Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict observations from all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify as to its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands, scientific tags, or radio collars on wild animals is permissible. Photographs of artificially produced hybrid plants or animals, mounted specimens, or obviously set arrangements, are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement. No techniques that add to, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content are permitted. All adjustments must appear natural.

Informative Note: Human elements are not limited to people in the image. Artifacts made by humans, such as roads, fences, signs, and buildings (or parts of buildings), even mowing patterns, are also considered human elements. Jesses and thongs on legs of raptors and other birds are also considered human elements, not scientific banding and are therefore included in this prohibition. Sensor dust on digital captures and rounded corners of scanned images are not considered pictorial elements.

Authentic wildlife is defined as one or more organisms living free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat. Therefore, landscapes, photographs of zoo animals, game farm animals or any living subject taken under controlled conditions are not eligible for submitting in the Wildlife section.

Informative Note: Wildlife subjects are not limited to birds and mammals. Insects, reptiles, amphibians, sea creatures and botany are also eligible wildlife subjects as long as they are not captive or controlled subjects. The main subject must be one or more living or deceased zoological or botanical organism.

Non-Return Print Fees
                                                                     World Wide
       1 section no-return                                 $6 US Total
       2 sections no-return                               $8 US Total

Return Print Fees
                                                                   North America                              Other
       1 section return                                    $10 US Total                          $16 US Total
       2 sections return                                  $18 US Total                          $28 US Total

PayPal is available for payment on-line. Please note that you do not need to have a PayPal account to pay using PayPal, just a valid debit or credit card (Master Card, Visa, Discover Card, American Express). Please do not combine payments for the Nature sections with payments for other sections in other Divisions and/or for other people on the same transaction.

Entrants may pay in US Dollars by cash or check . All checks must be made payable to “PSA” and must be drawn on a US bank. Print entrants must include the cash or check with their prints and print entry forms if not paying by PayPal. Remember to sign the entry form. IRC's are not an acceptable form of payment.

Any entry without paid entry fees at the time of judging will not be judged.

The maker’s name and/or image title shall not be in the image area or in any other area visible to the judges of any digital files, slides or prints. This includes copyrights.

An image (or a nearly identical in-camera duplicate) previously accepted in any PSA International Nature Division section, regardless of media, is not eligible for entry in any Nature Division projected image or print section of the 2011 PSA International.

Informative Note: PSA Recognized Exhibitions are not "THE" PSA International Exhibition. Images accepted in PSA Recognized Exhibitions but not in a past Nature section of the PSA International Exhibition may be submitted in the Nature Division sections of the 2011 PSA International.

The same image may not be submitted in more than one Nature Division Section of the 2011 PSA International regardless of the media. This means images submitted in either Nature Print Section may not be submitted in the other Nature Print section or in either of the Nature Projected Image sections. This does not prevent the same images from being submitted in Pictorial Print, Photo Travel or Photojournalism Print sections provided they meet the requirements and restrictions of those sections. Please note: Different images with the same title or the same image with different titles will be considered the same image.

Entries must originate as photographs (image-captures of object via light sensitivity) made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or acquired digitally. By virtue of submitting an entry, the entrant certifies the work as his/her own and permits the sponsors to reproduce all or part of the entered material free of charge for publication and/or display in media related to the exhibition. This may include use in the PSA Journal or low resolution posting on a web site. Entrants not giving this permission will not be eligible for awards. The exhibition assumes no liability of any misuse of copyright. All final work must be on photographic film, digital file, on photographic print material or digital print material.

I hereby give PSA permission to use my submitted images in PSA Educational Programs produced on CD's, DVD's or in Downloadable form, using ProShow Gold or equivalent software that does not allow program users access to individual images, for use by PSA Members, Clubs, Chapters and Councils wherever they may be. I am of Legal Age, and own all rights to these images, including copyright. or my parent or guardian gives permission on my behalf if I am not of Legal Age.

Informative Note: This License Agreement is over and above the permissions granted in the Original Image Statement above. The Judges will not be informed of the status of the License Agreement. Not accepting this License Agreement in no way affects whether the images submitted are accepted or whether, if accepted, the images are eligible for awards.

All acceptances are eligible for Nature Division Star Ratings for members of the Photographic Society of America subject to the requirements of the Nature Division. An on-line 8½"x11" PDF Nature Division Exhibition Catalog listing acceptances in all four Nature Division sections of the PSA International Exhibition is included with your entry fee. A link will be included on the Exhibition Web Site www.psaexhibition.com so you can email the Catalog to yourself and save as an electronic file and/or print out. The Catalog will be formatted for printing on both standard 8½"x11" paper and standard A4 paper. This is the same Catalog that will be provided to the Nature Division Star Ratings Director and includes color reproductions of the medal winning images. Printed hard copies of the Catalogs will not be mailed the the entrants

Open Section
   PSA Awards
       1-Gold Medal; 1-Silver Medal; 1-Bronze Medal and 6-Honorable Mention Ribbons
   Nature Division Awards
       Diversity Award (selected from high scoring entrants with 3 or more acceptances that
       show diversity in subject category)

Wildlife Section
   PSA Awards
       1-Gold Medal; 1-Silver Medal; 1-Bronze Medal and 6 Honorable Mention Ribbons
   Nature Division Awards
       Diversity Award (selected from high scoring entrants with 3 or more acceptances that
       show diversity in subject category)

Additional PSA Silver Medals, Bronze Medals and Honorable Mention Ribbons will be awarded depending on the number of entries received.

Each Image must have a unique title. Once and image has been accepted in any PSA Recognized Exhibition, regardless of section or Division, that same image, that same image, or a like “in camera” or a “reproduction” duplicate of that image may not be retitled if used in any other PSA Recognized Exhibition.

Titles will be read aloud during judging. Descriptive titles are recommended. Cute titles and incorrectly identified subjects may hurt your score.

Please limit titles to 35 characters including spaces and punctuation. The Entry Form software will clip any excess characters resulting in an incomplete title for inclusion in the Catalog. This will cause problems when applying for Star Ratings.

In addition to the title, the back of each print must have the name and address of the entrant in a position that clearly indicates the top of the print from the rear. Only pressure sensitive labels may be used for titles, names and addresses on the backs of unmounted prints to prevent bleed-through of the ink. The titles on the backs of the prints must match the titles on the Entry Form.

Black & White images are allowed in Nature. Black & White images must be grayscale with no colors. Infrared images are not allowed in this Nature Exhibition.

Prints may not exceed 20 inches or the metric equivalent in the longest dimension or 16 inches or the metric equivalent in the shortest dimension.

Award winning prints will be on display at www.psaexhibition.com. Selected prints* and all award winners will also be displayed at the 2011 PSA International Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado between September 19, 2011 and September 24, 2011.

*Space constraints may prevent displaying all Nature Print acceptances at the Conference. All award winners will be shown. Accepted Nature prints not displayed will still get full credit towards Nature Division Star Ratings and Who's Who listing and will be listed in the Nature Division PDF On-Line catalog.

The entries are processed periodically and the status reported on the Exhibition Web Site. The status report heading indicates the time/date of the last status update and the next scheduled status list update. It takes longer for print status to be included on the Entry Status List so please be patient. Do not expect an immediate update.

If any problems are noted on the status list, please contact the Nature Print Chairman by going to the Nature Print menu on the Exhibition Web Site and clicking on Send Email to Section Chairman to resolve.

PayPal confirmation for on-line payments will come directly from PayPal using the sender address service@paypal.com and will be addressed to you using the your name as entered on the PayPal page.

After you have received your email forms, please review the information you entered. If you made any errors, especially any typos in the Image Titles, please make out new entry forms or contact the Nature Print Chairman by going to the Nature Print Menu on the Exhibition Web Site and clicking on Send Email to Section Chairman to resolve. Whether you pushed the wrong key or not, the information as you entered it on the entry form, including names, titles, city and countries, will be the ones listed in the Catalog if the images are accepted.

You must complete a Nature Print Entry Form prior to shipping your prints. Use of the On-Line Print Entry Form with data filled-in on-line is requested and recommended to maximize legibility and accuracy. Prints for both sections should be mailed in the same package. A separate filled-in form for each section must be mailed with the prints to the Nature Print Chairman at:

                      Daniel Charbonnet, FPSA, EPSA
                      91 Mayfair Drive
                      Westwood, MA 02090-2725
                      USA

After you have carefully read these “Information and Conditions of Entry”, go back to the main menu and click on the line in the menu labeled Nature Print Entry Forms. After you fill out the form and click on submit, you will receive a separate email with the Entry Form for each Nature Print section. Print out each of the forms for the sections you entered and mail them with your prints, together with cash and check for Entry Fees if not paying by PayPal. Don’t forget to sign the forms for prints that do not require being returned.

Please do not use Print Screen to capture and print the data entry form if you are using the On-Line Print Entry Form. If you have trouble using the On-Line Entry Form please contact the Nature Print Chairman by going to the Nature Print Menu on the Exhibition Web Site and clicking on Send Email to Section Chairman to resolve or contact the Exhibition Webmaster by clicking Send Email to Webmaster to resolve.

All prints must be shipped unmounted and flat regardless the country of origin. Separate stiffeners are recommended in the packaging when mailing unmounted prints to prevent damage during shipping. Mounted and/or matted prints will not be judged.

A box is provided on the Print Entry Form to give permission to destroy the prints after the Exhibition. Entrants giving this permission must sign in the space provided on the Entry Form and can pay the reduced fees using the Non-Return Print Fees above. All other entrants must pay the higher fees required by the Return Print Fees above. Entrants giving permission to destroy the prints without signing the Entry Form but submitting fees based on destroying the prints will be contacted by the Nature Print Chairman to resolve the conflict by obtaining either a signed permission to destroy the prints or the payment of additional funds as required to equal the Return Fees above.