COAM Photography Exhibition 2025

Calling all photographers! You could see your images of the Museum on display in one of our historic buildings by entering our photo competition.

We’re looking for beautiful photographs that show off the best of Chiltern Open Air Museum, its buildings, objects, wildlife, agriculture, community and events.

Our panel of judges will select their favourite images to be part of a photo exhibition taking place at the Museum from April 2025. The judging panel will chose the overall winner of the Junior Competition. Visitors to the Museum will cast their votes to choose an overall winner for the Adult Competition.

• You can enter up to three photographs into the competition.

• Images should be in landscape format and be jpeg files.

• Images must have been taken at Chiltern Open Air Museum.

Please read the full terms & conditions below before entering.

Send us your entries using this form by 11:30 on Monday 3rd March 2025.

Terms & Conditions

The Chiltern Open Air Museum Photo Competition & Exhibition is owned by Chiltern Open Air Museum. Chiltern Open Air Museum is a company registered in England and Wales (no. 1279396) and a registered charity (no. 272381). Any profit generated from the competition will be used to support the Museums activities.

The competition comprises an Adult Competition open to photographers aged 18 and over on 3rd March 2025, and a Young Competition open to photographers aged 17 and under on 3rd March 2025.

All entries must be the result of photographic process using a camera.

All entries must have been taken at Chiltern Open Air Museum.

Staff of Chiltern Open Air Museum are not eligible to enter the competition.

Entrants under the age of 18 need the verifiable permission of a parent or guardian to enter.

Entrants must complete all required sections of the online form. Online entrants under the age of 18 will need their parents or guardians to fill out the sections asking for their parents name and email address, and to tick the box permission to their child’s participation. All contact from Chiltern Open Air Museum will be made through the parent/guardian.

Entrants can submit up to three photos in total (in landscape orientation and as JPEGS) to the competition website.

Entries must be received by 11:30 on Monday 3rd March 2025

All photographs will be judged on the following criteria;

• Composition

• Technical ability

• Originality

• Public appeal

• Suitability for inclusion in an exhibition at Chiltern Open Air Museum

The judging panel will be looking for beautiful photographs that show off the best of Chiltern Open Air Museum, its buildings, objects, wildlife, agriculture, community and events.

Entrants must not cause injury or do anything to distress any person or animal, or cause damage to the Museum, either deliberately or inadvertently, whilst trying to take a photograph.

Chiltern Open Air Museum is aware that digital photography does allow for some image enhancement. You can enter images that have had spots, scratches or other blemishes removed. You can have worked on the colour or enhanced the image for the sake of the composition. You can also crop the image to improve composition.

We will not accept composite images - entries that stitch two or more separate photographs together to make one image, or entries that superimpose elements photographed separately onto an image. We will not accept AI generated images.

We want you to stay faithful to the spirit of the competition, and never deceive the viewer or misrepresent the aspect of the Museum being portrayed. Chiltern Open Air Museum and the judges reserve the right to exclude any image they believe may have been excessively treated so as to alter its authenticity.

A panel of judges will decide on their favourite images. These selected images will feature in an exhibition to be held at Chiltern Open Air Museum from April 2025. The judging will take place within two weeks of the competition closing date.

An overall winner for the Junior Competition will be selected by the judging panel and will be announced on 4th April 2025.

An overall winner for the Adult Competition will be selected by visitors to the exhibition. The last day of voting will be Monday 5th May 2025 and the winner will be announced on Friday 9th May 2025.

Entrants will retain copyright in the photographs that they submit to Chiltern Open Air Museum. By entering the competition all entrants grant to Chiltern Open Air Museum the right to publish and exhibit their photographs online, in print or on museum merchandise in perpetuity. Entrants whose photographs are part of the final exhibition, also agree to take part in post – competition publicity.

Chiltern Open Air Museum is a registered UK charity #272381. Any profit generated from the competition or its entries is gifted to the Museum and will be used to support its activities.

Any contact with us regarding the Photo Competition should be via the email address: marketing@coam.org.uk

We will only accept JPEGS uploaded to our competition website, we will not accept hard copies sent through the post.

We reserve all rights to disqualify your picture if your conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the Competition or Exhibition.