Nature Wildlife Definition
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To be eligible for any Wildlife award images must meet the following conditions in addition to the General Restirctions on Nature Photography listed below.
(a) Zoological organisms must be living free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat of their own choosing.
(b) Images of zoological organisms that have been removed from their natural habitat, or in any form of captivity, or are being controlled by humans for the purpose of photography are not allowed.
(c) Botanical organisms may not be removed from their natural environment for the purpose of photography.
(d) Images that have been staged for the purpose of photography are not allowed.
General Nature Photography Restrictions
Nature photography records all branches of natural history except anthropology and archaeology. This includes all aspects of the physical world, both animate and inanimate, that have not been made or modified by humans.
Nature images must convey the truth of the scene that was photographed. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the image and be satisfied that it has been presented honestly and that no unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the image. Images that directly or indirectly show any human activity that threatens the life or welfare of a living organism are not allowed.
The most important part of a Nature image is the nature story it tells. High technical standards are expected and the image must look natural.
Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a necessary part of the Nature story.
Photographs of human-created hybrid plants*, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated animals, human-created hybrid animals and mounted or preserved zoological specimens are not allowed.
* Fungi, such as mushrooms, are not plants or animals and are therefore allowed.
** Click here for a list of domestic animals (only the first list is applicable). Feral animals are domestic animals gone into the wild or animals in the wild descended from domestic animals.
Photographs of all flowers and plant blossoms, hybrid or not, in any stage of development are ineligible - unless they are acting as an adopted habitat for eligible living organisms that are the main focus of the image*.
* Such as a bee in the wild pollinating in a flower, its adopted habitat for the purpose.
Images taken with subjects under controlled conditions, such as zoos, are allowed.
Controlling live subjects by chilling, anaesthetic or any other method of restricting natural movement for the purpose of a photograph is not allowed.
Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not allowed.
Borders: In Reality Divisions in S4C (Nature, PhotoTravel, Photojournalism) single white or grey borders of 3, 4, or 5 pixels in width are permitted. Larger, smaller, black, or color borders are not permitted. Entrants are, however, advised that borders of less than 5 pixels may appear incomplete in the smaller images used in the final Catalog due to jpeg artifacts.