Editing Rules for DOMAIN ONE - Documentary
DOCUMENTARY: Includes the categories of Photojournalism and Nature
Photojournalism
Editing Rules for Photojournalism Category:
Restricted Editing - Photojournalism
Not Permitted
Softening or blurring and/or vignetting of the background of an image in post processing is not permitted.
Panoramic stitching is also not permitted.
Techniques that add, relocate, clone, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are not permitted.
Infrared images are not permitted.
Flipping the image is not permitted.
Non-photographic components, that identify the maker i.e. signatures, watermarks, etc are not permitted.
Edge effects, discrete borders or frames are not permitted.
HDR, focus stacking and in-camera multiple exposure taken at the same location at the same time (as a continuous sequence – seconds or minutes apart) is not permitted. HDR may not be applied during post processing.
Third party pre-sets, applications, brushes and actions are not permitted.
Digital Creative Filters either on camera or in post processing are not permitted.
The image cannot be solely created by a computer application.
Permitted:
Techniques that enhance the presentation of the image without changing the story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene are permitted.
Enhancements, distortion correction, straightening horizons, both local and global adjustment of contrast, brightness, colour balance and saturation, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction.
Minor cleaning up (e.g. removal of sensor dust or scratches from images or transparencies/scans, removal of chromatic aberration).
Dodging and burning is permitted on the submitted image.
Images may be converted to monochrome.
Physical lens filters (such as polarizing filters, ND filters etc – any filter that can be attached to a lens) are permitted.
All allowed adjustments must appear natural.
Nature
Category Definition for Nature:
APAC has adopted the same Nature – Wildlife definitions as CAPA which were updated on January 1, 2019 by: Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique (FIAP); the Photographic Society of America (PSA) and The Royal Photographic Society (RPS).
These Nature and Wildlife definitions are as follows, along with the CAPA supplementary themes:
Botanical – subjects such as wild flowers, plants, trees, fungi and algae. Germinated and grown without human assistance. ‘Hand-of-man’ elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral part of the nature story (10% or less of total image area).
Insects, Reptiles & Amphibians – such as: ants, bees, beetles, butterflies, crickets, dragonflies, hornets, mantis, mosquitoes, wasps, alligator, snake, crocodile, gecko, iguana, lizard, turtle, etc… ‘Hand-of-man’ elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral part of the nature story (10% or less of total image area).
Environment – subjects such as weather phenomena (e.g. rainbows, lightning, cloud formations and auroras), geological formations, other natural phenomena (e.g, snowflakes and raindrops), planets, stars and astronomical events. Any image that could otherwise be classified as a landscape or seascape cannot have any evidence of the Hand-of-man’ if entered in the nature category.
Wildlife – ONLY living and untamed wildlife mammals, birds and marine subjects. No traditional zoo, open-range zoos, game farms or other areas where animals/birds are enclosed or confined. Nature parks are considered natural environments because animals are not in ‘controlled conditions.’
Wild animals and birds are permitted to have scientific bands, tags or radio collars but no tethers or harness attachment. No feral or domesticated birds or animals are permitted – ‘Hand-of-man’ is permitted provided that it is deemed as an element of an ‘adaptive environment’ (e.g. barn owl) and consists of 10% or less of total image area.
Note: CAPA’s definition of Hand-of-man – “devoid of all human elements and impacts of human activities”
The following are examples of ‘hand-of-man:’
Human – body or portions thereof.
Sky – cables, telephone/power lines, jet streams, aircraft, light pollution, artificial light, etc…
Land – man-made structures or paths, buildings, concrete, man-made stone, telephone poles, fences, posts, sidewalk, domesticated or cultivated plants/food, cut grass, organized or systematic laying out of planted trees.
Elements – freshly cut trees, branches or stems if the cut appears to be from an axe or saw, posts, man-made food, objects or background elements. (a worn stump from a cut years ago is allowable).
Sea – boats, ships, piers, docks, posts in the water, etc.
Editing Rules for Nature
Restricted Editing – Nature
Permitted:
Techniques that enhance the presentation of the image without changing the story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene are permitted.
HDR and focus stacking.
Physical lens filters (such as polarizing filters, ND filters etc – any filter that can be attached to a lens) are permitted.
Enhancements, distortion correction, straightening horizons, both local and global adjustment of contrast, brightness, colour balance and saturation, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction.
Minor cleaning up (e.g. removal of sensor dust or scratches from images or transparencies/scans, removal of chromatic aberration).
Flipping the image.
Dodging and burning is permitted on the submitted image.
Images may be converted to monochrome.
All allowed adjustments must appear natural.
Not Permitted
Softening or blurring and/or vignetting of the background of an image in post processing is not permitted.
Panoramic stitching is also not permitted.
In-camera multiple exposure taken at the same location at the same time (as a continuous sequence – seconds or minutes apart).
Techniques that add, relocate, clone, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are not permitted
Infrared images are not permitted.
Non-photographic components, that identify the maker i.e. signatures, watermarks, etc are not permitted.
Edge effects, discrete borders or frames are not permitted.
Third party pre-sets, applications, brushes and actions are not permitted.
Digital Creative Filters either on camera or in post processing are not permitted.
The image cannot be solely created by a computer application.
Long exposures of clouds or water that doesn’t look realistic are not permitted.
Star trails in long exposures are not permitted.
APAC Nature Ethics adopted from CAPA:
To promote responsible photographing of species, entrants:
Must not do anything to injure or distress any animals or destroy their habitat in an attempt to secure an image.
Must maintain an appropriate distance from an active nest, and in most cases, avoid them entirely.
Must not bait of wildlife to avoid possible long-term impacts.
Must not stress out wildlife by getting too close.
Should learn about the species’ behaviour and the ecology of the area.
Should use appropriate lenses and techniques that minimize stress on wildlife. You should be a naturalist as well as a nature photographer and you should be especially careful and respectful when photographing ‘species-at-risk’ and threatened species.
Should consider avoiding the photography of ‘species-at-risk’ altogether. For more information consult the The Canadian Federal Species At Risk Act – Schedule 1 for a complete listing.