There are two classes, “Open” and “Novice” and within each class six sections, which are:
Prints – Mono Prints, General Colour Prints, and Nature Prints.
Projected – Mono, General Colour and Nature.
The Novice class is intended for those relatively new to club photography who prefer initially to compete only against those with similar experience to themselves.
The Open class is where all other members compete.
Members will be free to choose which class they enter but that decision will normally hold for the whole season. No member may enter both classes contemporaneously.
For Monthly Competitions the Prints Sections and Projected Sections are generally held on separate evenings. Also for the Monthly Competitions, with the exception of the “Set Subject” ones, only two of the Sections will be contested each month. These will be clearly shown on the club programme.
There will be 4 Print and 4 Projected Monthly Competitions in each season, including the 2 “Set Subject” competitions.
The Annual Novice and Annual Open Competitions will be on separate evenings and these will include both Print and PDI Sections.
The winners of any Sections in the Novice class will be expected to move to the Open class the following and subsequent seasons, at least in that particular section. This move may be deferred for one year maximum if the member so desires.
The Competition Secretary will be pleased to answer any questions on any matters relating to the Competitions.
General Rules (these apply to all competitions)
1.Entries will only be accepted from fully paid up members.
2. All entries must be photographs (made by the action of light of any wavelength on a sensitive surface) of which the entrant holds the copyright.
3. Monochrome is defined as a photograph varying from very dark grey (black) to very clear grey (white) with various shades of grey in between. A work toned with a single colour will remain monochrome. Any partial toning or the addition of another colour becomes a colour image.
4. Members may enter up to three photographs in each section. (However see Rule 11).
5.Any entry may be used by the Society for publicity purposes and will be made available on request for inter-club competitions.
6a. During the Monthly Competitions a photograph may be entered a second time if it does not receive an award (Commended or better) in its first entry. This will be the only circumstance in which a photo may be re-entered during the Monthlies. No photograph may be entered more than twice and that includes using the same file for both Colour and Mono. The same applies to photographs that are “almost identical” to one that has already been entered. Those who wish to present their work to another judge during a season may do so at the Annual Open or Annual Novice Competitions.
6b. Photographs which have been entered in a club competition during a previous season may not be entered again.
7. Photographs of a similar likeness may only be entered across the season if the titles indicate that there are more than one photograph e.g. Flower 1, Flower 2 etc. Alternatively give the photos more specific and different titles. What we need to avoid is giving the impression that a photo is being re-entered when it is actually a different photograph so no duplication of the same title by the same author.
8. A record of placing made by judges will be kept by the Competition Secretary for appropriate awards to be made.
9. Points count down to “Held Back” for the Aggregate Awards given annually in each Section but only the best score in each month will count towards the annual Best Awards in each section.
10. All entries must be handed in on the correct night, clearly identified with the author´s name, class, section and title. Any entry not complying with these requirements will be returned.
11.There will be a cap of 120 entries in all monthly competitions. This will be administered by reducing entries per member per section where necessary, this applying first to the Open Classes before reducing Novices.
12. The Competition Secretary may use his/her discretion to waive or amend competition rules where appropriate and ensure that the Novice class is correctly used.
13. Whilst the Society will take every reasonable care, the liability for any damage to photographs shall be the entrant’s.
Prints
1.Mono and colour prints may be either home or trade processed/printed. They must be mounted and no larger than 20 inches by 16 inches including mount.
2.Digital Files are also required for projection during the competition.
Digital Projection
1.All photographic files must be in JPG format with minimum compression and shall be a maximum of 1400 pixels wide and 1050 pixels high. The images must be in a single layer in RGB mode and the sRGB colour space, including monochrome images. File names must be in the format [Projection order] [single space] [Title].jpg e.g. ‘2 My Photo.jpg’ or ‘3 A Duck.jpg’ no dashes, underscores etc. between the number and your title please. Use capital letters and spaces in the title where they would normally appear and do not type ‘.jpg’ after the title (as .jpg is inserted automatically by the software). Files should be submitted in relevant folders entitled ‘Mono’, ‘Colour’ or ‘Nature’.
2.Entries may be made on any suitable medium, including by email to the Competition Secretary. In the case of email, the Competition Secretary will always send a receipt stating the number of readable files received. Please note that most email programs require Folders to be ‘zipped’ before sending as attachments. Files will be deleted from the computer after a competition if the entrant so requires.
Natural History Rules
1.A Nature submission should show living, untamed animals and uncultivated plants in their natural habitat. Geology and Natural phenomena are also acceptable.
2. Photographs of domesticated animals or animals under any form of restraint are ineligible. Animals such as barn owls or storks, adapting to an environment modified by humans, are acceptable.
3. For competition purpose a domesticated animal will be defined as any animal that depends on a human for food, water and/or shelter. This will include farm animals and household pets. ‘Wild’ animals in safari parks and zoos can be admissible.
4. Any manipulation or modification to the original image should be limited to minor retouching of blemishes, cropping of the original or ‘gardening’ before the shutter is pressed and should not alter the content or context of the original scene. Techniques such as HDR, focus stacking, dodging and burning are permissible. Monochrome images will be permissible but Infra-Red images are not.
5. Naming must be restricted to the common name and description of the subject, e.g. Iceberg in North Atlantic, Black Bear(s), Red Deer Rutting or Common Blue Butterflies Pairing. Latin names may be included, if known, but are not essential. Humorous titles are not appropriate in Nature.
ANNUAL COMPETITION RULES
The Annual Open & Annual Novice Competitions are held towards the end of each season. There will be the same classes and sections as the Monthly Competitions although ‘Colour’ and ‘Mono’ sections will be merged to help manage numbers. The judge will still be asked to pick both ‘Best Colour’ and ‘Best Mono’ entries.
1. Each entrant may submit up to three photographs in each of the six sections. However see also Rule 6 below.
2. Each entrant must have submitted at least one entry into a section of one of the current season’s Monthly Competitions to be eligible to submit an entry into that section of the Annual Open or Annual Novice competitions.
3. Entries may have been submitted in previous Monthly Competitions or may be new work. Under no circumstances may an entry have received an award (Commended or above) in any previous Annual competition.
4. No entry may be the same or similar to another entry from the same entrant in another section of the Annual Open. Other than as stated above, the rules of Monthly Competitions will apply (e.g. definition of Nature, format of projected digital photographs, etc.).
5. Any work entered in the Annual Competitions must have been created within the preceding 18 months.
6. There will most likely need to be a cap on entries in the Annual Competitions. This will be administered by reducing entries per member per section where necessary after discussion with the judge.
7. The interpretation of these rules will be at the discretion of the Competition Secretary but, in the event of any dispute, the Committee will decide based on such evidence as they see fit to obtain.
PANELS COMPETITION
In the event that a Panels Competition is held during a season, the following rules will apply. There will be two sections in each of the two classes, “Open” and “Novice”:
♣ Print Panels
♣ Digitally Projected Panels
1. Entrants should note that there will be no separate Nature section(s) but Nature panels may be submitted in either of the two sections.
2. Entrants should also note that a collage of a number of different photographs amalgamated into, essentially, one different photograph will not constitute a panel, however, the appropriate number of such photographs will be considered to be a panel.
3. A Print Panel will comprise three prints with a single, collective title. Each print will indicate its orientation and position within the panel. No print’s dimensions shall exceed 20” x 16” mounted.
4. A Digitally Projected Panel will comprise three or more photographs arranged within a single file of no more than 1400 pixels wide by 1050 pixels high.
5. Each entrant may submit up to three panels in each section.
6. Under no circumstances may an entry have received an award (Commended or above) in any previous Panels competition.
7. No entry may be the same or similar to another entry from the same entrant in another section of the Panels competition.
8. Other than as stated above, the rules of Monthly Competitions will apply (e.g. format of projected digital photographs etc.).
9. The interpretation of these rules will be at the discretion of the Competition Secretary but, in the event of any dispute, the Committee will decide based on such evidence as they see fit to obtain.
All these rules will be reviewed at the end of each season and any amendments made will be announced before the next season.
Nigel Taylor