A Major Photography Competition Presented by The Guardians of the Brandywine with Generous Support from Victory Brewing Company

You live near it. You benefit from it. Even when you do not notice it, it is there nourishing and caring for you. It asks for nothing, and in return, it gives our region vitality. The waters of the Brandywine Creek are our lifeblood. We drink its waters, it feeds our economy, and it offers itself up as protection from damaging storms.

The Brandywine is one of the most important bodies of water in Pennsylvania and it is yours. Literally. As a state resident, you own a part of it. This is not hyperbole and we are not making the ownership claim in simplistic, idealistic, or naive terms, but rather it derives from your very fundamental property rights.

The purpose of the “My Creek – The Beauty of the Brandywine” project is to introduce people to the concept that they actually have an ownership interest in the Brandywine and that they have the right and the ability to protect the creek in the future. Equally important, we want people to come to realize that the Brandywine is worthy of their protection. It is absolutely beautiful…and it is yours!

As an organization, The Guardians of the Brandywine want to focus on creating a positive future for the Brandywine. We need your help.

Between September 15, 2011 and May 15, 2012 go out to the Brandywine Creek (anywhere along the creek - click here for a map) and take photographs. Explore and enjoy the creek during the prime fall season and create beautiful photographs. Shoot whatever your heart desires: the flow of the water, flora, critters, buildings, bridges, parks, or people on, in or near the water. Anything you like as long as it is directly related to the Brandywine. Pretty simple, isn’t it? And there isn’t even an entry fee!

Prizes:

$300.00 for First Place

     $150.00 for Second Place

    $75.00 for Third Place

Plus:

$75.00 for the Best Photograph taken by a person under 18

Well, there is a bit more to it, but not much.

 1. To have a chance to win anything (like money or other cool prizes we come up with) you need to enter the contest. Click here to find out how. 2. Photographs must be taken between 9/15/2011 and 05/15/2012. Entries will be judged for quality, originality, composition, and, of course, how well it depicts the beauty and nature of the creek.

3. Manipulated and composite images are acceptable, but remember that this is a photography contest, not a Photoshop competition, so going too far may actually hurt your chances.

4. You retain all ownership rights of your image. By entering you do grant the Guardians of the Brandywine certain rights (click here for details) but we think you’ll find them very reasonable.

5. There is a certain amount of legalese that accompanies any contest and you’ll find our legalese is very standard stuff. Please click here for full details.

Here are a few images that our contestants have taken.

To see all of the others, please visit the contest’s Flickr site at:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/mycreek/