Images must meet the following requirements to be eligible.

• Photos must be taken at a refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System or at a refuge-associated Waterfowl Production Area. Visit the Refuge System website or use this map to find a national wildlife refuge near you.
• The photo must have been taken on or after June 1, 2006.
• To be eligible, entries must be submitted in digital format by upload through this website. E-mailed entries will not be accepted. Photos may be submitted by upload after 9 AM Eastern time May 1, 2009. Uploads must be completed by Midnight Eastern time on July 15, 2009. No late submissions accepted. The Sponsor is not responsible for any circumstances that interfere with timely uploads.
• Photographs will be accepted only from the original photographer who must be the sole author and the owner of the copyright for photos submitted.
• A photographer may submit up to 10 digital images.
• Up to one(1) non prize-winning entry from any previous NWRA Refuge Photo Contest may be resubmitted per contest provided it meets all current contest requirements. ("Prize-winning entries" are not eligible and include: first through fifth place, honorable mention, special recognition or people category images; "non prize-winning entries" are eligible and include: semi-finalist images accepted into the Refuge Image Library, non-winning images.)
• Each entrant will be asked to provide the following information in order to process their $10 entry fee:

  A Visa or Mastercard Credit Card Number
  Card Verification Number
  Card Expiration Date (Month, Year)
  Card Holder Name*
  E-mail address
  *Special Instructions - If the name on the Credit Card and/or Billing Address is different than the name of the Photographer please enter Photographer Name in the Special Instructions Field.
  Billing Name (First, Last)
  Mailing Street Address
  City, State, Country, Postal Code
  Phone Number

  Note: The information gathered will be for NWRA purposes only and will be used exclusively to contact the entrant about their images' status in the 2009 Refuge Photography Contest. We will not add the entrant to a mailing list or release their contact information to any outside parties.

• During photo upload, EVERY entrant will be asked to provide the following information:

  Photographer Name

• During photo upload, EVERY entrant will be asked to provide the following information for EACH image (up to ten) submitted:

  Location of image [state, individual refuge]
  Description, max 200 words (species, scene, activity) and any camera/equipment information you wish to include*
  Categories (choose all that apply from the following: Bird, Mammal, Fish, Insect, Other Wildlife, Plant, People, Scenic)
  
  *Specific camera information and date of photograph will be collected automatically.

• Digital image entries may be color or black and white, horizontal or vertical format.

• Limited image modifications are allowed. The intent and effect of any modification must be to produce a more natural looking and accurate photograph.
  • You may submit images taken with a digital camera or images taken with a film-based camera and scanned into a digital format. Your digital image must be of sufficient resolution to meet the criteria required by the Judging Procedures outlined below.
  • Digital camera add-on lenses, filters, and scopes are permitted without restriction.
    
  • Images may be cropped as long as a rectangular format is maintained. Images may be resized as long as aspect ratio is maintained.
  • Watermarks, Signatures, or Copyright Notices detract from the natural appearance of photographs and are not permitted on entries for this contest. Remove any such markings prior to submission.
  • Do not add any elements or objects that do not exist in the original scene.
• Images will NOT be accepted by disk through the mail.
• The images must be in the digital format and size outlined in the following Judging Procedures.
  
  Judging will be conducted in two rounds.

First (Semi-Final) Round.  All eligible entries received by midnight Eastern time on July 15, 2009 will be screened during the Semi-Final Round.  Up to 200 images will be selected as semi-finalists based on reflection of theme, technical excellence, visual impact, and composition. These images will be included in NWRA's Refuge Image Library. Images will remain in the Library indefinitely at NWRA's discretion.

To be considered in the Semi-Final round, images must be submitted by upload through this website at 300 dpi JPEG format no smaller than 8x10 inches (2400x3000 pixels) and no larger than 12x14 inches (3600x4200 pixels).

Second (Final) Round: The Final Round judging will determine selection for first, second, third, fourth place and honorable mention prizes. A photographer may have more than one image in competition in the Final Round, but no photographer will be eligible for more than one prize among first, second, third, fourth place and honorable mention. The Final Round will be judged on the same criteria listed above.

• Participants must accept the Contest Rules and Procedures, including the Terms and Conditions on Use of Submitted Images, before uploading an image for entry in the contest.