1. Only one account per user is permitted.
  2. You must be the photographer and copyright holder of all material posted to TrekNature.
    1. You retain copyright and the ability to delete/edit your photos.
    2. You grant TrekNature the right to use your images for display anywhere on the TrekNature site.
    3. TrekNature is not responsible for unauthorized usage of your images outside the TrekNature site.
    4. You retain copyright for your forum postings and critiques. You give TrekNature a non exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to use your forum postings and critiques on any trek site.
  3. Only photographs are permitted. Images may not be digitally manipulated in an image editing program ie, Photoshop except for the following reasons:
    1. Copyright notices and (straight-edged) frames
    2. Cropping, resizing and sharpening
    3. Touching up (dust, slight imperfections)
    4. Levels, Curves, Color adjustment, Hue, Saturation etc. for minor image enhancements.
    5. Multiple exposures to get proper exposure values
    6. Stitching for panoramic photos
    7. Color conversion to Black and White, Sepia, Duotone etc.
    8. Perspective correction for parallax or lens distortion.
  4. Photos of domesticated animals or cultivated plants are are highly discouraged and may be removed with notice.
  5. Photos of zoo animals should be noted as taken in a zoo, and accompanied by an explanatory note.
  6. Photos without an explanatory note may be removed with notice.
  7. Photographs of pets (not only one's own) are highly discouraged and may be removed with notice.
  8. Studio (or studio-like) photographs are discouraged and may be removed with notice.
  9. As the purpose of TrekNature is to learn about the world of nature through photography, shots of common objects (like closeups of garden plants, water droplets, etc.) tend not teach us anything without a suitable note, so unless there's a suitable note they will be liable to deletion at our discretion. If you wish to post these types of image please consider using our sister site TrekLens.
  10. Identical photos (unmodified or not) may not be re-posted except through the 'Post to Workshop' or 'Re-Post' mode. (Deleting the original image in order to re-post is also not acceptable. Instead, open a Discussion for the photo to request feedback.)
  11. Identical photos may not be posted to more than one Trek Gallery (TrekEarth, Treklens or TrekNature).
  12. Workshop or Re-Posted images must include information on any changes made to the original.
  13. Profanity, insults, and rude comments are not permitted on TrekNature.
    1. Retribution is not acceptable.
    2. Email ombudsman@treknature.com to complain about rude critiques or forum messages.
  14. Postings should be on-topic. Unrelated or self-promotional postings or SPAM may be transferred or removed.
    1. Critiques
      1. Critiques are to be used for any critical or praiseworthy comments about the critiqued photo.
      2. Overly general critiques i.e. Nice shot, Great, I like it a lot! etc. are highly discouraged and may be removed.
      3. Critiques must include specific reasons as to why a photo is either good or needs improvement.
      4. Critiques which include broad generalizations such as good composition, nice colors etc. should be marked as a comment. Such critiques may be marked as a comment. Writing excessive amounts of these general critiques may be removed, and the ability to write critiques may be disabled. (It will still be possible to write comments.)
      5. Critiquing is one of the core aspects of TrekNature and all helpful critiques are welcomed, however critiquing mostly friend/family members without critiquing others is unfair to the other members and breaches the community spirit of this site. Please critique fairly, as failure to do so may result in removal of critiques and/or ratings or account removal.
    2. Critique Ratings
      1. Critique ratings are to be used to rate critiques fairly.
      2. Critique ratings determined to be used for significant reward without warrant will result in removal of all critique ratings for that member and suspension of ability to rate critiques.
      3. Critique ratings may not be used for critiques written in languages the member does not understand.
    3. Photo discussions are to be used for discussion about the photo.
    4. Photographer's Notes are to be used for general or technical descriptions about the photo.
    5. Travelogues are to be used for trip stories.
  15. Image licensing requests via the private messaging service or emailing copyright@treknature.com deemed excessive and/or unreasonable will be not be processed and may result in account inactivation.
  16. By posting to TrekNature, you authorize TrekNature, at its discretion, to act on behalf of the copyright holder in case of infringement by other sites.
  17. TrekNature reserves the right to terminate without notice your TrekNature membership at any time, for any reason, including your violation of any of these Terms of Service.
  18. YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT TrekNature WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE TrekNature SITE, EVEN IF YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.