" but no larger than 8 1/2" x 11" format, unmatted and unframed.

Digital photos must be high resolution and printed on photographic paper (see our Tips for Best Print Quality section). No e-mail or memory card entries will be accepted.

A completed entry form must accompany each entry and be attached to the back of each photo. The model release portion of the form must also be completed for each identifiable person in the photograph. Children entering the Budding Artists category must provide their date of birth on the entry form.

Photos entered in the CFBF contest cannot have been, and may not be, entered in any other contest.

All photos become the property of CFBF and will not be returned.

Contest Deadline

Entries must be postmarked by Friday, September 26, 2008.

Send your photos with completed entry forms attached to the back of each photo to:

Photo Contest
California Farm Bureau Federation
2300 River Plaza Drive
Sacramento, CA 95833

Winners will be notified by mail or e-mail. Winning photos will be displayed at the CFBF Annual Meeting in December and posted on our Web site, www.cfbf.com.

CFBF may, without offering any consideration to or obtaining the permission of its submitter, use any such photograph for any purpose, such as publishing it in Ag Alert® and/or California Country®, posting it on CFBF Web sites, reproducing it for CFBF use, or selling it at a County Farm Bureau auction.

Tips for Best Print Quality

1. Take digital images to a commercial photo finisher (most retail stores have photo centers available) and request a final print size of 5"x7" up to 8 1/2"x11".

2. When printing from an in-home ink-jet or color laser printer, use "best" quality photo print setting (see instruction manual for your specific printer).

3. Be sure to print on photo paper for consideration.

Questions

Contact Barbara Arciero at (916) 561-5574 or barciero@cfbf.com.

See Some of the 2007 Winners

Grand Prize Winner

Charlotte H. Smith, Santa Barbara County

Grandmothers are legends in their own right, but rancher Charlotte Smith, also known as Grandma Do-Dee, takes the role of nurturer to a whole new level. The families of Tepusquet Canyon benefit daily from Smith's love and devotion to her close-knit community.

Using a digital camera she received as a birthday gift, Smith captured last year's grand prize with a photo of 6-year-old neighbor Kayla Minetti with "Hippie Chicken." Hippie Chicken earned his nickname for his wild top feathers and legendary barnyard antics. According to many who stop by the Las Flores Cattle Ranch, no visit is complete without a trip through the barnyard and Smith's chicken coop. Kayla, who is a bit shy, loves to join in with the other children and chase the chickens.

Smith was last year's only double winner, also taking first prize in the From Farm to Fork category.

Kids & Critters

First Prize, Misty Tartaglia, San Luis Obispo County

This tender moment between Reese Tartaglia and her horse Biscuit shows the strength of connection between human and horse. Reese's mom, Misty, also a winner in the 2006 photo contest, captured the moment on their ranch in Harmony.

Biscuit was named by Reese's dad, Derrick, after the legendary Seabiscuit. The quarter horse was purchased as a yearling and trained for use on the family's cattle ranch. But Biscuit quickly stole Reese's heart and has been a bright spot in many of the 3-year-old's days. But the admiration is mutual, as Biscuit loves to lower his head to greet little Reese for kisses.

From Farm to Fork

First Prize, Charlotte H. Smith, Santa Barbara County

It was a perfect day to can so Charlotte Smith gathered up her granddaughters and did just that. Sarah, 10, and Shauna, 9, enjoy spending time with their grandmother and learning the many lessons she has to teach them. Smith, who was also last year's Grand Prize winner, took this photo during a break in the canning action.

The garden at the Las Flores Ranch provides a bounty of fruits and vegetables, and Smith takes great pride in the fact that they raise and preserve much of it themselves. She says she enjoys sharing her homegrown creations with her family and the lessons behind them with her grandchildren in the hope that they pass them down for generations to come.

All in a Day's Work

First Prize, Erika DuVal, Modoc County

Erika DuVal and the crew she was working with had just finished baling hay for the day when she saw the perfect opportunity for this shot. According to DuVal, these eight John Deere tractors are kept in top working condition and had just been used to bale 2,500 acres of alfalfa hay. Each day the owners line up the tractors like this when they've finished their work, a tradition that DuVal believes represents the enormous pride they have for keeping the "Johnny Popper" traditions alive in Modoc County. This was the first time the new mom and avid photographer had entered the Farm Bureau's photo contest.

Natural Beauty

First Prize, Stacy Schmidt, San Benito County

A rare winter snow provided avid photographer Stacy Schmidt with the opportunity to take this shot of a serene landscape. Schmidt grew up on the Pine Rock Ranch in Paicines and returned to the ranch after college to be with her husband, Alex, and raise their family, which now includes their son Tristin. Schmidt can only remember seeing snow deep enough to make a snowball a few times in her life, so she raced around on a three-wheeler to capture the excitement of this uncommon view.