Here it is straight from Mr. Evan Hirsche, President of The National Wildlife Refuge Association. He was kind enough to answer these questions for me.
James Shadle's Question
Evan Hirsche's Answer
The NWRA disqualification of Mr.Gamez has become a very active thread on birdphotographers.net. Most of the discussion revolves around the rules violation of digitally adding elements in post processing. Do you consider removing an element and replacing it with a sampled area as "adding an element"?
In the case of Mr. Gamez' photo, he clearly added an element that hadn't existed in the original. It may construed as removing an element (in this case birds that existed in the original), but the removal necessitated adding something in their place. We may decide to clarify further in the future, but the intent is clear and there should be no confusion by photographers.
If can tell me, were any images disqualified because their location was misrepresented?
Concerning misrepresentation of location, Mr. Gamez image of a snowy plover chick taken on Egmont Key caught our attention because refuge biologists have no documented nesting of snowy plover chicks on Egmont in recent history. When I explained that fact to Mr. Gamez, he said that he was simply confused and that he takes so many pictures, he's not always sure where he took them. Perhaps, but then he shouldn't enter photos in a contest that have a specific location requirement if he's not sure where he took them.
Our members are also interested in why you named the photographer.
We chose to name Mr. Gamez to send a clear message to photographers that if they enter, their images will be scrutinized and they will be called out if we determine they've willfully violated the rules. Further, we wanted photographers who take pains to follow the rules to know that their integrity is valued and appreciated.
Our contest has a purpose - to collect first-rate images that illustrate the magnificent natural treasures conserved by our national wildlife refuges. If we end up using images in program and marketing materials that are not taken on refuges or create an artificial scene, then our integrity as an organization is compromised and our cause suffers.
Evan,
Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight.
All the best,
James