1. The Owner of the contest is Reef Check Foundation a California registered 501c3 non-profit organization. The contest is open to anyone except employees of Reef Check Foundation and the following contest Sponsors:

• Body Glove
• Chapman-Walters Intercoastal Corporation
• Manthiri Maldives
• Oceanic Worldwide
• Promate USA

2. Entry requirements: It is a condition of entry that all participants sign up to become Reef Check members and maintain their full contact details for the duration of the contest. The contact details will be used to contact the winners. The online sign up system is available at www.reefcheck.org, and membership is free.
   
   To be awarded a prize, entrants must have a valid email and mailing address listed in their contact details in Reef Check’s membership database. Professional and non-professional photographers from all countries and territories are welcome and encouraged to participate.

3. Suggested donation: This contest is free to enter. However, Reef Check Foundation suggests that participants donate US$10 to help support the development and promotion of this contest and Reef Check conservation programs. Donations can be made through the secure link on the www.reefcheck.org website. Judging of the contest will not be affected by donation amount.
   
   
4. Number of submissions: One digital image may be entered in each category. The same image may not be entered in more than one category. Black and White images are acceptable in all six categories below:
   
   
   • People and the Reef
   • Creative Visions of Coral Reefs
   • Animal Behavior
   • Teams in Action
   • Indicator Organisms
   • Beauty of the Reef
     
     
   Images entered in the categories People and the Reef, Creative Visions of the Reef and Animal Behavior must have been taken on a coral reef from any part of the world. Images entered in the categories Teams in Action and Indicator Organisms must have been taken in the US state of California only. Images entered in the category “Beauty of the Reef” can be taken at a tropical reef or a California reef, and the photographer must be 16 or younger by the entry date.

5. Description of photo types accepted: All entries must be original digital images, or files of scanned transparencies or prints. All entries must be submitted as digital files via the contest page on the www.reefcheck.org website. Photo prints and transparencies will not be accepted.
   
   
6. Photo format guidelines: All participants should submit digital images with a maximum size of 10 MB. However, when taking photos, we would recommend using the highest resolution settings and format. Reef Check Foundation would like to make use of the contest images submitted for exhibitions, reports, and possibly a calendar to promote marine conservation. To use images for printing, they need to be very high resolution. If your photo is selected for this purpose, we will contact you to request the highest resolution image available. File labeling should include your name and the category title (e.g. JBrown.CreativeVisions.jpg).
   
   
7. Digital Adjustments: Digital Adjustments are acceptable in all categories if limited to global adjustments of white balance, tonal range, color balance, saturation, minor backscatter removal, cropping, dodge & burn, sharpening, and noise reduction. Digital composites are only permissible in category 2 (Creative Visions of the Reef). Please note the intention is for images to remain photorealistic while capturing the overall contest theme, encouraging creativity, originality, and vision in the appropriate categories. Images may be cropped before submission to either a 4:3 or square format. Digital images must not be adjusted beyond this rule prior to submission.
   
   
8. Copyright: By submitting images for consideration you warrant and assure the Reef Check Foundation that the images you submit are your own original work (or, in the case of submitting on behalf of a minor under your supervision, the original work of the minor), that you alone (or minor under your supervision) are sole author and owner of the copyright for all images entered. Where photomontage/multiple exposures techniques are used to generate images, the copyright in each image is solely owned by you. By entering your images into the contest you confirm that you have the right to grant the usage rights outlined below to Reef Check Foundation, and you agree to indemnify the Reef Check Foundation in respect to any losses or damages that may be suffered arising out of or in connection with the use, reproduction or exploitation of the images as a result of the infringement of any third party rights. For images with recognizable people in them, you will where feasible have a signed model release. By entering your images into the contest, you grant to Reef Check Foundation a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to reproduce all images for the following purposes:
   
   
1. Judging the contest,and one time use each for the Reef Check Foundation gallery, website ( www.reefcheck.org and newsletter.
2. For the winning images only, you agree to allow Reef Check Foundation to use those images unlimited times for the purpose of supporting Reef Check’s non-profit programs such as through inclusion within Reef Check Foundation’s marketing and promotional materials (including press packs) for the contest, exhibitions and the International Year of the Reef or other activities as well as use on contest and exhibition-related merchandise or other promotional material to be sold by Reef Check Foundation to generate not-for-profit revenue.
3. For winning images only, you grant Reef Check Foundation the right to use and to sub-license images to the press for reproduction in connection with the contest and exhibition, and to some or all Photo Contest Sponsors only for reproduction in merchandise or other materials promoting Reef Check Foundation.

Reef Check Foundation will use its best endeavors to acknowledge the copyright bearer on any material on which the image is used unless agreed otherwise. Non-winning images entered in this contest do not become solely property of Reef Check and may be used by the photographer for sale or donation.

5. Ethics and Environmental Guidelines: If manipulated animal behavior, OR cruel or unethical practices are suspected by Reef Check Foundation and or the judges, the entry will be disqualified. The judges will screen for any of the following behaviors. If these behaviors are found in the images or while the images were being captured the image and the individual will be disqualified.

• Gear dragging or visibly damaging the environment
• Excessively kicking up sand
• Animals viewed in an unnatural state or location
• Animals being fed
• Marine life being touched
• Exhibiting poor buoyancy control
• Exhibiting behavior that could be considered detrimental to the environment.

10. Legal requirements: Entries must not contravene relevant Environment Protection legislation and be compliant with relevant permits where images are taken in designated marine parks.

11. Previous contests: Images that have already won a prize in a major contest (one receiving more than 500 images) are not eligible for entry.

12. Online gallery: Reef Check Foundation reserves the right to remove any entry from the online photo gallery if it contravenes the terms, entry requirements, or is not deemed to be of sufficient standard for the contest. Any entry that at the sole discretion of Reef Check Foundation and or judges is deemed indecent, obscene, discriminatory or offensive will be immediately disqualified from the contest and will be removed from the online gallery and appropriate action will be taken. Entries that include images of children (younger than18 years of age) must comply with all federal and state government rules and requirements. In general, written permission must be sought from the child’s parent or guardian for their participation.

13. Online voting and shortlisting: Reef Check will select the top 100 photos only if the number of contest entries exceeds 500. Then, Reef Registered members of the Reef Check website will judge the images using our online gallery voting system from September 3 - 30, 2008. Their choices will serve to select the top ten images in each category. Only registered members of Reef Check are eligible to use the online voting system. Entrants are not eligible to vote for their own entries. Only one vote per image is permissible per member. Members are encouraged to vote for each entry in a category to provide a fair representation of their opinion across all the entries.
    
    
14. Judges: The judges will include a mixture of professional photographers and non-professionals with knowledge of the marine environment to be appointed by the Reef Check Foundation to choose the winners. Judges will rate each photo by assigning a score from 1-10; the highest rated per category will become a winner. Reef Check Foundation’s decision on all matters relating to the contest is final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning the contest's judging. Should the quality of entries fall below the standard required, Reef Check Foundation reserves the right to remove these entries from the online photo gallery and not to award prizes.
    
    Judges will select winning images based on the following criteria

15. Schedule 2008:

• July 1: photo contest opens for submissions
• August 31: photo contest closes for submission
• September 3: online member voting opens
• September 30: online member voting closes
• October 1: voting by selected panel of judges opens
• October 10: voting by selected panel of judges closes
• October 20: winners announced and notified via the email address supplied on sign up.
• November 15: winning photos exhibited at Reef Check’s Gala event at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.

* Terms and Conditions updated 07/15/2008