Alright, So I've been thinking up a few activities and small contests to get some members a little more active. I want to set up a little contest where we can get members to show off their collections. This would not be a contest where the actual collections would be judged, because we're not 100% sure how to go about judging them. All you'd have to do would be take a nice shot of your collection your name will be put on a list and at the end of the contest we'll select a winner at random.

You can take either photos of your collection as a full display, or you may take individual images and create a collage. We'd prefer the collection to be at least half bones, so if you have hides, wet specimens, crafted displays, taxidermy, etc. in the image. Remember, the contest in the end will be random luck, so don't be afraid to enter in you only have a few smaller pieces, or if some of you collection is flawed.

You NEED TO TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE! You don't have to put numbers or anything on the photos, just let us know in the description what all you have there. It's okay to label some items as 'unidentified' if you are not sure what they are. If you would rather not upload the photos to FA we can take photo submissions through the notes, just send in a note with 'Contest' as the subject and a link to the image and a description of the collection.

If you already have an image in out gallery of your collection and would like to enter the contest, just let us know and we'll throw your name in the hat, so to speak.

There will be 3 categories:

Beginners - This will be open to those starting out their collection, it's open to novice collectors with a few bones or hides, maybe a skull or 2, this will give those who are just starting out a chance to show off their little hoard without feeling like they'll be overshadowed by those who've been doing this for a while, or people with more resources to gather larger or more impressive things.

Established - This section will be reserved for those of us who've been doing this for a while, this is for anyone who has a larger selection on bone and skulls. Generally speaking it's supposed to be opened to animals native to North America (this is a somewhat ethnocentric rule, but as far as we can gather most members are based in the US and Canada, but if you ARE in another country you are still 100% welcome to enter, you can either choose to enter in this category or the next one)

Advanced/Exotics - This category is open for people who have things in their collections what are more on the 'unusual' side. Generally speaking we're talking about non-typical things, like coyote parts, fox, raccoon, deer, etc. If you have something more unique, like hyena, monkey, kangaroo, antelope, hedgehog or other things you just don't see every day.
Again, if you live say in Australia and have several native species like wombat, kangaroo, monitor lizards, or emu, that might not really be exotic to you, you can choose which category you'd like it to be grouped into.

In the end the winners will be chosen at random, so it's not like an impressive collection alone will win it for you. We want to give everyone a fair chance, since some people might have the resources to accumulate rare items while others are just starting out, or only collect what they find.

You MAY enter 2 categories, if you have some native species and a few exotics!



PRIZES!

We're thinking the prizes will most likely be artwork, if anyone in the group would like to donate time to help out with the prizes that would REALLY be appreciated!

I know skulligans and I are already going to be donating some sort of art to contribute to the prizes, but if anyone else would like to help we'll announce that and any other information about the contest as we get entries and hammer out details.

THIS CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY TAKING SUBMISSIONS AND WILL END FEBRUARY 28, WINNERS ANNOUNCED MARCH 1st!

So get those cameras out and show us what you got!!!

If you have any questions, please ask and we'll get back to you ASAP!!!

yoik