Sonnenberg Annual Photo Contest with Fall Photo Exhibit

Photo buffs and shutterbugs, expert and amateur alike, will have until Mon. Sept. 6 to mail-in or hand-deliver their favorite photos and images of the landscapes, architecture or people at Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park in Canandaigua for the 2010 Photo Contest & Exhibit. Three major categories of images - Landscape, Architecture and People - will be featured in a juried Fall Photo Exhibit at Sonnenberg's 1887 Mansion, open daily to visitors touring this 50-acre historic estate. The exhibit will celebrate Sonnenberg, past and present, and will be on display in the first-floor of the Mansion, which is handicap-accessible, from Sept. 18 - approximately Oct. 21. Announcement of the jury winners (12 prizes across 3 categories) will take place Oct. 15. Visitors to the Mansion this fall will be able to vote on their favorites in each of the three categories in a People's Choice division of the contest. Daily hours for the estate after Labor Day are 9:30 am-4:30 pm. A portion of the exhibit will include historic black and white photos from Sonnenberg's own Frederick Ferris Thompson, who owned the estate with his wife, Mary Clark Thompson. Mr. Thompson was an avid photographer himself, taking many photos, originally developed on glass plates and preserved in the Sonnenberg archives. Many of his images were taken during the couple's travels throughout the U.S. He even submitted articles about American photography to the "Photographic News" of London. Mr. Thompson died in 1899, and within the following 20 years, his widow set about establishing the formal, themed gardens of the estate. Rules for the contest are as follows: 1. Photos must have been taken at the historic 50-acre property of Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park in Canandaigua. 2. There will be three categories: Landscape, People and Architecture. Entrants are permitted to enter one image per category. Each photo must be the property of the entrant and may not have been published elsewhere. 3. Submissions are to be PRINTS, of up to 8 x 10 inches, mounted and suitable for display. The contest entrant is responsible for obtaining any & all necessary model releases and/or disclaimers for the photos he or she submits. Sonnenberg Gardens reserves the right to publish any entry, both online and/or in print, for promotional purposes. First-, second-, and third-place winners in each of the three categories - Landscape, People, Architecture - will be selected by jury. Additionally, one prize in each category will be selected by popular vote in the People's Choice division of the contest. Decisions of the Jury Committee are final and the jury reserves the right to refuse a submitted photograph for inappropriate content. Winning photographs will be placed in the Sonnenberg Calendar, with an overall Grand Prize Winner to be featured in the Winter 2010 Issue of Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine, which features the magazine's own annual photo contest. Sonnenberg thanks Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine for supporting Sonnenberg's special exhibit. Sonnenberg is sponsoring some of the prizes for the magazine's photo contest this year. Official entry forms are available online at www.sonnenberg.org and can be printed out and returned with your submission(s). Mail-in entries must be sent to Photo Contest: Sonnenberg Gardens, 151 Charlotte Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424 and should be postmarked by Labor Day, Mon. Sept. 6. Mounted prints may also be dropped off in person at Sonnenberg's main offices at the Gardener's Cottage reception desk, during business hours, 9:30 am-5 pm M-F. The Sonnenberg office will be open on Labor Day, Sept. 6. Entrants who want to have photos returned to them following the exhibit must provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope/mailer suitable for returning the mounted prints, following the conclusion of the contest.