NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY RULES 

We have defined the Rosebowl competition as a Nature competition. 

We have adopted the Photographic Association of Great Britain (PAGB) definition as defined below. 

1. Nature Photography Definition  

1.1 Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation.  

1.2 The story telling value of a Nature photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. 

1.3 Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible.  

1.4 Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement. 

1.5 Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and sharpening, is allowed. Cloning of image defects and minor distractions, including overlapping elements, are permitted when these do not distort the truth of the photographic statement. 

1.6 Images entered as Nature can have landscape, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food. 

2. The following, courtesy of the Surrey Photographic Association (SPA), may be helpful in deciding if images meet the above definition.  

2.1 What IS allowed: 

• Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots or digital noise. 
• Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without altering the content of the original scene, including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. 
• Colour images converted to greyscale monochrome. 
• Natural history subjects including wild animals, birds, insects, marine and botanical (including fungi and algae). 
• Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals (and if present must not be removed). 
• Images of natural history subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are dependent on man for food. 
• Factual titles that describe the subject. 

2.2 What IS NOT allowed: 

• Any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement. 
• Techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping. 
• Stitched images.  
• Infrared images. 
• Anthropology or archaeology. 
• Human elements except if an integral part of the nature story (e.g. barn owls adapted to a human environment). 
• Images of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral or domestic animals, or mounted specimens. 
• Twee, informal or sentimental titles. 

To reiterate, these rules only apply to the Rosebowl competition. 

Dave Harris (amended 11 June 2024, in line with PAGB and SPA rules)