Conditions of Entry

Each individual member must be the full owner of all rights for the submitted works. Entry is not limited to images created digitally. Images may also be acquired on film and then scanned. All images must be the work of the entrant. You may enter a maximum of three images. Images which have previously been entered into BWPS Competitions may be entered into this Special Nature competition, this includes past ribbon winning images.

Eligibility

All images must meet the PSA Nature Definition of Nature Photography as follows:

"Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict observations from all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify as to its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality. Human elements shall not be present, except on the rare occasion where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands on wild animals is acceptable. Photographs of artificially produced hybrid plants or animals, mounted specimens, or obviously set arrangements, are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation, manual or digital, that alters the truth of the photographic statement."

All images must be considered "Digital Realism", where a photographer may perform any enhancements and modifications that improve the presentation of the image that could have been done at the time the image was taken but that does not change the truth of the original nature story. Cropping and horizontal flipping (equivalent to reversing a slide) are acceptable modifications. Adding elements to your images, removing elements from your image other than by cropping, combining separate images or rearranging and/or cloning elements in your image are not acceptable and can lead to disqualification of your image in the competition.

Images are not required to meet the requirements of the PSA Definition of Wildlife. Zoo shots and Game Farm shots are eligible provided the artificial habitat is not apparent in the image.

Image File Naming Convention

Must follow the same naming convention as the current Boston West Photographic Society competition rules.

All image files must follow this File Naming Convention in order to be accepted into the competition. Each title must include, in this sequence, separated by underscores:

• Class B, A, or AA (capital letters please)
• Image Title with no spaces, # or & characters in Camel Case, e.g. BirdOnStick
• Maker's full First Name and Last Name, e.g. SusanKeator, FrankForward
• .jpg

For example: A_IndianDancer_SusanKeator.jpg is a Class A image titled Indian Dancer by Susan Keator. And AA_WolfEatingCuteKitten_FrankForward.jpg is a Class AA image titled Wolf Eating Cute Kitten by Frank Forward.

Image Size

Your image must be no wider than 1400 pixels and no taller than 1050 pixels. Your image must be in .jpg (JPEG) format. You can save your image at Maximum JPEG Image Quality (setting of 12 in Photoshop).

Classes

There are three classes: B for Beginner; A for Advanced; and AA for Masters. If you are not sure which class to enter, see Which Class to Enter below. The Competition Chair reserves the right to adjust the number of classes, based on club membership and competition participation.

Judging

The current Boston West Photographic Society competition format will be followed. Images will be judged in an "IN/OUT" format.