Competition Rules
Groups
BG. This is the beginner’s group.
Most new members with little or no previous experience will start in this group.
They are not obliged to enter any competitions, as they can still learn by attending the competition evenings. Should they enter, they will find the constructive assistance offered by the competition judge to be very useful in enabling them to improve their own photography.
Beginner’s Group members who then go on to demonstrate the appropriate ability may be offered a move to the intermediate group (IG) at the end of a club year. They are not obliged to accept, and if they feel more comfortable in the Beginner’s Group they may remain there.
IG This is the intermediate group.
New members may enter this group if they can reveal a good knowledge of photography when joining and/or they have been a member of a camera club previously and can demonstrate that they have reached the appropriate ability. They are not obliged to enter any particular competition, although they are expected to take an active part in competitions during the year.
Again, members who then go on to demonstrate the appropriate ability may be offered a move to the Advanced Group (AG) at the end of a club year. Other considerations in a move up will also be general attendance and participation in club activities. Members are not obliged to accept and if they feel more comfortable in the Intermediate Group they may remain there.
It is fair to say that the competition judge will be a little more requiring of this group.
AG - This is the advanced group
Members will be capable of demonstrating an ability to take quality photos that are well presented both when digitally displayed and when in printed format.
They are expected to attend meetings regularly and to take an active part in supporting club activities. They are asked to offer friendly, helpful assistance to other members.
For this group it is fair to expect the competition judge to be particularly requiring.
Eligibility to compete and Class Assignment
Only those members whose dues are up to date may compete.
Payment must be made to the Treasurer on or before the competition date.
New or returning members will be assigned to the Beginner’s Group unless they have previously competed in a higher class at this or another club. The committee may make exceptions.
No change in groups may be made during the competition year.
Members will not normally move down into a lower Group.
The Competition Secretary will head a small sub-committee and review the standing of the members at the end of the competition year and, at their discretion, and with the consent of the members concerned, move selected members in each class to the next higher class.
The committee may decide to increase the number of groups at some time should conditions dictate.
Original Work
All elements of work submitted must be the member’s original creation. Copies or parts of other two-dimensional art by other authors are NOT permitted.
The original photograph may be manipulated in any way, such as hand copying, spot toning, retouching, burning, dodging, bleaching, distorting, air brushing, painting, etc., either by hand, mechanically or by using computer software, provided such manipulations are under the direct supervision and control of the member.
Members with disabilities who cannot physically follow the above rules may be exempted with permission of the Competition Secretary.
Members are asked to avoid submitting a photo that has already been assessed by the judge in another competition.
Specifications for Entry
a) Naming the Image
See b iv below for the detail to be entered on the reverse side of the printed image. The following points apply to digital files when submitted by email
i) The convention for naming an image consists of a number of parts which are as follows:
(1) Membership Number
(2) Group
(3) Category
(4) Image Name
(5) Suffix - must be .jpg
ii) Each separate word must commence with a Capital Letter
iii) Image names that exceed 25 characters will be truncated
b) A Typical Name Example
179 BG Defined This Is My Image.jpg
Prints
All prints must be mounted on sturdy material capable of standing unaided in a print display box.
Prints may be Landscape or Portrait in orientation. The print can be any size to a maximum of 16x20 inches (400 x 500 mm). The mount may be any size, but not more than 16x20 inches (400 x 500 mm)
Prints must be unframed, with nothing laid over the printed surface. No prints are to be mounted on wood or in any manner which might damage other prints (above or below) when placed in a stack. This particularly applies to glue, tape or metal clips. Prints so mounted will be rejected at the sole discretion of the Competition Secretary.
A competition sticker must be affixed near the upper right-hand corner on the back of the mount, with the following required information:
Picture Title
Membership Number
Group Number
Competition Category
A sizable and clearly visible arrow, pointing to the top of the print representing hanging direction.
Competition Date
A digital version of the entry should be sent to the club’s webmaster before the competition deadline in the size as shown below in 5) b) ii). The images from these may be posted on the club’s website. It is a condition of club membership that such use is granted.
Digital
Images must be emailed to the committee member as directed by the competition secretary to arrive before the competition deadline.
Images that are horizontal in shape to be no wider than 1800 pixels. Images that are vertical in shape to be no taller than 1200 pixels. File size to be ideally around 1Mb each and in Jpeg format.
Image color space must be sRGB
Monthly Competitions
A club year will consist of a number of competitions, April through to March.
Details of all entries must be received by the competition secretary no later than the closing date/time to be eligible for judging. Prints are to be brought in on the day of the competition. All digital files are to be emailed no later than the closing date/time of the competition.
For technical reasons late entries cannot be accepted.
Each month there will be two categories unless stated beforehand.
Open – any subject matter is acceptable in this category
Defined – here the subject matter will be specified and entries will be reviewed by the competition secretary prior to acceptance to ensure they meet the assignment criteria (see section 9 below).
Where images submitted for this section do not meet the criteria they will be automatically placed in the Open section unless an image has already been selected for that section in which case they will be rejected and the author will be advised.
Each member may submit a maximum of two images; this can be one in the Open category and one in the Assignment category. Members are not allowed to enter two images in the same category.
Scoring
Scoring for all images at a competition will range from 0 to 20, with full point increments.
Where an author submits two images, both images will be counted for competition purposes.
Members need not be present to have their work judged.
Non-compliance with any entry rule may result in rejection or disqualification of the entry. The Competition Secretary or his/her designee will be the sole judge of acceptability on competition nights.
Defined Category
All members entering the defined category will automatically have an additional two points added to the score awarded by the judge. This is to encourage entry into this section.
All images for this section must contain Exif information. Exif information is automatically embedded into images by all modern digital cameras. It contains among other things, the date and time that the image was taken. This date must be subsequent to the announcement of the defined categories at the March meeting each year.
It is the responsibility of the member to ensure that their camera is set to the correct date.
Images that do not comply will be rejected by the Competition Secretary.
Black and White Competitions
Where there are separate categories for B & W and colour the following will apply to B&W entries.
Black & White prints may be either monochromatic or have additional colour(s). The colour(s) may be an overall tint such as sepia or Dual Toning. If the print contains colour popping then the print must be entered as a colour print.
Colour Prints are those that contain overall colour, including monochrome with colour popping.
Colour Popping Definition.
This is where an original image is a colour image, which is then copied and de-saturated and made mono, with part or parts of the original colour image allowed to show through, other than single or dual toning.
Where an original image is a mono image and then a single part or parts are then coloured, other than single or dual toning.
Annual Awards
The following awards will be made at the AGM
The Photographer of the Year Beginner’s Group – highest scoring member
The Photographer of the Year Intermediate Group – highest scoring member
The Photographer of the Year Advanced Group – highest scoring member
The Image of The Year as chosen by the members at the AGM
At their discretion, the committee may present a "Most Improved" award to members in the Beginner’s and Intermediate Group.
These awards will be based on a comparison of the scores of the member’s first three entries compared with the scores of the last three entries. To be considered, members must have had at least 6 monthly competition entries during the year. Where a draw exists, the member with the most “highest scores” will receive the award.
Disputes
If a member believes anyone’s print has been submitted in contravention to any competition rule, they should mention it to the Competition Secretary before or after the competition night. This may result in cancellation of the score with no make-up allowed.
The Competition Secretary will decide.
All Other Matters
In all other matters the Competition Secretary will decide.
Appeals
Should a member be unhappy with the decision made, they may appeal in writing to the club secretary who will add the matter to the agenda at the next committee meeting where a final decision will be made and then communicated to the member concerned.