GENERAL RULES

1.    This competition is open to all underwater photographers of all skill levels, excluding the Cairns Underwater Film Festival board and judges.
2.    The photos must have been taken underwater (over-unders accepted.)
3.    The photos must have been taken within the last two years in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea (Australia) waters and must not have won a major prize (valued over $200) in another competition.
4.    Marine life should never be stressed or endangered for the sake of a photo. Conservation rules will apply to all entries.
Entries suspected of exhibiting the following behaviour will be disqualified:
a.    Divers visibly damaging the environment.
b.    Animals with signs of stress (e.g. puffed puffers, inking octopus).
c.    Animals moved to an unnatural environment or risky location.
5.    Only photos in digital format are accepted. (High resolution JPEG)
6.    A photo must be entered in one of the six (6) categories: Wide Angle Nature, Macro, Diver/s, Creative, Compact, Young Photographer (16 years and under).
7.    A ‘Compact’ camera system for the purpose of this competition is any camera that does not have interchangeable lenses.
8.    A maximum of three (3) photos are allowed per category.
9.    Using the same photo in more than one category is prohibited.
10.    By entering a photograph in this competition the entrant agrees: the photograph, in its entirety, is a single work of original material taken by the entrant and the entrant has all rights over the photograph(s).  Composite entries are not eligible (images produced from two or more photographic elements), except in the ‘Creative’ category.
11.    The judging panel is composed of independent professional underwater photographers.
12.    The judge’s decision is final, no correspondence shall be entered into.
13.    Submission of images in the Cairns Underwater Film Festival Photo Competition implies you have read, understood and accepted all rules of the competition.
14.    A prize will be awarded to the winner and runner up of each category.
15.    Prizes are not transferable or redeemable as cash.
16.    Winners will be announced on the night of the Cairns Underwater Film Festival held at the Cairns Civic Theatre Saturday 13th August 2011.
17.    Finalists will be contacted by Saturday 7th August 2011.  Awards will be presented at the Cairns Civic Theatre Saturday 13th August 2011 at 7.30pm.
18.    Winning and runner up photos of each category will be screened at the Festival
19.    The photographer agrees that their photos can be used in association with the promotion of the Cairns Underwater Photo Competition only and no other purpose. When used for promotional purposes the photographers name will be mentioned.
20.    Photographers retain all copyrights to their image
21.    This is a non-profit competition. Anyone interested in purchasing a photo will be redirected to the photographer.
22.    No photos can be sold or given without the written consent of the owner.

REGISTRATION

1.    Payment of registration and entries must be received by 20th July 2011.
2.    Registration and payment (AUD$20) can be made through our website http//:www.cairnsunderwaterfilmfestival.com
3.    Once payment is complete you will receive a ‘confirmation of registration’ email containing the web address for uploading your entries.  The preferred method of entry is electronic. If this method is not possible due to your lack of a proper internet connection, you will be able to submit images on CD by contacting the photo competition organisers at: photocomp [at] cairnsunderwaterfilmfestival [dot] com
4.    Images should be sized between 2000 and 6000 pixels on their longest dimension and a maximum file size of 5MB.  For correct colour reproduction we recommend participants use the Adobe RGB 1998 colour space.
5.    Each photographs digital file must be named using the following format
Name of entrant_category_photo number
E.g.     John-Citizen_MACRO_1
John-Citizen_MACRO_2
John-Citizen_MACRO_3
John-Citizen_WIDE_ANGLE_1
John-Citizen_DIVER_1
John-Citizen_COMPACT_1
John-Citizen_YOUNG_1
John-Citizen_CREATIVE_1
Which are 8 photos entered by John Citizen.
6.    The organisers are not responsible for any loss or damage of the files.