Get out your cameras! Cemeteries photo contest accepting entries through Aug. 10

Story by Beth Donze, Clarion Herald; selection of winning photos from last year's contest courtesy of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries
 
For the second consecutive year, New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries is sponsoring a contest in which shutterbugs of all ages are being invited to submit original photos taken inside any of the historic cemeteries it manages and operates (see list of cemetery sites below).
The best 12 photos will be printed in New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries’ 2021 calendar. Of the dozen winners, two will be submissions from the contest’s youth division, covering ages 9-17.

The winning images will appear in the agency’s social media platforms, with credit given to the photographer.

A cash award of $75 will be given to the first-place adult and first-place youth winners. The 10 other winning photographers will receive $25.

Last year’s inaugural photo challenge drew the interest of nearly two dozen photographers, noted Sherri Peppo, director of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries.

“The level of interest didn’t surprise me because people in New Orleans love our historic cemeteries and love to photograph them,” Peppo said. “There is so much to photograph in our Catholic cemeteries, from religious statuary to historic tombs to landscape settings. Last year’s submissions included water reflections and a dragonfly resting atop a cross.”

New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries announced the following contest guidelines:

• Submissions (a maximum of three photos from each entrant) will be accepted through Aug. 10. To access an entry form, please visit [email protected].

• Photos will be evaluated on their appeal, composition, content and photographic skill in capturing New Orleans’ Catholic cemeteries. 
• Photos must be taken inside a New Orleans Catholic cemetery during regular cemetery hours. Eligible sites are St. Patrick Nos. 1, 2 & 3; St. Louis Nos. 1, 2 & 3; St. Roch Nos. 1 & 2; St. Joseph Nos. 1 & 2; and St. Vincent Nos. 1 & 2 (on Soniat Street) – all located in New Orleans; and St. Charles Cemetery in Luling.

• Each photographic entry must include the date and location in which it was taken.

• Photos may not be submitted with any logo, identifying mark or name on the facing.

• Photos that include people in them will not be considered. Please do not intrude on an ongoing funeral or on the privacy of individuals or families who might be visiting the cemetery. 

• The photo must be original to the person submitting it.

• Employees of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries and their families are not eligible to enter the contest.

Beth Donze can be reached at [email protected].