NATURE COMPETITION RULES & QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
Updated September 2020

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JACQUES SZTUKE

There are five competitions each year, two in the fall and three in the winter/spring. There are four categories in Nature: Botany, General, Zoology, and Ornithology. At the end of the season there is a competition for Image of the Year for each category.

Botany:
Plants, trees, flowers, fungi, and lichen.

General:
specific aspects of landscapes (e.g. wetlands), seascapes (e.g. tidal pools), rocks (e.g. basalt formations), fossils, stars, and planets.

Ornithology:
Birds in their natural habitat.

Zoology:
mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects in their natural environment.  The hand of man MUST NOT appear in any Nature image entry – NO roads, houses, fences, or humans, NO cultivated plants such as tulips or daffodils.

In the case of zoo animals, NO cage bars, concrete walls, zoo straw or bedding, mowed grass, etc.

NOTE: Banded birds, and pelicans on pilings ARE acceptable.

Titles are VERY important in Nature Competitions. They should correctly identify the subject by its common name or its species name (e.g. red sandstone cliffs – not just rocks, Jackass Penguin and not just Penguin, etc.).

MCC does not support baiting of birds or animals. Images made using baiting are ineligible for competition.

Competition entries in which the subject(s) appear to have been baited should be accompanied by a note affirming that no baiting was used by the photographer or others present. 

Jacques Sztuke
Nature Chair
nature@montrealcameraclub.com

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RULES:

• Each photographer may enter a maximum of three (3) images per competition.
• Images previously entered in a Montreal Camera Club competition are NOT eligible.
• Digital images must be submitted to nature@montrealcameraclub.com by the deadlines established.
• A maximum of ten (10) entries per year is allowed in any one category: Botany (B), General (NG), Ornithology (O), and Zoology (Z). If more than ten (10) images are entered into a category, only the first 10 images submitted will be used in the calculations for trophies, standings, and honours, etc.

SIZING: 

• Digital images should be submitted with a maximum width of 3840 pixels and/or a maximum height of 2160 pixels.
• Files should be saved as .jpg images with a high-quality setting.