I'm afraid that I am on the verge of becoming a pain on only my third post here. Maybe I'm slow, but.... It seems to me that there is some confusion or at least ambiguity related to the photography rules for the contest.
Rules as stated in this thread:
Adjustments can be made selectively to your photo. Cloning, dodging, burning, etc. to improve your photo or remove imperfections or minor distracting elements is acceptable.
Filters: At your discretion, you may apply filters to your photo, in whole or part.
From the "Digital Photo Editing Rules" post in the Photography forum
Post-shot adjustments may be made to your image in a photo editing program, so long as the modification is applied to the whole image.
Excepted as provided above, absolutely no spot-editing is allowed. This includes, but is not limited to drawing tools, dodging/burning tools, and cloning tools.
Filters: The use of filters (or non-Photoshop equivalent) is strictly limited. .... Any filter permitted by this rule must be applied uniformly to the entire image. Selective application of any filter is prohibited.
And yet again from the "Digital Photo Editing Rules" post in the Photography forum
Selective Editing: Adjustments can be made selectively to your photo. Cloning, dodging, burning, etc. to improve your photo or remove imperfections or minor distracting elements, etc. is acceptable. However, using any editing tools to duplicate, create, or move major elements of your photograph is not permitted.
Filters: At your discretion, you may apply filters to your photo, in whole or part.
Am I the only one to find the rules contradictory?
Tex Guy