MADaboutUS

1. Diving is not a right. It is a privilege and so is taking underwater pictures. Dive with humility and be aware of the underwater environment. Divers exhibiting disregard for the underwater environment and its inhabitants will be disqualified.
2. Diving while taking photographs requires skill in trim and buoyancy. LEARN AND PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Watch fin placement so that you do not cover the corals with silt, debris or (worse) damage the very same corals you had just admired a while ago.
3. Be considerate of other photographers. If someone is taking a picture, stay at a respectable distance. Wait for the photographer to finish and then approach.
4. Unless otherwise announced, dive sites for the competition will be at Mabini and Tingloy, Batangas. Marine Protected Areas or Marine Sanctuaries are off limits to photographers for this competition --namely, Arthur's, Twin Rocks, Cathedral and Pulang Buli.
5. Police yourselves. Should you see that another photographer is about to damage or is damaging the environment, call his attention or the guide accompanying him, to avoid further damage to the underwater environment.

Rules on Registration and Submission of Entries:

Registration and submission of picture entry will be from the 29 of March till 12 noon of the 31 of March. There will be NO PROXY REGISTRATION AND DOWNLOADING OR SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES. Pre-registration online or through other means must be completed only at one designated spot (MAK Diver, a diveshop located on the right side of the road in Brgy. Pulong Niogan, Mabini. It is 100 meters after the Mabini Municipality cockpit found on the left side of the road on your way to Brgy. Anilao, Mabini, Batangas). Contestants must bring a valid I.D. card upon registration. Each contestant will be given a date for their cameras to be set. Images entered in the competition that do not conform to this date will not be eligible for a place/prize. Upon registration, a briefing will be conducted, a Statement of Understanding will be signed and each contestant will be given a Contestant Number.
Sharing of cameras is allowed as long as Rule Number 1 in Submission of Entries is followed

Submission of Entries:

1. Each competitor must submit his or her entries in a compact flash card or thumb drive. It is the responsibility of the competitor to ensure that images are retrievable from the flash card. No pictures in raw format will be accepted. Only JPEG. You may also connect your camera by USB cord to the PC.
2. Only three (3) entries will be allowed per contestant. For every additional entry, the contestant must pay P500.00. You may submit all three entries in one category.
3. Entries must not be the same picture.
4. All contestants must sign a form certifying that they have submitted their entries to the official organizers, that they have checked if the images are correctly named, and that they have complied with all the applicable rules.
5. Manipulation of pictures with your computer is not allowed. Only minimal cropping is allowed.
6. Contestants will be required to submit/show their original images as well.
7. Submission of entries will be from the 29th until the 31st of March.