Nikon Instruments' annual Small World Photomicrography Competition has become the first major contest to fully meet the new standards for photo contests, which were developed by the U.K.-based professional lobbying group Pro-Imaging.
Last year, Pro-Imaging produced the "Bill of Rights," a set of photo-competition guidelines it describes as fair and respectful to both photographers' and contest-organizers' rights. The collective then embarked on a global campaign to identify contests that failed to meet its standards, lobbying organizers for change.
This week, Pro-Imaging and Nikon Instruments negotiated an agreement to revise the Small World contest rules. Pro-Imaging spokesperson Gordon Harrison said that specific negotiation details need to remain confidential, in order to respect proprietary information. "We are happy to say there was movement on both sides of this issue. When we understood better some of the special circumstances of the Nikon contest, we made an adjustment to our Bill of Rights to allow for that." Harrison said that additional details are available in Pro-Imaging's online report.
Over time, Harrison expects most contests to adopt the Bill of Rights guidelines. In addition, he noted, "it is not entirely coincidence that last week Nikon... received a record number of entries for the Small World contest."