Hi Guy and other forum members,
I wanted to quickly clear up some of the confusion around the terms and conditions. I hope this helps.
With regard to the subject release/approval, it's important to note that there are a number of cultural sensitivities in Australia when taking photographs of some subjects. These include some members of the country's indigenous community, children and even taking photographs of people on some of Australia's beaches. While it may not be technically illegal, it is nonetheless frowned upon by many in the community here. This can even include national icons, such as Uluru, although I am not sure it extends to ducks.
I also wanted to stress that the only way in which images submitted will be used is in the promotion of the exhibition, such as sending links to the site to interested journalists or putting the galleries up on our website to promote the initiative. Panasonic Australia respects the intellectual property rights of photographers and would not dream of using any images beyond this purpose without proper consent and compensation, as negotiated by the photographer or their agent.
Finally, with regard to the collection of information for distribution to third parties. This explicitly refers to providing information and possibly contact information to program organisers, gallery staff and - when OK - media who might wish to write a story about a photographer's submission.
I'm sorry that the terms and conditions have inadvertently caused so much concern. The spirit of this initiative is very much in good faith, giving undiscovered photographers a chance to have their work shown in a Sydney gallery. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have their own show will know what a thrill this can be.
I know that there may be dubious and exploitative 'competitions' on the web and that you need to be careful, but this is not one of them. Quite frankly we have too much respect for our customers, our brand and the photographic community to undertake anything that was not fit and proper.
I hope this explanation is useful, and I'd be happy to answer any additional questions in relation to this exhibition that you may have.
Kind regards,
Panasonic Australia