The essentials of the contest rules. The full rules, which apply, are below on this page.
Calendar
Applications open on 1 November 2026 at 12:00 am and close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 pm (Paris time).
The jury examines the photos and votes online from 1 to 14 December, then deliberates between 15 and 20 December.
Results are announced on 21 December 2026. Selected entrants are informed individually by email.
The winners are exhibited at the 17th Images & Neige festival, in Cluses, from 22 to 24 January 2027.
Entry fees
€5 for up to 3 paid photos, €10 up to 10, €15 up to 20, then €2 per paid photo beyond 20. Each photo counts, including within a series.
Fees are paid online when you enter, before the closing date.
They are not refundable, except if the contest is cancelled.
How to enter
Entries are made online only, on the imagora platform.
The same photo may be entered both as a single image and within a series: it is then judged twice, differently.
Each entry is individual: collective entries are not accepted.
Files
JPEG files only, at least 2,000 pixels on the long side: smaller files are refused by the platform. No need to resize large files: the IMAGORA platform reduces them automatically on upload. 3,000 pixels or more are recommended.
No watermark, logo, signature or added frame, and nothing in the image that identifies you.
Selected entrants will be asked for high-resolution files for printing and the book.
Editing and AI
Usual editing is allowed: cropping, exposure, contrast and colour, black and white, dust, panoramas, exposure blending and focus stacking from your own shots.
Photomontages are not accepted.
Images generated or altered by artificial intelligence are not accepted. The original file or EXIF data may be requested.
Jury and selection
Photos are judged anonymously, without the name of their author.
The jury brings together 2 photographers and the cultural team of the City of Cluses, which hosts the exhibition.
Each member votes individually, then the jury deliberates collectively.
Criteria: interpretation of the theme, artistic quality, originality, technical mastery, narrative or emotional strength, coherence of a series.
Your rights
You keep all your copyright. Entering transfers no rights.
For selected photos only, you grant a free, non-exclusive permission to show them to promote the contest and the festival, in the exhibitions, the contest book and the archives, for 5 years.
Your name is always credited. Any other commercial use requires your separate agreement.
Personal data
Your data is used only to run the contest, the jury, the exhibitions and the exhibition catalogue.
You can access, correct or delete it by writing to giandra [at] snowmuchtosee.com.
Word for word, article 9 of the rules (editing and artificial intelligence) and article 8 (additions in the image).
Allowed
“Usual editing is allowed: cropping, exposure, contrast and colour, black and white, dust removal, panoramas, exposure blending and focus stacking from your own shots.” (rules art. 9)
cropping (art. 9)
exposure (art. 9)
contrast and colour (art. 9)
black and white (art. 9)
dust removal (art. 9)
panoramas (art. 9)
exposure blending (art. 9)
focus stacking (art. 9)
“from your own shots” (art. 9)
Not accepted
“Photomontages are not accepted.” (rules art. 9)
“Images generated or altered by artificial intelligence are not accepted.” (rules art. 9)
“No watermark, logo, signature or added frame, and nothing in the image that could identify you: judging is anonymous.” (rules art. 8)
“In case of doubt, we may ask for the original file (RAW or EXIF). A false statement leads to exclusion, including after the results.” (rules art. 9)
Before you enter: your file
Each line quotes the rules. A compliant file is judged without your name: that is the verifiable anonymity of the ethical contest.
“JPEG files only” (rules art. 8)
“at least 2,000 pixels on the long side: smaller files are refused by the platform” (rules art. 8)
“No need to resize large files: the IMAGORA platform reduces them automatically on upload.” (rules art. 8)
“3,000 pixels or more are recommended.” (rules art. 8)
“No watermark, logo, signature or added frame” (rules art. 8)
“nothing in the image that could identify you: judging is anonymous.” (rules art. 8)
“Photomontages are not accepted.” (rules art. 9)
“Images generated or altered by artificial intelligence are not accepted.” (rules art. 9)
“In case of doubt, we may ask for the original file (RAW or EXIF).” (rules art. 9)
“Title of each photo *; series title recommended” (rules art. 6)
“Optional: place and date the photo was taken” (rules art. 6)
“Photographs must have an identifiable link with this theme.” (rules art. 1)
“Each photograph is entered in one category only.” (rules art. 1)
“You may enter single photographs (up to 60 single images), series (each of 3 to 20 photographs), or both.” (rules art. 5)
“You must be the author of the photographs you submit.” (rules art. 4)
“You guarantee that you are the author of the photographs and hold the necessary permissions (recognisable people, places, works).” (rules art. 11)
“If you win”: “High-resolution files for printing and the catalogue, and a short biography.” (rules art. 6)
Frequently asked questions
The 14 most frequently asked questions, with the same answers as on imagora, the application platform.
Who can enter?
Amateurs, semi-professionals and professionals
Any nationality
18 and over
Each photo has an identifiable link with snow, ice or cold.
Not eligible: the members of the jury, the people who administer or pre-select the contest, nor their household where there is a conflict of interest. We cannot enter either.
What do the winners receive?
7 winners exhibited at the Images & Neige festival: 4 series exhibition winners and 3 single image exhibition winners. 4 series exhibition winners: they are chosen from the series entries; for each one, the jury selects 3 photographs from the series. We take care of everything: fine art printing with 12 pigment inks on Hahnemühle paper, mounting and framing in a wooden American box frame, 40 × 60 format, and the exhibition at the Images & Neige festival, 17th edition, 22–24 January 2027. You have nothing to print or frame, and no stand to staff. The prints remain with the organisers; they are not sent to the winners. 3 single image exhibition winners: 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes for a single image, which we print in 30 × 45 and exhibit at the festival. 11 categories, 1 single-image prize and 1 series prize in each. Exhibition catalogue: the photos of the series exhibition winners, single image exhibition winners and category winners are published in it with the jury’s written analysis, and they receive the PDF version. The prizes have no cash value.
Is the judging anonymous?
Your photos are judged without your name: anonymity is guaranteed by the entry platform. Your details are only used to present the winners: on the exhibition labels at the festival and in the exhibition catalogue.
How much does it cost?
€0: 2 photos · €5: up to 9 photos, 6 of them free · €25: 31 photos + portfolio review.
Ethical contest: 2 free photos, 1 single image in Sport and 1 in Urban, anonymous judging.
€5: up to 9 photos, 3 of them paid and 6 free. Then €10 up to 10 paid photos, €15 up to 20 paid photos, +€2 per paid photo beyond 20. Paid photos from both entry formats are added together: one single payment.
€25, the best offer: 31 photos + portfolio review, 1 page, received on Monday 11 January 2027.
Every photograph counts, including within a series; the same photograph entered both as a single image and in a series counts 2 times. You can enter up to 60 single images, and several series of 3 to 20 photographs each.
Free photos are detailed in “Which photos are free?”, the review in “What is the portfolio review included?”, and the examples for each amount in article 7 of the rules.
Fees are not refunded unless we cancel the contest.
Which photos are free?
2 categories offer free photos: Sport and Urban. In each, your first single image is free, and so are the first 2 photos of your series if it is in that category only (Sport only, or Urban only). That makes 6 photos at no cost in all: for €5, you enter up to 9 photos, 6 of them free. A free single image cannot be carried over to a series. A series has at least 3 photos: the third one is paid, so a series always costs at least €5.
What is the portfolio review included?
The portfolio review is a one-page written review of your entry. It includes:
an overall assessment;
the jury's top 5 favourite photos from your submission, and why;
a detailed review of the favourite photo among this top 5;
what to improve for your next contests (single images, series).
You receive it on Monday 11 January 2027. It is included from €25 in fees, i.e. 25 paid photos spread freely across the 11 categories (free photos do not count): that is the best offer, 31 photographs + portfolio review.
What makes a series?
A series is 3 to 20 photos that are stronger seen together: each one holds on its own, and together they say more than the sum of the images. The rules speak of artistic, narrative, documentary or thematic coherence.
A common thread: a subject, a question, a story or a place.
Visual unity: light, palette, framing or processing that echo one another.
A sequence: an order that carries the eye forward, with a beginning and an end.
Complementarity: each image adds something, none repeats another.
An author’s eye: the series carries your point of view, not just an inventory.
A title and a few lines of introduction help the jury enter your work.
What files should I send?
Good news: no resizing, no hassle. Upload your JPEG files as they are, at full resolution: the IMAGORA platform, designed for photographers, automatically reduces large files. The only conditions: JPEG format, and at least 2,000 pixels on the long side (smaller files are refused); 3,000 pixels or more are recommended. No signature, logo or border, and nothing in the image that could identify you, because judging is anonymous. Photomontages and images generated or altered by artificial intelligence are not accepted. If you win, you will then provide your high-resolution files for printing.
Editing and artificial intelligence: what is allowed?
Usual editing is allowed: cropping, exposure, contrast and colour, black and white, dust removal, panoramas, exposure blending and focus stacking from your own shots.
Photomontages are not accepted.
Images generated or altered by artificial intelligence are not accepted. The original file or EXIF data may be requested.
Can I change my entry after submitting it?
Yes, until entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 pm, Paris time, but payment changes everything. Before you pay, you can add or remove photographs freely, and the fee follows. Once you have paid, it is final: you can no longer add photographs. You can only replace one photograph with another, at no extra cost, and correct a title, a caption or a location.
What happens to my rights?
You remain the author and keep all your rights. Only selected photographs may be used, free of charge and non-exclusively, by us and the City of Cluses, for the announcement of the winners, the exhibition, the exhibition catalogue, the promotion of the contest and the festival, and their archives: for 5 years, always credited with your name (article 11 of the rules).
Who is on the jury?
Giandra De Castro, founder of Snow Much to See and head of fine-arts programming at La Gorge cultural centre; Frédéric Boiteux, founder of the Images & Neige festival; and the cultural team of the City of Cluses, which hosts the exhibition. The photos are judged anonymously.
Giandra De Castro (Jury president): Founder of Snow Much to See. Exhibition curator, she heads fine-arts programming at La Gorge cultural centre in Les Contamines-Montjoie. A Franco-Brazilian photographic artist and portraitist of water, she works internationally and photographs without retouching. Since 2019 she has presented 60 exhibitions in 12 countries: in the open air (Parc floral de Paris), in art and photography galleries, at contemporary art fairs and at nature photography festivals (Montier-en-Der, Phot’Aubrac, Chamonix Photo Festival, Images & Neige)… She has also exhibited at the Shiga Kogen Roman Museum in Japan, the Forte di Bard in the Aosta Valley and the Bowers Museum (USA). Prize of the MontAvic contest, “La Montagne autrement”, at the Forte di Bard in 2019.
Frédéric Boiteux (Founder of the Images & Neige festival): A professional photographer in Cluses for more than 20 years, specialising in industrial, architectural and advertising photography, portraits and drone imagery. 16 years ago he created Images & Neige, the only photography festival in Europe entirely devoted to snow, ice and cold. 2023 Silver Medal of the French Professional Photography Federation, Commercial category.
Françoise Guillen (Deputy Mayor of Cluses for cultural life and events): Also a community councillor, she supports a festival attentive to ecology and to the people of the town, through exhibitions, talks and events open to all.
Priyam Nursimhulu (Director of Cultural Affairs, City of Cluses): She leads the town’s cultural programme, including the Images & Neige festival, and directs the EPCC Arve en Scène.
Manon Canale (Cultural project officer, City of Cluses): Within the town’s cultural department, she works on the organisation of the contest and of the Images & Neige festival.
What does the jury look for in each category?
Each jury member votes individually, then the jury deliberates collectively, using the criteria of the rules: interpretation of the theme, artistic quality, originality of the eye, technical command, narrative or emotional strength, coherence of a series. In each category, it looks in particular at:
Snowy or icy landscapes: Mountains, plains, forests, frozen lakes, glaciers: landscapes shaped by snow and ice, from wide views to close details. Light and atmosphere, composition, and the way snow or ice reveals relief and textures. A well-known place can win when it is seen differently.
Scenes of winter life: Everyday life in winter: gestures, traditions, work and gatherings, indoors and out. An authentic moment, the truth of a gesture or an expression, the bond between people and their winter surroundings.
Urban environments shaped by cold or snow: Towns and villages under snow, frost or ice: streets, architecture, lights, passers-by. What the cold changes in the city: light, silence, lines, the way people live in it. Your eye on architecture and passers-by counts as much as the snow itself.
Winter sports and leisure: Skiing, mountaineering, skating, sledging, snowshoeing, snow games: movement and gesture in the cold. The decisive moment, energy and movement, but also the effort, the waiting or the emotion around the gesture. No sporting feat is needed: a snowball fight can win.
Wildlife and plants in cold environments: Animals and plants in snow, ice and cold, observed in their environment and without disturbing them. The presence and behaviour of the animal or the plant in its cold environment, and the patience of the eye. The jury values images made with respect for wildlife and its habitat.
Human, social or environmental consequences of cold: What cold does to people and places: hardship, adaptation, climate, melting ice, memory. The strength of the testimony and the fairness of the point of view: what cold does to lives, places and the climate. You can give the context in the caption.
Poetry and reverie: A sensitive, dreamlike reading of winter: atmospheres, mists, light, imagination. Emotion, imagination, freedom of interpretation. Blur, motion, black and white or multiple exposures are welcome when they serve your intention.
Minimalism, graphics and abstraction: Lines, shapes, textures and empty space: snow and ice as graphic or abstract material. Economy of means and the strength of shapes, lines and contrasts. A simple image is not an empty one.
Macro and close-up: Technique category: crystals, frost, bubbles and textures seen very close up. Every winter theme is welcome. Precise detail, light, and the revelation of a world the naked eye misses: crystals, frost, bubbles, textures.
Smartphone: Technique category: any photo taken with a smartphone, whatever its theme. The same eye as anywhere else: the look comes before the device. The jury does not hold a phone’s limits against you; it values what you make of them.
Drone: Technique category: any photo taken with a drone, whatever its theme. The view only the sky allows: patterns, scale, the graphic lines of the winter landscape. The strongest images offer more than a view from above: a composition, a story.
Smartphone, Drone and Macro are technique categories: they welcome every theme. A photo taken with a smartphone or a drone can also compete in a theme category instead. Each photo is entered in one category only, so you choose where it competes.
Who won in 2025?
1st Prize, Gabriel Madie: “The mountain becomes a page and the skier an author of ephemeral signs.”
2nd Prize, Estebane Rezkallah (Winner of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025): “A scene of exceptional naturalistic rarity and a composition of remarkable mastery.”
3rd Prize, Fabrice Wittner: “The snow covers the trenches and makes them even more hostile.”
Exhibited winner, Natalya Saprunova (Winner of the Canon Female Photojournalist Grant, Visa pour l’Image 2022): “A people, a landscape and an extreme climate form a living equilibrium.”
Exhibited winner, Natalia Pereverzeva: “Winter phenomena observed with intimacy, scientific attention and aesthetic intention.”
Exhibited winner, Ying Yin: “Snow becomes a true compositional tool, echoing the Japanese concept of Ma.”
Exhibited winner, Denis Balibouse: “The series merges athletic technique, aerial mastery and winter aesthetics.”
How we judge
Photos are judged anonymously, without the name of their author.
Each member votes individually online from 1 to 14 December, then the jury deliberates collectively between 15 and 20 December.
For each awarded image, the jury explains why it was chosen, in the exhibition catalogue.
Results are sent by e-mail on 21 December 2026.
Apply in 3 steps
Sign-in: your e-mail address and a code received by e-mail (or a sign-in link). No account to create. You can go back to any step before paying.
1
Profile
Your profile: first name, last name and status, a short bio (a PDF is optional), then “Save and continue”.
2
Photo upload
Choose your section (single image contest, series contest, or both), drag your photos, then organise them: one category per photo, title, place, year, caption. Nothing is submitted at this step.
3
Finalisation
Summary before submission: rules, personal data, authorship certification, publication consent, terms of sale; “Confirm and pay”, secure card payment via Stripe. Then: “Well done, your application is finalised!” and a confirmation e-mail.
Each category rewards a single image and a series (at least 3 images). Click a category to see what it covers and what the jury looks at.
01Snowy or icy landscapes
Mountains, plains, forests, frozen lakes, glaciers: landscapes shaped by snow and ice, from wide views to close details.
What the jury looks at:Light and atmosphere, composition, and the way snow or ice reveals relief and textures. A well-known place can win when it is seen differently.
02Scenes of winter life
Everyday life in winter: gestures, traditions, work and gatherings, indoors and out.
What the jury looks at:An authentic moment, the truth of a gesture or an expression, the bond between people and their winter surroundings.
03Urban environments shaped by cold or snow3 free: 1 single, 2 in series
Towns and villages under snow, frost or ice: streets, architecture, lights, passers-by.
What the jury looks at:What the cold changes in the city: light, silence, lines, the way people live in it. Your eye on architecture and passers-by counts as much as the snow itself.
04Winter sports and leisure3 free: 1 single, 2 in series
Skiing, mountaineering, skating, sledging, snowshoeing, snow games: movement and gesture in the cold.
What the jury looks at:The decisive moment, energy and movement, but also the effort, the waiting or the emotion around the gesture. No sporting feat is needed: a snowball fight can win.
05Wildlife and plants in cold environments
Animals and plants in snow, ice and cold, observed in their environment and without disturbing them.
What the jury looks at:The presence and behaviour of the animal or the plant in its cold environment, and the patience of the eye. The jury values images made with respect for wildlife and its habitat.
06Human, social or environmental consequences of cold
What cold does to people and places: hardship, adaptation, climate, melting ice, memory.
What the jury looks at:The strength of the testimony and the fairness of the point of view: what cold does to lives, places and the climate. You can give the context in the caption.
07Poetry and reverie
A sensitive, dreamlike reading of winter: atmospheres, mists, light, imagination.
What the jury looks at:Emotion, imagination, freedom of interpretation. Blur, motion, black and white or multiple exposures are welcome when they serve your intention.
08Minimalism, graphics and abstraction
Lines, shapes, textures and empty space: snow and ice as graphic or abstract material.
What the jury looks at:Economy of means and the strength of shapes, lines and contrasts. A simple image is not an empty one.
09Macro and close-up
Technique category: crystals, frost, bubbles and textures seen very close up. Every winter theme is welcome.
What the jury looks at:Precise detail, light, and the revelation of a world the naked eye misses: crystals, frost, bubbles, textures.
10Smartphone
Technique category: any photo taken with a smartphone, whatever its theme.
What the jury looks at:The same eye as anywhere else: the look comes before the device. The jury does not hold a phone’s limits against you; it values what you make of them.
11Drone
Technique category: any photo taken with a drone, whatever its theme.
What the jury looks at:The view only the sky allows: patterns, scale, the graphic lines of the winter landscape. The strongest images offer more than a view from above: a composition, a story.
Smartphone, Drone and Macro are technique categories: they welcome every theme. A photo taken with a smartphone or a drone can also compete in a theme category instead. Each photo is entered in one category only, so you choose where it competes.
What makes a series
A series is at least 3 photos that are stronger seen together: each one holds on its own, and together they say more than the sum of the images. The rules speak of artistic, narrative, documentary or thematic coherence.
A common thread: a subject, a question, a story or a place.
Visual unity: light, palette, framing or processing that echo one another.
A sequence: an order that carries the eye forward, with a beginning and an end.
Complementarity: each image adds something, none repeats another.
An author’s eye: the series carries your point of view, not just an inventory.
A title and a few lines of introduction help the jury enter your work.
For every category, single images and series alike, the jury relies on the indicative criteria of the rules: interpretation of the theme, artistic quality, originality of the eye, technical command, narrative or emotional strength, and coherence of a series.
Snow Much To See 2026, version applicable from 1 November 2026, updated on 1 November 2026 (numbers in figures, “in Europe”, “free photos”, “one single image prize and one series prize in each category”). The matching PDF is being validated.
International snow, ice and cold photo contest · 2nd edition
Applicable from 1 November 2026
1. The contest
Snow Much To See is an international photography contest devoted to snow, ice and cold. Photographs are judged anonymously.
It is part of the programme of the Images & Neige festival, where the 4 series exhibition winners and the 3 single image exhibition winners are exhibited. Founded 16 years ago in Cluses (Haute-Savoie, French Alps) by photographer Frédéric Boiteux, Images & Neige is the only photography festival in Europe entirely devoted to snow, ice and cold. Around 200 works are shown at each edition, indoors and outdoors, sometimes in very large formats, exposed to the winter cold. The festival also offers talks, screenings and workshops. In 2025, it opened to the world with the first edition of Snow Much To See. The 1st edition (2025) was launched on Picter, the international photo contest platform. Following its success, we decided to move to imagora for greater flexibility.
Photographs must have an identifiable link with this theme. The contest has 11 categories, each open to single photographs (single image) and to series:
Snowy or icy landscapes
Scenes of winter life
Urban environments shaped by cold or snow
Winter sports and leisure
Wildlife and plants in cold environments
Human, social or environmental consequences of cold
Poetry and reverie
Minimalism, graphics and abstraction
Macro and close-up
Smartphone
Drone
The Smartphone, Drone and Macro and close-up categories are defined by the shooting technique and accept all subjects. Each photograph is entered in one category only.
2. Calendar (Paris time)
1 November 2026, 12:00 am: entries open
30 November 2026, 11:59 pm: entries close
1 to 14 December 2026: individual online vote of the jury
15 to 20 December 2026: jury deliberation
21 December 2026: results announced
22 to 24 January 2027: winners' exhibition at the 17th Images & Neige festival, in Cluses
Winners are notified by e-mail.
3. What you can win
4 series exhibition winners. For each of them, the jury chooses 3 photographs from the series. We take care of everything: fine art printing with 12 pigment inks on Hahnemühle paper, mounting and framing in a wooden American box frame, 40 × 60 format, and the exhibition at the Images & Neige festival. Winners have nothing to print or frame, and no stand to staff. The prints remain with the organisers; with the winner's express consent, they may be shown again in loans between nature festivals or at other cultural events of the City.
3 single image exhibition winners. A 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize reward single photographs (single image). We print them in 30 × 45 and exhibit them at the Images & Neige festival. In total, 7 winners are exhibited: the 4 series exhibition winners (3 photos from their series in 40 × 60) and the 3 single image exhibition winners (30 × 45).
11 categories, 1 single-image prize and 1 series prize in each. In each of the 11 categories, one single-image prize and one series prize.
Exhibition catalogue. The photographs of the series exhibition winners, single image exhibition winners and category winners are published in the exhibition catalogue, with the jury's written analysis. Each of them receives the PDF version.
Portfolio review included from €25. Every entry whose fees reach €25 (that is, 25 paid photos, spread freely across the 11 categories and both entry formats; free photos do not count) receives a one-page written review of the submission. It is sent on Monday 11 January 2027. It includes: an overall assessment; the jury's top 5 favourite photos from your submission, and why; a detailed review of the favourite photo among this top 5; what to improve for your next contests (single images, series).
Prizes carry no cash award. The jury may decide not to award a prize if the entries do not justify it, or declare a tie.
4. Who can enter
The contest is open to amateur, semi-professional and professional photographers of any nationality, aged 18 or over on the date of entry. You must be the author of the photographs you submit.
Statuses:
Amateur: photography is not your profession and does not give you a regular income.
Semi-professional: you earn income from photography, but it is not your main activity.
Professional: photography is your main professional activity.
Your status only introduces you; it changes neither the fee nor the prizes.
Not eligible: the members of the jury, the people who administer or pre-select the contest, and members of their household where their participation would create a conflict of interest. We cannot enter either.
5. How to enter
Entries are submitted online only, on imagora: snowmuchtosee.imagora.org/en/snow-much-to-see. All information about the contest is on snowmuchtosee.com.
You may enter single photographs (up to 60 single images), series (each of 3 to 20 photographs), or both. A series has at least 3 photographs forming a coherent whole (artistic, narrative, documentary or thematic).
The same photograph may be entered both as a single image and within a series: it is then judged 2 times, differently, on its own as a single image and for its place in the whole as part of the series.
Each entry is individual: collective entries are not accepted.
6. What to prepare
So that nothing takes you by surprise while you fill in your entry, here is everything the platform will ask for. * = required.
Your profile
First name *, last name *, e-mail address * (your account login)
Status *: amateur, semi-professional or professional
Date of birth * (18 or over), country *, city *, phone *
Optional: gender, Instagram, Facebook, website
Your bio
Artistic approach *: 2,000 characters maximum (English version optional, 2,000 characters)
Optional: a profile photo; a bio as a PDF (5 MB maximum)
Your photos
JPEG files only, at least 2,000 pixels on the long side (smaller files are refused); no need to resize large files, the platform reduces them automatically; 3,000 pixels or more recommended
Title of each photo *; series title recommended
Optional: place and date the photo was taken
If you win
High-resolution files for printing and the catalogue, and a short biography.
7. Entry fees and free photos
€0: 2 photos · €5: up to 9 photos, 6 of them free · €25: 31 photos + portfolio review.
6 free photographs. 2 categories offer free photographs: Sport and Urban. In each of them, your first single image is free, and the first 2 photographs of your series are free, provided the series is in that category only. That makes 3 free photographs in Sport and 3 in Urban: 6 in total.
One single payment. The paid photographs of both entry formats are added together, and the fee is calculated once on that total: €5 up to 3 paid photos, €10 up to 10 paid photos, €15 up to 20 paid photos, +€2 per paid photo beyond 20.
Every photograph counts. The fee is based on the number of photographs, each photograph counting, including within a series. The same photograph entered both as a single image and in a series counts 2 times.
Single images and series. You may enter single photographs (single image), series, or both, in the same entry: up to 60 single images, in as many categories as you wish, and several series, each of 3 to 20 photographs, each in the category of your choice.
A series has at least 3 photographs. In Sport as in Urban, 2 series photographs are free: the third one is paid. A series is therefore never free; it starts at €5.
Free photographs
Sport: 1 free single image; 2 free series photographs (at least 3 photographs, a single genre)
Urban: 1 free single image; 2 free series photographs (at least 3 photographs, a single genre)
The 9 other categories: none
Examples: for each amount, what you enter
These entries are examples. For each amount, they show the largest possible number of photographs. Each line reads: for this amount, you enter this many photographs, including these single images and these series.
€0 — Ethical contest with free entries: 2 photographs, including 1 single image in Sport · 1 single image in Urban; no series
€5: 9 photographs, including 1 single image in Sport · 1 single image in Urban · 1 single image in Wildlife and plants; and a series of 3 photographs in Sport · a series of 3 photographs in Urban
€10: 16 photographs, including 1 single image in Sport · 1 single image in Urban · 1 single image in Drone; and a series of 5 photographs in Sport · a series of 5 photographs in Urban · a series of 3 photographs in Snowy or icy landscapes
€15: 26 photographs, including 1 single image in Sport · 1 single image in Urban · 4 single images in other categories; and a series of 5 photographs in Sport · a series of 5 photographs in Urban · a series of 10 photographs in Snowy or icy landscapes
€17: 27 photographs, including 1 single image in Sport · 1 single image in Urban · 5 single images in other categories; and a series of 6 photographs in Sport · a series of 6 photographs in Urban · a series of 4 photographs in Snowy or icy landscapes · a series of 4 photographs in Macro and close-up
€25, the best offer: 31 photographs + the portfolio review, including 1 single image in Sport · 1 single image in Urban · 4 single images in Snowy or icy landscapes · 3 single images in Wildlife and plants · 2 single images in Scenes of winter life; and a series of 6 photographs in Sport · a series of 6 photographs in Urban · a series of 8 photographs in Wildlife and plants
€25, the best offer: 31 photographs + portfolio review: a one-page written review of your entry, sent on Monday 11 January 2027.
Fees are paid online when submitting, before entries close. An unpaid entry is not presented to the jury. Fees are not refundable, unless the contest is cancelled.
8. Files
JPEG files only, at least 2,000 pixels on the long side: smaller files are refused by the platform. No need to resize large files: the IMAGORA platform reduces them automatically on upload. 3,000 pixels or more are recommended.
No watermark, logo, signature or added frame, and nothing in the image that could identify you: judging is anonymous.
Winners will provide, on request, the high-definition files for printing and the catalogue, together with a short biography. Without a reply within the stated deadline, despite a reminder, we may choose another photograph or name another winner.
9. Editing and artificial intelligence
Usual editing is allowed: cropping, exposure, contrast and colour, black and white, dust removal, panoramas, exposure blending and focus stacking from your own shots.
Photomontages are not accepted. Images generated or altered by artificial intelligence are not accepted.
In case of doubt, we may ask for the original file (RAW or EXIF). A false statement leads to exclusion, including after the results.
10. The jury
The jury brings together Giandra De Castro, founder of Snow Much to See and head of fine arts programming at La Gorge cultural centre, Frédéric Boiteux, founder of the Images & Neige festival, and the cultural team of the City of Cluses, which hosts the exhibition:
Giandra De Castro, president of the jury, artist photographer, portraitist of water, exhibited in 12 countries;
Frédéric Boiteux, professional photographer, founder of the Images & Neige festival, 2023 Silver Medal of the French Professional Photography Federation;
Françoise Guillen, deputy mayor of Cluses for cultural life and events;
Priyam Nursimhulu, director of cultural affairs of the City of Cluses;
Manon Canale, cultural project officer of the City of Cluses.
The jury judges the photographs anonymously, without the name of their author. Each member votes individually online, then the jury deliberates collectively and decides the winners.
Criteria: interpretation of the theme, artistic quality, originality of vision, technical mastery, narrative or emotional strength, coherence of series.
A jury member with a personal, family or professional link to an entrant does not take part in judging that entry. The jury's decisions are final.
11. Your copyright
You keep all your copyright. Entering involves no transfer of rights.
For the selected photographs only, you grant us and the City of Cluses a free, non-exclusive permission to show them for: the announcement of the winners, the exhibition, the catalogue, the promotion of the contest and the festival, and their archives. This permission applies worldwide, in print and digital media, for 5 years. Your name always accompanies your photographs.
Any other use, especially commercial, requires your consent.
You guarantee that you are the author of the photographs and hold the necessary permissions (recognisable people, places, works).
12. Personal data
Your data are used only to organise the contest, the jury, the exhibition and the catalogue. You can access, correct or delete them by writing to giandra [at] snowmuchtosee.com. You may also contact the French data protection authority (CNIL).
13. Organisation
The contest is organised by Giandra De Castro, professional photographer, sole proprietorship, 96 rue du Chable, 74170 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France, SIRET 849 118 500 00024 — giandra [at] snowmuchtosee.com. We manage the contest, the jury, payments and the publication of results; all questions are addressed to us.
We may adapt the calendar or the exhibition if circumstances require it, informing the entrants. If the contest is cancelled entirely before the deliberation, fees are refunded.
14. Acceptance and disputes
Submitting an entry means accepting these rules. They are governed by French law. Any claim must be sent to us in writing within 30 days of the results; an amicable solution is sought before any legal action. The French version prevails.
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, 31 October 2026 — Giandra De Castro
