Show You The Money? $5000 Could Be Yours

Cryptozoologists, Bigfooters, and others pursuing hidden animals are despondent all the time about not having any funding for their quests. But right now, people have no excuse for complaining if they miss out on the money that is out there for the taking.

Ask yourself, have you obtained a cryptid-related photo and are keeping it in a drawer that might get you $5000 in your effort to continue your search for Bigfoot? Well, act quick. Your time is running out to turn it in for that contest you first heard about last October. The contest submission deadline is around the corner, on February 3rd!

Click image for larger version

The number of photos received at the Duel Masters Creature Appreciation photo contest headquarters, thusfar, is surprisingly low. I wonder why folks who need fiscal support and want to do serious research aren’t sending in some entries to qualify for money that is waiting to be given away?

Duel Masters trading cards (Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro) is going to give five people a total of $9000 for their cryptozoological photos. It goes without saying, one of those winners could be you. Not me, you! I’m one of the judges who is on their panel, so I can’t win anything. But if you don’t submit, you won’t even be considered.

The prizes are $5000 for the first prize, $1500 for the second prize, and $500 for three people who win the third prizes.

Do you think you have something that might make the contest’s criteria? They are a lot easier to meet than you might think. Although the Duel Masters trading card games are played by pre-teens and adolescents, there’s no age limit to this contest.

A committee determined by Wizards of the Coast will use the following criteria for this contest:

1) photo successfully furthers the myth (i.e. a traditional story accepted as history; folk tale; saga) and allure of finding an elusive mythical beast, such as Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster or Yeti (a/k/a Abominable Snowman) (50%),

2) originality and creativity (30%), and

3) artistic merit (20%).

Ties, if any, will be broken by re-judging exclusively against criteria No. 1.

I had nothing to do with the criteria for this contest, and, for example, I read their use of the word "myth," as "legend." Most of all, I am extremely happy to see that they have ruled out computer-based fakery (e.g. PhotoShop and related software computer distortions), in these photos.

I will keep high standards, as a judge on this contest, as you can imagine. But I also understand the creative process some young people might go through to express their interests in cryptozoology. As an artistic process, this contest is an interesting mix of art, creativity, and cryptozoology, of course. As a forensic process, this contest (which is limited to United States submissions) could reveal some interesting bits of new evidence supporting Bigfoot. (I would assume entries for Nessie and Yeti will be rare, but maybe not. Americans travel a lot.)

So dust off that photo collection, get out there in the field to snap a new pix, or take a photo of that Bigfoot that has visited your family’s farm for three generations and mail it in to:

“Duel Masters Photo Contest,” c/o Hunter Public Relations, 41 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10010

or email it to

DMphotocontest@hunterpr.com

Remember, you’ve got until Friday, February 3, 2006 (the 16th birthday of one of my sons, coincidentally)!!

How can I be any clearer about this? Don’t sell yourself short. You could be a winner – of money.