Sta.sh
First place goes to :iconilura-menday-less: with the entry: 
Second Place goes to :iconjudiette: with the entry: 
:thumb280942214: :thu
Our Contest Update 
for the Group Blog about it on the last or first day of each month.
Congrats to the winners! 
Welcome to Unframed-Nature! 
Please review the following below... and we will open in just a few more days...
First Edit on Feb. 29th, 2012
Second EDIT on Apr. 25th 2012
Third EDIT on May 8, 2012
Official Info., Guidelines, and Rules
Who We Are “Unframed-Nature” means Nature that is unhindered!
We want to share Nature here in as many ways as we can. Nature is not hindered, or it shouldn’t be, and we don’t want to hinder any type of Artist, from having the opportunity to submit their Nature work here, either.
[The name has nothing to do with putting actual frames or borders on your images, so feel free if that's part of your style! Do not feel hindered!
]We are an All-Media Group!
This means we welcome all Artists, no matter your preferred medium of art to work in, so we hope you find yourself feeling at home here and amongst other Artists of a variety of backgrounds. It is why we prefer not to divide folders by Media in our Group.
One of the unique things about our Group for a long time now, is sharing folders with each other using various Art Media. It shows we are truly here to enjoy ALL art, and the grand subject of Nature in general, and as a bonus it helps to keep our gallery folders at a nice minimum.
Examples of what is All-Media:
Photography, Photo-Manipulations [with credits], Traditional Work such as Drawings and Paintings, Digital Work, Fractals, Crafts, Literature such as Poetry and Visual Poetry.
Within each of these, we believe that real elements and visions of Nature can be depicted and shared.
With fractals, many times flowers, trees, butterflies, fruit, snowflakes, and certain animals, and nature scenes are made obvious by the artist and would definitely fit in our group!Some fractals meant to be nature-themed may seem too abstract, but if they are explained in writing in comments, may still be accepted.
If they are obviously meant to be of a different theme, such as a science fiction, or heart-shapes, they wouldn’t fit here.
Crafts such as jewelry fit, if for example a pendant is of a flower or a tree. It would be submitted to the “Nature Much Closer” Folder. Pendants of fairies would NOT be submitted to this group.
We would love to continue to see more written work about Nature...If it’s about your pet, it would be submitted to the “Domestic Mammals” folder.
If it’s about the ocean, it would be submitted to the “All ‘Scapes” folder... etc.
Even though we accept All-Media, it does NOT mean we accept all subject matter.
For example, this is NOT a group about fantasy or mythical subjects.
This is a very strictly a NATURE Group, where through our various artistic media, and various abilities, we are sharing and reflecting the real wonders of Nature.
This is NOT an elitist group, by philosophy. We feel, that we learn from those who have progressed in years and experience exploring their artistic journey, but that we can also learn from those who are just beginning. So we include and value all levels of ability.
However, we also value what is YOUR own BEST work and so should you!
It is why, you should only submit your best work at all times.
If you take a look through our past galleries, you will see we do have a high-quality of beautiful work that is submitted here.
Each month there IS an opportunity for the Members to VOTE on what they feel is the TOP SUBMISSIONS for the month, which is showcased in a monthly Group Journal. This can help to challenge each one of us, plus it involves the Members in another way, with this very worthwhile Group participation.
We truly believe that this is the Group’s Group.
New Folder Descriptions and Rules Featured
EDITED FEB. 29, 2012
Reserved for Admin. use only. See inside this folder for future purposes of this folder.
Group DONORS' Folder
EDITED FEB. 29, 2012
Previously, when the Group re-opened at the beginning of January 2012, we used our Featured Folder for our Group Donors Folder.
However, NOW, all the DONORS' work from the Featured Folder has been moved to a special folder for ALL of our Special Group Donors.
As we continue to have Donors of Points, depending upon the amount Donated, they have work Requested to this folder, PLUS work featured in upcoming Group Journals.
Then, regardless of amount donated ANY donor may submit 2 works per week to this folder.
What is submitted to this folder must follow all of the other rules of this Group.
Birds, Invertebrates, Aquatic, Reptiles, Amphibians
Birds - This means ALL birds, including what is now considered to be domesticated birds. If they are birds at zoos, or even pets...
NO submissions with bars or cages in front of any birds. They could be behind them, IF they have to be, but we prefer to think of birds as much in their natural environment as possible.
Invertebrates - “Animals without backbones.” This includes 97% of all animals species. For anyone who ever wanted to know more about Invertebrates,
go HERE: [link]
Basically these are your living insects and mollusks.
So your spiders, worms, butterflies, snails, and slugs would go to this folder.
Aquatic - All animals of the sea, lakes, and rivers.
This can even include the domestic goldfish and other aquarium fish,
BUT for aquarium fish, be sure we do NOT see too much the aquarium, for it to be accepted.Reptiles & Amphibians - To understand better what these are, or to compare and contrast these animals, go HERE: [link]
Examples of Amphibians: Frogs, Toads, Newts, Salamanders
Examples of Reptiles: Snakes, Lizards, Crocodiles, Turtles
Again, TRY to keep terrariums out of any photos, as much as possible. Absolutely No human faces up close in any of the above possible submissions. No humans walking around in any foregrounds.
If they are absolutely UNAVOIDABLE and they are super far away in the background, we MIGHT accept them. It is up to our discretion. No photo-manipulations with any humans or human-looking creatures with any of the above subjects. The one small “human” exception COULD be a hand to display a certain type of reptile or amphibian up close, so long as the human hand does not distract away from the animal that is being shared. No mythical creatures or fantasy-type animals to be submitted to this folder. No dead animals, blood, gore, or violence. Wild Animals
This includes all animals that are considered wild, but that are not any birds, invertebrates, aquatic, reptiles, or amphibians as these would be submitted to the folder would contain those.
These can include wild animals being kept in zoos, but...
NO submissions with bars or cages in FRONT of such animals.They could be behind them, if they have to be, but we prefer to think of them in their natural environment as much as possible, and of course we just want to able to see them best!
No human faces up close in any of the above possible submissions. No humans walking around in any foregrounds.
If they are absolutely UNAVOIDABLE and they are super far away in the background, we might accept them, though considering we want the WILD animals to appear in their natural environment, it is NOT likely we would accept these. Again no submissions of photo-manipulations that include humans or human-looking creatures with wild animals. No mythical creatures or fantasy-type animals to be submitted to this folder. No dead animals, blood, gore, or violence. Domestic Mammals
Domestic Animal- Any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment: [link]
Mammal- Any of various warm-blooded animals of the class Mammalia whose young feed on milk produced by the mother’s mammary glands. Unlike other vertebrates, mammals have a diaphragm that separates the heart and lungs from the other internal organs, red blood cells that lack a nucleus, and usually hair or fur. All mammals, but the monotremes bear live young. [link] [3rd of 4 definitions.]
Based on the above two definitions, of what is both a domestic animal AND a mammal, the following may be submitted to this folder, based from a list I used HERE: [link]
Dog, Sheep, Pig, Goat, Cattle, Zebu, Cat, Guinea Pig, Donkeys, Water Buffalo, Horse, Dromedary Camel, Reindeer, Yak, Bactrian Camel, Llama, Alpaca, Fancy Mouse, Ferret, Fallow Deer, Banteng, Gayal, Domestic Rabbit, Fancy Rat, American Mink, Chinchilla, Golden Hamster, Domesticated Silver Fox, Degu, Mongolian Gerbil,
Though Asian Elephants are considered Domestic Animals/Mammals, or Semi-Domestic by some resources, to avoid confusion, ALL Elephants will be placed in the Wild Animal Folder. Remember not all rabbits, or deer are domestic. Know your animals. If your rabbit is a pet, it should be stated in your comments, in case it’s not obvious in the photo or drawing. Out-of-the-cage photos of pets like rabbits and hamsters, etc. preferred, please. Mainly we do NOT want to see photos of the cages, glass, and containers. Some domestic mammals are kept as pets, like cats and dogs, for common examples. Therefore, it is understandable if with certain images of pets, parts of outside or inside of houses might be somewhat visible. However, keep these parts to a very minimum, as we want to see MORE of your pet in the deviation, and less of the surrounding home.
It is also understandable to see things like feeding bowls, toys, blankets, etc.,
just remember we want to see your PET, MORE than your pet’s things and surroundings.
No mythical creatures or fantasy-type animals to be submitted to this folder. Absolutely No human faces up close in any of the above possible submissions. No humans walking around in any foregrounds.
The one small “human” exception COULD be part of a visible hand displaying a certain type of domestic mammal, such as a newborn kitten or a hamster, so long as the human hand does not distract away from the animal that is being shared. But it would not be preferred. No dead animals, blood, gore, or violence. All ‘Scapes
This includes all sky, water, and landscapes.
It includes sunrises and sets. It includes forest scenes with tree-scapes, too.
Closer-Ranges or Close-Ups of Single Trees would be better in the “Nature Much Closer” Folder.
It is pretty self-explanatory!
No city-scapes. No buildings. Cities should NOT be the settings for deviations submitted to this folder. Parks for tree-scapes, might be possible if you can AVOID buildings and statues and monuments. Exceptions in parks might be paths, or even park benches IF composed off to the side or far away.
In more rural settings, if there is a little house or barn very far away in the distance that could not be avoided, it might be considered for submission. It just can not be the MAIN purpose or reason for the image.
[We will consider the title of your image, in such cases, as well.]
No steel reinforced bridges, therefore bridges made of man-made materials, and certainly not in city settings. Wooden bridges might be okay, and especially if they are in rural settings... such as over a stream, but they should NOT take up the whole image.
No close-up images of boats. We will not accept images where the artist meant for the boat or boats to be the main subject of the photo, manip, painting or drawing... If the boat or boats are on the horizon, or a very small insignificant part of the image, they might be accepted. NO humans, up front and center, should be a part of the deviations submitted to this folder, in any kind of way. No faces or full bodies should be taking up any part of the images.
Only when unavoidable, or a teeny part of the image, and/or far away in the background of an image, they could be accepted. This depends on how much the human presence is a distraction to the nature in the image. This could be subjective in judgment by the administrators.
NO humanistic looking creatures, or fantasy type creatures to be present in any of the deviations submitted to this folder, in any kind of way. If there is an animal of any kind in the deviation, please submit to the most appropriate of the three animal folders.Nature Much Closer
Think opposite of ‘Scapes, and anything that is close up to Nature.
This would include closer ranges to, close-ups or macros of:
single trees, tree branches, pine cones, leaves, flowers, blades of grass, rocks, feathers, water drops, nests [without birds], seashells, etc.
Water is allowed as long as it is not a waterscape. It must be a close up. Water drops are allowed as long as they appear to be natural, and appear to be in a natural setting. Examples:
If any food colouring is used, it becomes a Conceptual Piece, and the water is no longer natural looking, and it will NOT be accepted.
If the water or drops are turned red in Photo Shop, it will NOT be accepted.
We do NOT want to see manmade containers that this might be experimented in, appearing in the image being submitted. If it LOOKS natural, it WILL be submitted.
A water drop that was sprayed on a flower did not get there naturally, but since the water is natural and looks natural on the flower it WOULD be submitted.
Water drops in bowls, where the bowl is visible, or on top of CD’s or other distracting manmade objects will NOT be accepted.
This folder also includes close-ups of:
nature depicted in still life, such a vases of flowers, and other artistic arrangements of nature, like pumpkins, fruits, nuts, pinecones, shells, etc.
In still life, it is understood that there is a setting, such as a vase, or a table, or a step, etc., that is housing the presentation. Submissions of such still life containing these other items are okay, but should be minimal. We still want to see the nature, first and foremost! If there is an animal or insect in the deviation, please submit to the most appropriate of the three animal folders. No human beings. The only very occasional exception might be a hand holding a flower, but if more than the hand is seen, it won’t be accepted. IF the hand is bigger than the flower, or the hand is overwhelming the flower in some way, it won’t be accepted. It will be up to Admins. discretion. We really want to see the Nature!Featured News and Journals
EDITED: MAY 8th, 2012A NEW folder has been added. It does not run monthly, as do our FIVE regular monthly folders.
It is a special folder, and has a different submission limit, of:
one per month for members.
THE TYPE OF NEWS AND JOURNALS ACCEPTED:
HIGH-QUALITY NATURE-RELATED JOURNALS Any news or journals that contains causes related to nature and animals. Any news or journals that supports other positive, helpful, or compassionate events or causes. In other words, it doesn't have to be nature-related, but we as a nature group, would support other happenings in news, that would be considered kind, good, and helpful, in some way, humanity-wise, too. Any news or journals containing contests or projects related to ANY of the above! Any news or journals with helpful tools or tips, on how to DO something-- such as tutorials!We will look for any such WONDERFUL NEWS and JOURNALS!
WHAT NOT TO SUBMIT:
Highly personal news- journals which are mainly only about your personal life. Negative news- such as public gossip about other deviants, or a lot of complaining in general. etc., Simply NOT what we're looking for. A random feature of work, with no explanation of the intent or purpose for which inspired you to make such a collection.That would be a basic journal feature, and we would only be submitting high quality news, which would need to have obvious meaning and intent.
Monthly Theme Challenge Folder
EDITED APR. 25th, 2012
We have begun Monthly Theme Folders...
We will have them MOST months but NEVER during the time of a BIG CONTEST!
Please check our Galleries to see if any current Monthly Theme Folders are OPEN-
or any Recent Group Journals.
Sometimes a few POINTS
will be offered for these-as in, they will be treated like Mini-Contests.
Contest Folder
EDITED FEB. 29, 2012
Always look to our RECENT Group Journals/Blogs for any Info. on Current Contests!
Other Important Information to NOTE 
This is very likely a work in progress. Information, guidelines, and rules may need to be clarified, added, or updated as needed. It is up to each member to stay up to date on all information about this Group. If there is any MAJOR change, there will be an attempt to notify the members. It is impossible to predict specific and particular rules for every possible kind of deviation that does come through our submissions. But if we decline a submission it is not without good conscience. Our Administrators always discuss issues in depth. We do not just simply decline. We ARE careful and we are considerate, so
please do respect our decisions for which we have good reason/s.
We do always try to explain why we decline a submission. So please respect our decisions, because we are doing the very best we can, as volunteers working as hard as we can for you in this group.
And in the cases where it may seem more obvious that a mistake was made, please know that of course we are sorry, and again, we are only doing the best we can as volunteers working for you in this group.
Please, do NOT be upset with us. It is a Group, primarily meant for fun and Artistic growth. We are not getting paid, but we are spending a lot of time here, and doing the very best we can. Thank you for understanding this.
PLEASE, see the individual folders for the details on each of the following, but basically: NO to very little humans will be accepted most of the time. There are very few STRICT exceptions. But to play it safe, keep any deviations where humans are involved to NONE or very minimum.The same is true for...
NO cities, no buildings [except maybe the occasional house or barn far away in rural ‘scapes], no bridges [except wooden in rural ‘scapes] - see folder details, NO boats that are close up [only on horizon or very small in image] - see folder for details. NO fantasy or mythical subject matters. NO Mature Content as outlined by the rules here on dA.See specific animal folders regarding No dead animals, etc.,
This is a family-friendly Group, it always has been, and it will continue.
Environmental themes are welcome, but they must fit within our folders, and it must be explained in your comments. For example, a close up of a soda can next to a tree, will not be submitted without a written explanation in your comments that you are submitting because you are against the pollution of Nature. If there is nothing in the Comments, it will be declined. DO be kind and considerate to all Members and to the Admins., too. This Group is designed to be a place of peace & love.
Do ask for help, when you are NOT sure where to submit, or what you can submit. Submit a Note to the Group, or to any of the Group Admins, or ask in Comments. We are happy to help.
Other Members should feel free to help others in the Group, whenever you hear of or see a question, or direct them to where they can find the answers. This has always been such a wonderfully helpful group in the past... thank you!
Feel free to add faves 
’s of other Members’ works when submitting work of your own to the folders! One Submission per Day, per Folder, per Member! [Not Counting the Featured Folder, or Contest Folder or any other special folders... ]
This Above All Else, Have fun! 
New Info., Guides, Rules, PLUS Contest!by #Unframed-Nature