Terms of Participation 2011

(1) Participation fee and organiser. Participation is free of charge. The organisers will bear the costs of the event and the return of the slides. The organisers are the EuroNatur Foundation, EuroNatur-Service GmbH, the magazine "natur + kosmos", Deutsche Lufthansa and NaturVision. Admitted are all photographers having their principal residence in Europe. Closing date is March 31, 2011 (arriving). Email entries will NOT be accepted!

(2) Motifs and evaluation. Accepted are motifs of nature in Europe. The jury awards the prizes 1-12 as well as one optional "special prize of the jury". The prized pictures 1-12 will be printed in the EuroNatur calendar 2012. Up to 30 further pictures will be chosen for exhibitions. Decisions taken by the jury are undisputable. The organisers reserve the right to disqualify pictures that were obviously taken by infringing the code of conduct for nature photographers, which can be read under http://www.euronatur.org/photo. Digitally manipulated pictures, pictures from pets or domestic animals, pictures of cultivated varieties of wild plants and pictures that were not taken in Europe are not admitted.

(3) Pictures. Max. 5 pictures per photographer are permitted. Admitted are digital colour pictures on CD and slides of all formats without glass mount (NO prints, NO black and white and NO panorama exposures!). Please only send original slides or very good duplicates! Scans of slides are also permitted; however, please bear in mind that an excellent technical quality (focus, exposure) is an essential requirement for prize awarding. Minimum resolution for digital pictures: 6m pixels. Digital pictures must be submitted in two separate files on CD:
1st file: "preview": jpeg of 1200 pixel on the long side
2nd file: "high-resolution quality data": jpeg in full size and of highest quality (e.g. saved in Adobe Photoshop with quality level 12).
The title of a picture must contain the photographer's name as well as name and number of the picture (1 to 5) (e.g. MaxMueller_Brownbear_C_Croatia_1.jpg). Pictures of animals or plants under controlled conditions (zoo, enclosure, botanical gardens or similar) have to be marked with a "C" on the slide frame or the file name.

(4) Digital image editing. We attach importance to natural, non-manipulated pictures; therefore subsequent modification of the picture or its information is not permitted. We exclusively admit the standard picture-editing processes on the picture as a whole (e.g. tonal value, contrast, brightening, cropping), inasmuch as the motif remains unaltered. Cropping however reduces the resolution and therefor should be done only moderately. The faithful representation of what was captured at the time of the shot being taken must be maintained. Compositing and multiple exposures are not allowed. Sandwich shots, double exposures, photographs which consist in any way of more than one separate image (like HDR, stitched panoramas etc.) are not eligible. Adding or removing animals, parts of animals, plants, distractions, people etc into/from the image is not allowed. For authenticity proof, the organizers reserve the right to request the original raw-file from the photographer.

(5) List of pictures. The mailing shall include a printed list of the pictures in English or German. In addition, digital pictures must be listed in a separate document on the CD (as pdf or Excel-file). Apart from the name, email and address of the photographer, picture title and number (1 to 5), this list shall provide the following details: date of taking, camera, lens, type (scientific name, if possible), location (country, region, biotope, biological reserve, zoo, etc.) and further information such as exposure, time of the day, setting, atmosphere or similar.

(6) Labelling of slides. For a better orientation, all slides must show the picture number (1 to 5) on the front side in the left bottom corner. Also, the title of the picture and the name and address of the photographer must be clearly marked on the front side of each slide frame.

(7) Copyright, liability and dispatch. The copyright for all presented photos has to lie with the photographer. The copyright stays with the photographer during the entire process of the competition. The photographer’s name appears with each publication of the photo. With the participation in the competition the contestant cedes to the organisers of the competition the right to use the presented photos free of charge for the following purposes:
• The production of calendars within the framework of the competition. All selected pictures may be used by the organizer EuroNatur for commercial sale of the calendars.
• The exhibition of the awarded photos within the framework of the competition
• Coverage of the competition in publications and web presences of the organisers of the competition
• The use of the photos for advertising purposes for the calendar, the competition, and the exhibition in publications of the organisers as well as the media coverage
• The non-profit foundation EuroNatur and its subsidiary EuroNatur Service GmbH, are have the right to use the selected photos (calendar and exhibition) in their own publications to advertise their nature protection projects in Europe. Pictures that have been sent in but were not chosen will exclusively be used for the above purposes following consultation with the photographer and contractual agreement.
 The use of the photos beyond the above mentioned purposes is only possible after having consulted the photographer.The photographer must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of all pictures submitted. Pictures may not be blocked by agencies or publishers and may not have been awarded in another competition. The organisers do not assume any liability for claims of third parties and for damage or loss of the pictures sent by post. The mailings must be packed in such way that damage during transport is excluded. Digital pictures on CD will not be returned; CDs will be destroyed after the event.

 

Further information:
EuroNatur Foundation
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Phone: +49 7732 / 9272-0
Fax: +49 7732 / 9272-22
Email: infoeuronatur.org
www.euronatur.org/photo
 
Code of conduct for nature photographers

• The nature photographer may under no circumstances endanger the life of plants or animals or disturb their way of living. The life and wellbeing of any creature and the respect of its habitat is far more important than any picture could be.
• The observation of legal regulations for wildlife protection is imperative.
• Do only take pictures in natural environment. Picking flowers or pursuing animals for the sake of a photo is absolutely unacceptable.
• When taking pictures, neither the object nor its surroundings should be altered. Be very careful not to damage the natural protection of the object and not to go below flight distance. Please be particularly cautious when using photoflash.
• Taking pictures of birds in the vicinity of a nest is dissuaded.
• Disturbing foraging animals or animals feeding their offspring is to be avoided on all accounts.
• Gathering places, sleeping or resting places shall not be disturbed in any case.
• Generally, any interference in the natural habitat is to be avoided. Therefore we recommend not to use baits such as birdsong playback or food to attract animals. In case of doubts please contact the local nature conservation office.
• Manipulation of animals (e.g. holding or moving them) or plants (e.g. pinching) is usually inappropriate, often to be avoided and sometimes totally unacceptable. If pictures can only be taken after such manipulation, one can better wait for another opportunity.

 

According to BVNF – Belgian Association of Nature photographers
Link: http://www.bvnf.be/uk_pages/uk_home_code.htm