How the competition works

We welcome photographs of Mycenae Gardens and the Woodlands Dell all year round, judged in four rounds: January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December. Each round closes on its last day, and we announce the results by 15 April, 15 July, 15 October and 15 January. There are no prizes. Winning photographs are displayed at Mycenae House, on the Friends' noticeboard and in the Westcombe News, and shared on our website and Instagram.

Who can enter

Anyone can enter, whether or not you are a member of the Friends. There are two categories, adults (18 and over) and under-18s, and you are welcome to enter as many photographs as you like. Entries from under-18s need a parent or guardian's agreement and an adult contact email.

Your photographs

• Taken by you, in Mycenae Gardens or the Woodlands Dell, and never inside the restricted wildlife area.
• Light editing is fine: cropping, straightening, brightness and colour. Please don't send AI-generated or composite images.
• Anyone who can be clearly identified in your photograph should be happy to be included. For a child, that means their parent or guardian.
• Add a caption if you like, saying what it shows or where it was taken.

Judging

A panel of three committee members judges each round, looking at how well a photograph captures the gardens, its composition and its originality. Committee members may enter, but step off the panel for any round they have entered. Each category has a winner, and the judges may name up to two highly commended photographs. The panel's decision is final. We contact winners directly, and are not able to reply to every entry.

Respectful photography in the gardens

• Stay out of the restricted wildlife area. It is kept quiet so birds, insects and other creatures can feed, breed and shelter undisturbed.
• Keep your distance from nests and nesting birds, especially in spring, and never move plants or branches to get a better shot.
• Keep to the paths near young planting and the protected hedging.
• Ask before photographing other visitors or volunteers, and never photograph a child without their parent or guardian's agreement.
• Please don't use drones.

Your photograph stays yours

Entering does not transfer ownership or copyright. You can use your photograph however you like.

What you allow us to do

By entering, you give the Friends of Mycenae Gardens permission, free of charge, to use your photograph to promote and support the gardens: on our website and social media, in displays at Mycenae House and on our noticeboard, in the Westcombe News and other publications, and in fundraising items such as greeting cards and calendars. We may crop or resize it to fit, but won't otherwise change it.

Your name

We credit you by name wherever we use your photograph, unless you asked not to be credited. For under-18s we use a first name only, never a surname, age or school.

Changing your mind

You can ask us to stop using your photograph at any time. We'll remove it from our website and social media and won't use it in anything new. We can't recall anything already printed or handed out, such as a newsletter that has gone out. We never sell your photograph, or give it to anyone to use for their own purposes.

Children and young people

If you are under 18: a parent or guardian needs to agree to your entry, the form asks for an adult's email address (the one we use to contact you), and if your photograph is displayed we use your first name only.

If a child appears in a photograph: before we publish a photograph in which a child can be identified, we need their parent or guardian's permission. If a child doesn't want to appear in a published photograph, we respect that, whatever permission has been given. Without that permission a photograph can still be judged, but we won't display or publish it.

A committee member checks every photograph before it appears anywhere.

Asking for a photograph to be removed

Anyone can ask, with no reason needed. Every photograph on the website has an "Ask us to remove this photo" link, or you can email friendsofmycenaegardens@gmail.com. We take the photograph down first and look into it afterwards: within 3 days, and the same day for anything involving a child. Taking it down removes the image file itself, so saved links stop working, and we remove it from our social media too. What we cannot undo is anything already printed or handed out, but the photograph won't be used in anything new.