Sta.sh
Theme
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this journal 
Total prizes reach 1000 
But of course there are always the rules......
Please please please fave the journal!
Make another journal about this giveaway and provide a link of that journal in the comments (this will help spread the word about this giveaway)
Its no secret that A LOT of people here on DeviantArt are unhappy with the way the APN gallery is run and how it is set up. This is especially irritating to wildlife photographers who wish to browse the "wild animals" category only to find them sifting through pages and pages of zoo animals. I've been a proponent of having two seperate wild animal categories on DA since I first joined. It seems simple enough to make a "captive/controled wild animal" category and a "wild animal" category, but the powers that be deemed it un-neccesary. So a couple fellow wildlife photographers, namely
and 
decided to do something about it. With the new group system DA has implementd it allows those of us who have no power on this site to get around the politics of the DeviantArt gallery mods. "Free to Roam" pretty much sums up the idea of this group. Its a place where you can go to find photos of animals shot in the wild under ethical conditions. No snobbery here, the only requirement is that your photo is of a free roaming wild creature. No zoo photos, captive animals and especially no game farm photos. Whether it was taken in your backyard or deep in the field somewhere, it belongs in this group. It's also a place that you will be able to learn a lot about wildlife and wildlife photography. There are a TON of amazing wildlife photographers on this site it's just really hard to stumble across any of them because browsing the "wild animal" category as it is now is a total joke. So if you're a wildlife photorapher or interested in wildlife photography this group is definitely for you! So stop by and check it out (its still a work in progress but it will be fully running in no time)
FREETOROAM
FREETOROAM
*** Drama Disclaimer ***
Every time I've ever done a journal mentioning that there should be two seperate categories within wild animals I'm met will all sorts of drama from people who enjoy shooting in zoos. I would just like to point out (as does the group description) that this is not a shot againts people who photograph in zoos. Captive animal photography (Ethical) has its place in the photography world and is a completely legitimate form of photography.It is not however the same thing as true wildlife photography. It's the same reason that the top wildlife photography competitions have a seperate category for zoo photos. It's widely accepted that they are two very different forms of photography.. just not here on DeviantArt for some reason. So head over there now and check it out!
FREETOROAM
FREETOROAM
Welcoming 
~icmike
Dec 17, 2009
was very selective in their submissions before the new groups were created) I know the way DA set up the new groups you can upload straight to the group but with four educated wildlife photographers running the group, it will be easier to filter the BS from the truth. Second after the word gets out that the people running the group and what they want to accomplish, I feel there will be only a handful of assclowns that will try to sabotage it. Third, if ever a doubt, a note can be sent to the photographer asking for data, I think they should have this as a disclaimer if they don't already, the group can decide at that point if it's legit and whether to allow in. My two cents. I hope it works, I think it's a positive step that many deviants want to see and I wish you all the best of luck.
