CONTEST RULES
1. CONTEST CATEGORIES
- A1. General Category. This category includes all photographs, in color or black and white, that show an image or a moment of the Vall Fosca, whether it be a landscape, a village or similar, a heritage element, an activity taking place, a sample of its fauna or flora…
- A2. Special Annual Category. Year 2026: Autumn as a meteorological season. This category’s theme is a mystery each year, and in 2026, the prize will be awarded to the best photograph that identifies autumn with everything it entails in the Valley: possible snowfalls, frosts, fogs, autumn colors, mushrooms, festivals, etc.
IMPORTANT! In the case of a close-up, detail, or macro shot, it is suggested to accompany it with a second, wider establishing shot to help identify the photo’s location and verify that it is an image from the Vall Fosca.
2. PRIZES
Once the photographs are received, the jury will pre-select the best ones, which will be the candidates for the final prizes. The following prizes are established:
- Manel Dalmau Prize for the best photograph of 2026, awarded with €500 (subject to personal income tax).
- First prize for each contest category, awarded with €250 (subject to personal income tax).
- Honorable mention to the 2 finalist photographs in each of the two categories.
Each author may submit a maximum of 4 photographs. Furthermore, the winner of the Manel Dalmau Prize for the best photograph will become a member of the jury for the following year’s photography contest and, therefore, cannot participate in the next edition of the contest. A single participant cannot receive more than one prize. Participants who win any of the prizes established in these rules must be present at the awards ceremony.
3. REGISTRATION AND FORMAT
Each author can participate with a maximum of 4 photographs, distributed between the two categories as they see fit, which must be submitted through the website www.vallfosca.net. The photo must include a title and a pseudonym for the author, that is, a false name that cannot be the author’s actual name or surname, nor a proper personal name. If the same author submits photographs to both categories, they must use the same pseudonym, but it cannot be the same one used in previous years. Only photos taken with digital devices or digitized analog photos will be accepted. The image format must be JPEG, converted to the RGB color space with the embedded profile. The size must be 1920 pixels on its longest side. The organization will request the original RAW/JPEG file for all photographs that reach the final phase of the contest, should it deem it necessary. The original RAW/JPEG file may be requested at any other prior stage of the contest. Failure to provide it will result in the disqualification of the photo. Images that do not meet the established format requirements will be rejected. If the size is larger, it will be automatically reduced to fit the contest dimensions, and the organization will not be responsible for the result. Photographs that may be requested for printing on paper must not exceed 8 MP and must be in the format described by the organization.
4. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Digital manipulation or alteration of the photographs is not permitted. Only moderate adjustments affecting the following will be allowed:
- Global corrections of tone, white balance, brightness, contrast, color saturation, and shadow and highlight adjustments.
- Conversion of the image to black and white, or other color toning.
- Moderate sharpening, and selective reduction of digital noise and grain.
- Removal of vignetting, cleaning of dust particles, as well as correction of lens distortions and aberrations.
- Recropping the image, provided the result does not exceed 8MP without interpolation.
Photographs composed of multiple exposures resulting in HDR images, panoramas, in-camera double exposures, and focus stacking are permitted, provided they were taken in the same sequence or session (in which case, this must be stated in the caption or description of the photo’s data), and as long as they comply with the contest’s principles of authenticity, ensuring there is no real alteration of reality. Watermarks, borders, or any type of author reference on the submitted photo are not allowed. In the case of photographs taken with drones, the relevant user license is required.
5. GENERAL RULES
Photographs in category A1 must have been taken within the last four years of this call for entries.
Photographs in category A2 must also have been taken within the last four years of this call for entries.
Submitting the same photograph or a very similar one to more than one category is not permitted.
The jury may invalidate or refuse to accept photographs that it considers do not align with the spirit of this contest, where the quality of the photo, difficulty, etc., are valued.
Works that have won awards in other contests before the closing of this contest’s registration period will not be accepted.
Submitted images must be accompanied by the following information:
- Category submitted to.
- Image description: The location of the photo must be included.
- For photos taken in hard-to-identify locations, such as drone shots, provide UTM location data for verification or add a description of the location in the “Image description” section.
- Technical information (camera, lens, exposure, speed, ISO, etc.). Optional.
- Any post-processing described in the technical requirements section of these rules. Optional.
6. JURY
The jury will consist of 6 people and a popular vote:
- 3 independent photographers: Josep Amorós, Francesc Farrús, and Ferran Grau.
- Winner of the previous edition’s contest: Pilar Vila López.
- 1 representative from the Town Council of La Torre de Capdella.
- The popular vote conducted through the website www.vallfosca.net.
The jury may decide to leave any prize vacant if it deems it appropriate. The jury’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed, therefore no claims or recourse against them will be accepted.
7. SCHEDULE
We will announce the submission period for photographs and the exhibition period on the website and social media. Awards ceremony: date to be confirmed.
8. LEGAL ASPECTS
Participants declare that they are the authors of each work submitted to the contest and possess all rights to the works.
Photographs in which a recognizable or identifiable person appears (in categories where human presence is allowed) must have the express consent of said individuals, and permission for the transfer of image rights must be attached. The organizers of this contest will not be held responsible for any potential claims against the authors, which could lead to the disqualification of the photograph.
The winning photographs and honorable mentions may be reproduced in books, catalogs, posters, or any physical or digital medium, always crediting the author’s name. The author freely grants the reproduction rights to the contest organization for this purpose. This grant is non-exclusive, and the author will retain their rights.
For all other photos, the image property rights belong to the authors of the works. In the event that the organization wishes to use them, the author must be contacted for authorization.
Data Protection: In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, participants in this contest are informed that their data will be included in a file owned by the Town Council for the purpose of managing this socio-cultural event. Likewise, participants are informed of their right to exercise their rights of access, rectification, cancellation, and opposition, under the terms included in current legislation, by submitting a request to the Registry of the Town Council of La Torre de Capdella.
The act of submitting to this edition of the contest implies the acceptance of each and every one of the sections of these regulations.