RULES

#1 PARTICIPANTS

Participation in the contest is open to everyone of all ages and nationalities, both amateur and professional photographers, being the authors of the images submitted and holding the rights to the latter, without any restriction from agencies or companies.

Participation in the photography contest is free of charge.

In order to participate, you will need to complete your registration on the contest website https://www.concursofioextremadura.es, providing, in addition to identifying data, a valid email address, to which the confirmation of registration as a new participant will be sent for authentication. In the event of not receiving any mail after registration, we recommend checking your spam e-mail inbox or, if necessary, contacting the Contest Organization directly.

Taking part in the contest is prohibited to the organisers, sponsors, or any other businesses connected directly or indirectly with the running of the contest this year.

#2 THEME AND CATEGORIES

The contest theme is based on “WILD BIRDS” with the following categories:

C1- BIRD PORTRAITS
Images depicting the nature of the bird, its features, and most distinctive details. The subject may be portrayed in part or as a whole, but the image must transmit intensity through its posture, appearance, expression, plumage, etc. The bird must be the main element of the composition.

C2- BIRDS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT
Images showing a close relationship between the bird and its environment. The surroundings must play an important part in the composition.

C3- BIRDS IN ACTION
Images of birds in action (in flight, flocking, bathing, fighting, courting, hunting or feeding, etc.) where distinct aspects of behaviour are captured. Special credit will be given for images of a dynamic and energetic nature, acknowledging the difficulty in achieving the shot.

C4- ARTISTIC VISION OF BIRDS
Images in which creativity and artistic interpretation offer some new perspective on the bird, allowing the use of special techniques.

C5- YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHERS
Images of birds taken by young photographers, under the age of 18. This is the only category that minors (under 18) may participate in.

SPECIAL PRIZE “EXTREMADURA PHOTOGRAPHER”
From all the images submitted to the contest, one photograph will be selected which was taken by a photographer either born or resident in the Extremadura region, with special priority given to images showing the species, habitats, or key locations of the region.

SPECIAL CATEGORY OF NATURE VIDEOS
Videos with a free theme related to nature, focusing on its conservation, observation, knowledge, or admiration of aquatic, terrestrial, and/or aerial environments. Audiovisual works featuring people in a natural setting will also be accepted.

The format of the presented audiovisual works can be edited to enhance their graphic and artistic quality. The minimum duration should be 30 seconds, and the maximum will be two minutes (120 seconds).

Participating videos can be submitted in AVI, MPEG-2, MOV, or MP4 format with a resolution of 1920x1080p.

In all categories, the birds may have been photographed in any location in the world. In judging the images and videos, the following criteria will be considered:

• Originality, composition, and quality
• Difficulty in achieving them and technique used
• Uniqueness or spectacular nature of the scene

#3 NUMBER OF IMAGES

Each adult participant (aged 18 and over) can send in a maximum of 20 images across any of the categories (C1, C2, C3, C4). The same photograph may not be presented in more than one category.

For the category of Young Photographers (C5) the number of images will be 15.

For the special video category, the maximum number of videos allowed per participant will be one.

#4 NAMING YOUR IMAGES

• File names should start with a category number of C1, C2, C3, C4 or C5, and the title of the photo.
• File names must not contain special characters (for example, “#” or “<>”) or punctuation (for example, “!”, “?”, or “.”).
• Spaces must be replaced by the underscore character (_).
• An example of a correct file name: C1_Goshawk_in_flight
• It is recommended that the title of each image does not exceed 20 characters.
• Naming images incorrectly may result in disqualification.

#5 FORMAT

Only photographs taken by digital cameras for which the RAW file is held are accepted. The works will be presented in digital format (JPEG) with a maximum of 1920 pixels on the longest side at 72 ppi, not exceeding 2MB maximum size. They must not include borders, watermarks, or signatures. No manipulation or digital alteration of the photographs is allowed. 

Only moderate adjustments are permitted affecting:

• Overall tone corrections, white balance, brightness, contrast, colour saturation and adjustment of shadows and highlights.
• Conversion of the image to black and white.
• Moderate sharpening and selective reduction of digital noise and grain effects.
• Elimination of vignetting, spot removal as well as correction of distortions and optical aberrations.
• Cropping the image, (not exceeding in any case 25% of the original image).
• Photographs will be accepted that have been created using special techniques such as High-Speed photography, multiple exposures, HDR images and focus-stacking provided that the technique used is detailed in the description/comments section. In all cases, the competition principles of authenticity must be complied with, so that they do not constitute an attempt to deceive the public or to misrepresent the reality of nature. Images produced using these techniques must generate a RAW file. The jury reserves the right to request the sequence of shots making up the image.
• You cannot add or remove image elements.
• It is not allowed to present the same photograph or another very similar one in different categories.
• Images obtained using image overlay modes will not be allowed.
• Photos should not have frames, borders, watermarks, signatures, or captions.
• Images created using artificial intelligence will not be accepted.

The authors of the photographs that reach the final phase after jury’s deliberations may be asked for clarifications, if necessary, about any image that the jury considers pertinent. The technical management of the competition will be able to reject the photographs that do not comply to the present rules, subjects, or categories. 

It must be considered that the RAW file and the high-resolution file corresponding to the photograph will be requested. High-resolution images must be sent in JPG or Tiff format and with a resolution of 300 dpi.  Failure to submit the RAW file will result in the disqualification of the photograph.

If the jury detects an evident intent on the part of the participant to deceive the public, it reserves the right to disqualify all the participant’s images submitted to the competition.

Also, the jury will judge on the suitability of the image to the category under which it is submitted and may change it to another category should this be deemed appropriate.

#6 PRESENTATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Participation is free of charge and exclusively on-line through the competition website: https://concursofioextremadura.es/en/

Personal information (name, surname, postal address and contact telephone number) and a valid email address are an obligatory requirement to complete the registration. If appropriate, those photographers born or resident in Extremadura (Spain) who would like to send photographs for the Special Prize `Extremadura Photographer´ complete this option in the display field of the registration form.

In the description / comments section of each photograph, there should be a description of the technique used and other information that the participant considers relevant to assess his or her image. 

The information provided in the description / comments section may help the members of the jury in their evaluation.

Participants declare that they are the sole authors, that there are no rights held by third parties, nor any claim for image rights regarding the images submitted to the competition.

The technical image parameters will be automatically extracted from the data embedded in the image file, so it is not necessary to detail them, and they must be present in each JPEG picture presented.

The images uploaded to the competition website remain in a “provisional state” and may be modified or deleted at any time until the participant is satisfied or the closing deadline for the competition is reached, at which time all images submitted as provisional will become definitive.

Participating videos can be submitted in AVI, MPEG-2, MOV, or MP4 format with a resolution of 1920x1080p.

#7 TIME FRAME

The contest has the following calendar:

• Image submission: from October 30 to December 8, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CET.
• Online jury deliberation to assess images and request RAW and high-resolution files: From December 19 to December 28, 2025.
• Communication via email to winners and finalists: starting January 7, 2026.
• FIO 2026 Awards Ceremony: February 28, 2026

All participants need to regularly check their e-mails during the request period for RAW files and high resolution. If they are not turned in within the established deadlines, they will be subject to disqualification.

#8 ETHICAL CODE

Only images of animals in the wild state will be accepted. No photograph will be accepted which, in the opinion of the jury, may have jeopardized the safety and well-being of the bird photographed or its surroundings, especially if nests or chicks are involved. The ethical code of the Spanish Association of Nature Photographers (AEFONA) must be complied with, in order to ensure a respectful relationship between photographers and the environment.

This code can be consulted at the following address:: https://www.aefona.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Codigo-etico-de-AEFONA.pdf

#9 IMAGES

The photographs submitted y should preferably be unpublished and must not have been subject to awards in other competitions at the time of publication of these rules. The images that are detected in this regard will be disqualified, even after having been awarded a prize, in which case the participant must return it.

#10 PROPERTY

By entering the contest, the photographer confirms that all submitted photographs have been taken by them and he or she is the sole copyright owner. The photographer is personally liable if the rights of a third party have been violated. In addition, the photographers must have, if necessary, all the pertinent permits for taking the photographs submitted to this contest.

The consequences of possible infringements will only fall on the photographer and the organization of the contest will not be responsible.

The copyright of the winning photographs will remain in possession of the author.

Extremadura Tourist Board will keep a high-quality format (JPEG) copy of the images provided by each of the winners in its photographic archive. Extremadura Tourist Board reserves the right to use them without limitation of time or place in activities related to the competition or for promotion purposes, without ever seeking any financial gain. In any other circumstance, Extremadura Tourist Board will contact the participant to ask for his or her consent. In no circumstances will these images be transferred to third parties. The name of the participants will appear next to their photographs or in an attachment.

#11 JURY

All information regarding the members of the jury will be published on the competition website.

The jury is made up of photographers of recognized standing, as well as representatives of the organization, who, according to criteria of creativity and technical quality, will select the works for award. The members of the jury will carry out their assessments individually on each image, without knowing the name of its author.

The jury is empowered to resolve any matters not foreseen in these rules which may arise during the competition.

#12 AWARDS

The following prizes will be awarded:

• Overall winner FIO 2026. Prize: € 2,000.
• Prize category C1, C2, C3 & C4 FIO 2026. Prize: € 1,000.
• Award category C5 “Young Photographers” FIO 2026. Photographic equipment valued at € 800.
• Special Prize “Extremadura Photographer” FIO 2026. Prize: € 900.
• Special Award “Video Category” FIO 2026. Prize: € 600.

The jury will select the image for Overall Winner from the winning entries to categories C1, C2, C3, and C4. The Overall Winner Prize FIO 2026 will only receive the prize of € 2,000 instead of the prize money for the winning category.

The Overall Winner and the winners in each category may also receive additional prizes offered by the competition sponsors. 

Sponsored prizes will be awarded at the contest gala. If the winner is unable to attend the event, they will be responsible for the shipping costs, managed by the prize sponsor.

The Special Prize “Extremadura Photographer” will be selected from all images submitted to the competition under any category, if it has been taken by a photographer either born or resident in Extremadura (Spain).

In addition to the winners, a minimum of 39 images will be selected which will be classed as “Finalists in the 21st FIO Wildlife Photo Contest” and will be chosen from among the different categories.

All prizes will be paid by bank transfer apart from the prizes in the “Young Photographers” category which will be provided in photographic material. The amount of the prizes will be subject to the tax liabilities established by current legislation.

The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday February 28 within the program of activities of the International Ornithological Tourism Exhibition (FIO 2026).

The winners who cannot attend the awards ceremony, agree to record and send a video commenting on their work to be screened at the gala, and its reception in a timely manner. The FIO organization will contact all those participants with winning images via e-mail if necessary, to provide them with detailed instructions for the video.

#13 FIO EXHIBITION 2026

A minimum of 50 images will be selected from the photos entered in the contest, including the winners and the finalists chosen by the jury. These images will be printed in high quality format to be exhibited during the celebration of the Extremadura Birdwatching Fair. The selected photos, with the prior authorization of the authors, will form part of a permanent or traveling exhibition to promote the Extremadura Birdwatching Fair. In no case will they have any other use than the one indicated above. The finalist and winning images of the contest can be viewed through a gallery on the official website of the event www.fioextremadura.es

#14 DATA PROTECTION POLICY

In accordance with the provisions of Law 3/2018 of 7^th December on Protection of Personal Data, you are advised that your personal data are held in a digitised file which is the property of academiadefotografos.com and registered as required by law at the Spanish Agency for Data Protection.

For further information about Protection of Personal Data, please check the following link:: https://turismoextremadura.com/es/pie/politica-de-privacidad.html

#15 CIRCUMSTANCES OF AN EXCEPTIONAL NATURE

If exceptional circumstances so require, the organization will take the necessary actions and decisions to carry out the event in a different format. To ensure the safety of all attendees, all the rules and advice dictated by the health authorities at the time of the awards ceremony will be respected.

#16 ACCEPTANCE OF THE COMPETITION RULES

Participation in this photography competition implies the acceptance of the current rules. For any enquiries in connection with the participation on this competition, you should contact: concurso@fioextremadura.es 

• www.fioextremadura.es  
• www.concursofioextremadura.es