About the competition

The BBC is building a Digital Picture of Britain online, using only photographs submitted by you, the public. Over the weeks, the gallery will build into a unique picture of Britain's rural, urban and human landscapes. Visitors to the gallery will be able to rate each of the photographs submitted on a scale of one to ten. The most popular pictures will form a shortlist to be judged by a panel of top photographers. Prizes will be awarded for the best submission in each category.

How to enter

Upload your photographs by visiting bbc.co.uk/apictureofbritain and following the on-screen instructions.

Competition categories

• Entries must be submitted to one of the eight regional categories and one of the three themed categories.
• The regional categories are England - East, England - Midlands, England - North, England - South East, England - South West, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• The themed categories are: rural landscape (the natural British countryside); urban landscape (Britain's built environment ranging from monumental architecture to inner-city decay); and human landscape (the human impact on the British landscape such as crowded shopping mall or wind turbines on a rural hillside).
• Please note that no portraits of people will be accepted.

Your photographs

1. No one may enter more than 25 photos into the competition
2. All photographs must be submitted in digital format via the A Picture of Britain website. Please retain the original digital file for reference; it may be needed to demonstrate this is your own work.
3. Photographs with text added to the image will not be accepted (date stamps automatically added by the camera will be accepted).
4. Prints will not be considered. Any prints that are submitted will not be returned.
5. Please ensure that you print off and keep a copy of your completed entry form.
6. Deviation from standard photograph sizes (aspect ratios) may render your images unsuitable for display on some BBC platforms. See below for Photograph size - aspect ratios and dimensions.
7. All submissions must be in .jpg format and no larger than 1.5Mb in filesize, with a minimum height of 250 pixels and minimum width of 250 pixels. Submissions that do not comply may be rejected, or may not be displayed as you intended.
8. All images should be accompanied by a caption of no more than 35 characters and supporting text of no more than 500 characters describing what the image represents.
9. The same photograph may only be entered in one regional and one themed category.
10. You may submit more than one photograph to the competition, providing it is of a different subject to your previous submissions. Multiple shots of the same subject will not be eligible for shortlisting and may not be accepted for the gallery.
11. It is the entrant's responsibility to ensure that all the necessary permissions are obtained from any people featured in their photograph(s).
12. Anyone may submit photograph(s) to the gallery, providing their submissions comply with the site's Terms of Use. However, there are limits to eligibility for the competition. See Entering the Competition for exclusions.
13. The closing date for entries is 31 July 2005. Images can be rated until 7 August 2005. Winners will be notified by the end of August 2005 and results will be announced on the BBC A Picture of Britain web site (www.bbc.co.uk/apictureofbritain) before 1 September 2005.

Photograph size - aspect ratios and dimensions

• A photograph's aspect ratio is the ratio of its height to its width. If you do not crop your photographs or use your camera's panoramic setting, the aspect ratio should conform to the required standards automatically.
• Please ensure all submissions conform to one of the following aspect ratios:

  Portrait format must not exceed a height-to-width ratio of 2:1
  Landscape format must not exceed height-to-width ratio of 1:3

• Please note that if your photograph is not in one of the required aspect ratios it may not be displayed as you intended, or it may be rejected.

Entering the Competition

1. The competition is open to UK residents only
2. This is an amateur competition. Submissions by professional photographers will not be considered.
3. This competition is not open to BBC employees, any person directly or indirectly involved with the BBC or with the running of this competition or their direct family members.
4. Entrants under 16 must obtain written permission from a parent or guardian before entering. Please print and keep a copy of the entry form with all necessary signatures.
5. The BBC reserves the right to reject submissions that do not conform to the BBC 'Terms of Use'; do not comply with UK and European legal requirements; or do not meet the competition's technical or editorial specifications.
6. You must provide the BBC with your name, address and e-mail address if you wish to enter this competition. The BBC will only ever use your personal details for the purposes of administering this competition, and will not publish them or provide them to anyone else without your permission. If you would like to know more about the BBC's privacy policy, please see the BBC policy section on data protection at www.bbc.co.uk/privacy/.
7. The BBC does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Please note that proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
8. In accordance with section 9 of the BBC's Terms of Use you agree to grant to the BBC a non-exclusive licence to publish and use your photographs for non-commercial purposes. Copyright will however remain with the photographer.
9. The prize(s) must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred. There will be no cash alternatives.
10. The decision of the judges is final in every situation and no correspondence will be entered into.
11. The BBC reserves the right to cancel the competition (and any associated exhibition or event) at any stage, if deemed necessary in their opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of their control.
12. Prizes unclaimed after 28 days will be deemed to have been forfeited and the BBC reserves the right to offer the prize to another entrant.
13. Entrants will be deemed to have understood the above rules and accepted them and agree to be bound to them when entering the competition.
14. These rules are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
15. All photographs entered into the competition must be suitable for publication on BBC websites and potentially in exhibitions and therefore should be suitable for a general audience.
16. The decision of the editor to accept or reject an entry is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Rating images

• No one can rate a photo more than once. Additional ratings will not be added to the total ratings for the photo
• Once a photo has been rated the score will be confirmed and the average rating for the photo displayed. There is a time lag between rating a photo and a new average rating being calculated so the average rating displayed will not include your rating yet.
• To find out the current average rating for a photo you must first rate the photo yourself. If you have already rated the photo your rating will not be counted but you will still be able to see the rating you gave the photo and its current average rating

Judging and prizes

• A panel comprised of top photographers and BBC staff will select the winning entries. The judges will be looking for originality, creativity, strong composition and a clear link to either a regional or themed category.
• Prizes of photographic equipment (approx value £500) will be awarded to the winners of the eight regional categories and the three themed categories. The two runners-up in each of the 11 categories will receive a signed certificate. Each entrant will be restricted to one prize only.
• Winning entries may be featured in a Photographic Masterclass presented by Tom Ang on BBC interactive TV. They may also be exhibited at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in September 2005.