Ana Maria, I certainly did not want to start a controversial issue here. However, if what you state is true, then any of us can post any pictures that are in our possession by getting the photographer's permission. Is this correct?
I just copied the rules from beginning of forum thread:
All photos in this forum are sole property of the photographer.
Folks, please be sure to provide the link to the location of the photo.
Rules (Some new):
1. Only the photographer can nominate his or her photo. We've had problems with photos getting nominated that don't even belong to the person who has it in their gallery. We only want the photographer nominating their own photos because we don't want legal problems in case someone was to win who didn't own the photo nominated. The person who nominates their photo must attest to being the owner of the photo.
2. Photo must be posted here at AdlandPro's Gallery.
3. Photo should appropriate for the contest, no objectible material.
4. You can nominate a photo from a previous week if it didn't win. We want to give everyone a chance to win.
5. You can only make one nomination per week.
Ana Maria, dear sweet person, I have no problem with your picture, it is beautiful and I love magnolias. There have been problems with this issue in the past and I wonder if you want to open that can of worms. One photo won the cash award using a picture from a Google search and it appeared in emails all over. The photo was later removed. Also, another person posted & won from a picture sent to them but it was ruled that it should be withdrawn. I don't care how you folks handle it, I like the photos and the contest and rules can be broken.
And yes, you could have posted the picture and not say you did not take it. That is not something I could do. Honesty has always been first and foremost with me. Please don't be upset with me. This is a fun forum and I have supported it as long as I have been with Adlandpro.
God bless,
Sara