Commons:Wiki Loves Earth 2016/Rules

The set of rules for the international part of the Wiki Loves Earth 2016 contest.

Rules

To take part in Wiki Loves Earth contest, a submission should:

• Be self taken

  All entries must be original photographs uploaded by their authors. Photos uploaded by anyone else than author (even with permission) are not accepted.

• Be self uploaded during the contest period (one of May or June 2016);

  You are also welcome to submit photos you may have taken in the past. What matters is that photos must be uploaded during the contest period (1st May — 31st May or 1st June – 30th June)

• Be under a free license;
• Contain an identified natural monument / natural park / protected area etc.;

  Lists of eligible sites are published by each participating country. Photos of representative species (animals, plants etc.) taken in an eligible site also qualify if they are properly identified.

• Be nominated through a national contest;
• Have at least 2Mpx.

  Photos under 2Mpx can be accepted in local contests, but should such photo be nominated for the international part the author will have to upload higher resolution or the photo will be disqualified.

• A participant should have an activated e-mail address via Preferences of his/her account.

Changes

The rules can be adapted via the international team if need be.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is there a limit on the number of photos I can submit?

No, you can submit as many as you like. Some people are uploading photos of hundreds of sites. However, we recommend you upload your best and quality photographs and increase your chances of winning.

• Can I use Photoshop or a similar program to post-process my photos before submitting them?

Yes of course. The photos can be edited or processed by using any software. But please avoid the temptation to over-process: this is a photographic and not a computer art contest.

• What are the guidelines on image size?

Please submit images that are as large as possible and do not “downsize for the web”. We value high resolution images for many purposes including print. While images below 2 megapixels may be accepted for the national contest, they will not be considered for a prize as they lack usability at larger sizes, especially in print. Please note we won't contact you and ask you to submit larger resolution photos.

• Can I edit Wikipedia myself to add my photo to an article that doesn’t have images?

Yes, we’d be delighted! As your competition entry is already on Wikimedia Commons, it can easily be re-used on Wikipedia just by adding a link to the page.

• I am not the world’s best photographer. Do you still want my images?

Yes please! Even if you may not be entering in the expectation of winning one of the prizes, your entry can still give you the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped to document your local environment and natural heritage, and that you have made your images freely available for future generations. That you have contributed to or even become part of a growing community (Wikipedia) that believes in making knowledge freely available to all.

• Areas are too large, how to focus what to photograph?

The most useful pictures are those of wide views and representative biotopes. You can also submit photos of representative or rare species (animals, plants etc.) taken in protected areas, but these photos should be properly identified. If you submit such photos, it is up to you to describe them so that we know that a photo was taken in a nature reserve (and not on somebody's own balcony).

• What shall we do if some areas have an entrance fee?

Nothing bad about that. We are not going to force someone to pay for a chance of taking photos. On the contrary, people who are going to pay for entrance will do this anyway, and we encourage them to take pictures there.