Calling all shutterbugs and animal lovers. Brookfield Zoo Chicago is now accepting entries for its 2024 Digital Photo Contest. With more than 3,000 animals representing over 500 species from American white pelicans to zebras, the Zoo is the perfect place to take a winning shot for a chance to win the grand prize—a Brookfield Zoo Chicago Family Plus Membership for one year, a Penguin Encounter for four people (participants must be at least 5 years old), an original painting by one of the Zoo’s Humboldt penguins, and a $100 Brookfield Zoo Chicago gift certificate.
Digital photo entries must be received between May 24, 2024, 9:00 a.m. CDT and August 2, 2024, 5 p.m. CDT. Guidelines for submitting an entry include:
Photos must feature an animal or animals.
An entry must be submitted as a JPG/JPEG at a minimum resolution of 3600 x 2700 pixels and a maximum file size of 24MB at time of submission. Photos not meeting these requirements will be disqualified.
One photo entry per person.
Photos can be color or black and white.
Photos with people, watermarked, or with words or graphics will not be accepted and will be disqualified.
Photos do not have to be taken at Brookfield Zoo Chicago.
To submit an entry form and upload a digital photo, as well as to read the official rules, go to brookfieldzoo.org/digitalphotocontest.
Professional photographers will judge all entries and select one grand prize winner from all submitted photos. In addition, judges will select their top seven picks in each of the following categories: mammals, birds, and reptiles/amphibians/invertebrates/fish. From the judges’ photo selections for the three categories, the public can cast their own votes for photos in each category. Voting will be available on the Zoo’s website to determine first-, second-, and third-place winners. Public voting will take place from August 9, 2024, 9:00 a.m. CDT to August 21, 2024, 5:00 p.m. CDT.
Contest winners will be notified by August 23. Winners will receive their prizes during a continental breakfast reception at the Zoo on Saturday, September 7. Winning photos will be displayed on the digital monitor at the Zoo’s Hamill Family Nature Plaza through at least October 31, 2024. All winning photos will be published in Gateways, the Zoo’s members’ magazine and posted on its website and Facebook page.
