Third Annual Department of Spanish and Portuguese Photo Contest

All photographs must focus on the Hispanic and/or Luso-Brazilian communities at Yale, the Greater New Haven area, other towns or cities in CT or the cities of the participant’s usual residence.

Inspiration can come from landscapes, urban art or street art, social groups, interculturality, and cultural manifestations.

The photo contest consists of six themes:

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Photography Contest is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students of Spanish and Portuguese.
All photographs must focus on the Hispanic and/or Luso-Brazilian communities at Yale, the Greater New Haven area, other towns or cities in CT or the cities of the participant’s usual residence.
Inspiration can come from landscapes, urban art or street art, social groups, interculturality, and cultural manifestations.

The photo contest consists of six themes:

1. FRIENDS FROM EVERYWHERE.
The joyful greeting when meeting friends is a good and very common cultural practice. By greeting each other with a simple handshake, warm hug or even with kisses, we express our mood and our emotions about meeting that special person or people. Meeting with friends fills us with positive energy, while friendly conversations waken or revive hope in life, in friendship, in dreams, in opportunities. Try to capture the precise moment when we greet each other, the forms of greeting, the expressions of joy, the ways people greet each other at different times of the day, in different places and events (in classes, in a cafe, on the street, at sports practices, at a party, or a social event). Capture that special moment that we express when we say, “How´s it going?”

2. FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, SPECIAL MOMENTS.
The family is one of the fundamental bases of society, and photographs relieve special moments shared with loved ones. Photographing family makes these memories even more valuable. Try to capture a natural, spontaneous photo of the family involved in an activity, the joy of sharing an afternoon of playing games at home or outdoors, preparing a meal together, or enjoying a movie or a big sporting event. Look for the details that make each family unique. It could be a knowing smile between siblings, or the hug between mom and dad with their children. These details make each photograph special.

3. PLACES IN THE CITY, MEETING PLACES, HOW DO WE LIVE THE CITY?
Without a doubt, we all want our cities to be more livable, friendly, and interactive places. With the theme: Places in the city, meeting places, we seek to raise awareness about the importance of the city as part of our lives. Urban photography does not focus on its architecture, but on the inhabitants and their way of living. You could try to capture those moments with a photograph focused on the inhabitants and their way of living in the city, portraying their encounters and social and cultural dynamics. Images transmit not only ideas and concepts, but also values, feelings, and attitudes. You can participate with images of residents of New Haven, its neighboring towns, or your hometown.

4. COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS
A celebration can be a party, graduation, or some other festive event. The objective is to remember or commemorate an event or tribute to another person, and even to institutions and places. A baptism party, birthday, wedding, anniversary, or the opening of an exhibition are examples of celebrations. Blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, raising a glass to toast the happy couple, opening gifts, dancing, enjoying meals, are all memorable moments. Some celebrations are massive while others are smaller and more intimate.  Try to capture not only people, but the feeling and emotion of the moment.

5. IMMIGRANTS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Immigration is an opportunity for the exchange of cultural values, knowledge of customs and habits, loss of fear of the unknown and the other. It makes it possible for different groups of people to get know each other and facilitates acceptance and respect for difference and diversity. Migration leads to cultural convergence: migrants assimilate into the cultures of the host country, and, to some extent, pre-existing cultures adopt certain traits of the migrants. We invite you to submit photographs that show moments in the lives of immigrants or descendants of immigrants whose identity and sense of belonging, real or symbolic, have been shaped by their immigration experience and background. Photography can show cultural links with their countries of origin, as well as their contributions from different work, educational, social, cultural, family, political, artistic, or professional spaces. Also, images may show the empowerment of immigrants in the community, recognizing their independence, their capacity for action and their leadership in society.

6. STREET ART, URBAN ART.
This contest seeks to break with the idea that art is only found in museums or galleries. Instead, it invites our students to explore their surroundings and find inspiration in the small details that often go unnoticed in the city of New Haven, other CT cities and towns, or your hometown. Urban art or street art focuses on everyday life in public places. In addition to graffiti, it encompasses other forms of artistic expression. Since the 90s, it has included Post-Graffiti, which depicts the artistic work of groups of artists using various different techniques (murals, graffiti, stencils, stickers, etc.).
Street art adds a touch of the unconventional to city life and is a challenge for photographers, as there is always an interesting story behind this art form. Share your street art photography with us.

Each participant may submit up to one (1) digital photo for each of the six themes. All photographs must have been taken between summer and fall 2023 and spring 2024 in the Yale campus, the Greater New Haven area, or any other place or city of CT. 

Submissions must be uploaded using the online submissions form provided at: https://span-port.yale.edu/third-annual-department-spanish-portuguese-photo-contest-entry-form

• Photographs must be the original work of the person submitting them.
• Each photograph must include a title.
• Photographs must be submitted in .jpeg format, at least 1400 x 1200 pixels, with a minimum of 150 DPI (to facilitate enlargements for exhibitions) and no more than 20mb. Entries that do not meet these requirements will be disqualified. DPI can be changed using InDesign, or using http://convert.town/image-dpi  or similar websites. Photographs can be taken with a digital camera or any other type of mobile device (smartphone, action cam, tablet). 
• Photos must be minimally edited (e.g., without use of filters). Cropping and retouching of photographs is allowed when it comes to applying global filters that improve their quality (brightness, contrast…). The use of HDR «<I>High Dynamic Range</I>», is also allowed. 
• A signed photo release form is required at the time of submission. 

Email submissions or printouts will not be accepted. 

Photos showing the use of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, or any inappropriate content or behavior will be disqualified. 

The photographs will be evaluated by a jury made up of photography professionals of recognized prestige in the field of arts, culture and photography who provide their services in different areas of the university. It will be up to them to interpret these rules, as well as to present the proposal for the award of the prize for best photography. 

The submission period opens on March 1st and closes on April 15^th at noon. 

The decision of the winner will be made public through the contest page:

https://span-port.yale.edu/spanish-and-portuguese-photo-contest

Winners will be notified via email by April 22nd. 

Participants authorize the reproduction, distribution and public communication of the images presented, as well as their adaptation to the support necessary for the purposes of their communication. These images will become part of the archive of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, which may only use them for informational, academic, and non-profit purposes. This authorization does not imply exclusivity towards the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the author may use their images at their discretion. In the event that the Department of Spanish and Portuguese uses an image in public or academic communication events, it will always mention the name of its author.

The judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the six themes.

a)      The winners in each theme will receive the following prizes:

         FIRST PLACE PHOTOGRAPH: $100

         SECOND PLACE PHOTOGRAPH: $75

         THIRD PLACE PHOTOGRAPH: $50

         *Yale will award prizes through Zelle, so winners will need a Zelle account.*

b)      All winners (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) will receive a CERTIFICATE of recognition for their best photographs.

c)      All winning photographs (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) will be displayed at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese (Humanity Quadrangle at 320 York Street, fifth floor).

d)      All winning photographs (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) will be displayed on the Department of Spanish and Portuguese website for one year.

The jury may consider granting a special mention per category consisting of a diploma.