Competitions

A photo competition may be held at Tidewater Camera Club (TCC) meetings from September through April.  Competitions are held at the business meeting, which takes place on the third Monday of each month.  Only digital images are eligible for the competition.  Prints may be displayed at club competition meetings for evaluation, critique and comment on the print quality only.  A digital image may be submitted for the competition and also displayed in print form so as to benefit from the print quality discussion.  Photo of the Year competitions for print and digital formats are held during May and the winners announced during the annual dinner meeting in June. 

Themes

Each competition has a theme, including “open” (all subject matter).  The theme should be reflected in the main subject of the entry.  Entries that are not consistent with the theme can be disqualified by a majority vote (3 of 4 members) of the Competition Team.  Once accepted by the team, no further discussion of theme relevance is appropriate during the evaluation or critique of the image. 

All competitions have a time limit unless "no time limit" is specified.  The time limit requires that the photo must have been taken after January 1, two years prior to the competition date.  For 2010, for instance, competition entries must have been taken after January 1, 2008.  In 2011, that date moves to January 1, 2009.  Entries that are not consistent with the time limit can be disqualified by a majority vote of the competition team. 

Every effort will be made to allow members to replace disqualified entries before the submission deadline.

The Advisory Committee generally announces new themes for upcoming competitions after their summer meeting each year.  A short description of each theme will be provided as general guidance.

Prints submitted for critique at club meetings will be evaluated for print quality and technique.  As such, they are not subject to the theme requirement and are reviewed to provide opportunity for print quality education.

Eligibility

Only dues paying members of the TCC are eligible to enter the club’s photo competitions.  There is a one month grace period for renewing members (September).  Dues must be paid up by October 1 for current members and by the day of the competition for new members.

All images must be the personal and original body of work of the member, but members need not be present at the meetings to enter the competitions.  A winning entry later can be disqualified by a majority vote of the Competition Team, should it be discovered that the member was not in good standing at the time of the competition, or that a member submitted a photo that violates the “personal and original body of work” rule.

Manipulation of images is permitted, whether performed in the camera, during film processing, during darkroom printing, or on the computer.  Panoramic images and collages also are acceptable.  Whether digitally manipulated or combined, all elements within the photograph must be from the photographer's personal and original body of work, and must meet all time limit restrictions.

Members may enter a total of 2 images per month in the digital format.  Original images available only in other formats (prints, slides, etc.) that are scanned into a digital image are eligible for entry.  The same photo may not be entered in more than one competition, with the exception of those eligible for the Photo of the Year competitions.   The judges may disqualify (by a unanimous vote) or assign lower points to similar images submitted by the same member.  Ideally, entries should not differ merely by crop or viewpoint.

Skill Sections

There are three skill sections in each competition: "A", "B" and "C."  The “C” Section is intended for members who are new to the art and practice of photography, or who have not yet developed their photographic abilities.  The “A” Section is intended for members who have attained advanced photographic knowledge and ability.  The “B” Section is for intermediate photographers who fall in between and whose skills go beyond basic, entry or rudimentary levels.  A Youth Section may be added, if needed, for TCC members under the age of 18.

Each member selects a section when s/he first joins the TCC.  Changes from one section to another are made only at the beginning of the year (at the September meeting), and members must remain in the selected/assigned section throughout the club year.  The Score Tabulator shall keep a list of members and their respective sections.

After the initial selection, members advance from one section to the other on the basis of place wins.  During any club year, any member who compiles 25 or more points must move to the next higher section the following year until s/he reaches the "A" Section.

Place points are awarded as follows:

1st Place – 6 points
2nd Place – 4 points
3rd Place – 2 points

No points are awarded for the Photo of the Year competitions.

Entry Requirements

Digital submissions are sized to a maximum of 1024 pixels on the horizontal side and 683 pixels on the vertical, and saved in the jpeg (.jpg) format with a file size no larger than 350k.  Intermediate sizes are acceptable as long as the largest edge is no more than 1024 pixels on the horizontal or 683 on the vertical.  Image files should be named as follows:

Image Title (with each word separated by a underscore) Member ID Number (underscore) Section (dot) jpg

For Example:          wye_oak_123_b.jpg

This nomenclature facilitates sorting images by title so that those of one photographer do not appear together during the judging and is necessary so that the compilers do not have to retype each file name.  All entries must have distinct titles.  Please avoid using similar titles such as dog 1 and dog 2.

Digital photos must be submitted by 11:45 PM WEDNESDAY after the Speaker Meeting date.  Digital images should be sent to the club using the “Digital Competition Submission” link on the photo competition page of the TCC web site, and must be submitted to the club via the digitalsubmit@tidewatercameraclub.com e-mail address as an attachment.  Photos should not be inserted into the body of the message.  Digital photos not submitted via the TCC e-mail address by the deadline will be disqualified by the Compiler/Score Tabulator.  Entries with incomplete or incorrect files names, or those saved in inappropriate sizes, will be forwarded to the member for correction.  Items returned to the TCC with corrected file names must also meet the submission deadline.

Members without Internet access must provide their submissions to an officer by the deadline, who will register the digital image for them, or they may mail the image on a CD or DVD directly to the Compiler.  These submissions are also subject to the deadline.

The Compiler/Score Tabulator will send periodic reminders to themembership advising of upcoming competition deadlines.

Print Quality Evaluation

In keeping with the goal of evaluating print quality, photo size can be no smaller than 8x10 and the print should not be framed.

Judging

The TCC adopts the “Judging Guidelines for Members” as a guide for the evaluation of photographs entered in its competitions.  See Appendix A for a listing of these factors.

A non-club photographer or artist will be recruited by the Competition Team to judge each competition.

Images are rated on a 15 point scale by the judge, with a maximum of 5 in each of the three main factors: Composition; Impact and Interest; Technique.  In general, this allows for one to five points (1-2-3-4-5) reflecting low, medium low, medium, medium high, high) each for 1) composition, and 2) impact or interest, and 3) technique.  Images are reviewed in one group and then ranked within their section.  The ratings and comments of the judge will be shared with the membership.

Digital images are displayed on a projection screen or computer monitor in an order determined by the Compiler, and will be judged prior to the competition meeting to allow more time for discussion.  A tabulation sheet is prepared corresponding to the order of the images and used to document the scores.  No identifying data is displayed during the competition.

The Score Tabulators shall carefully check the sum of the judges’ scores.   They will use a computer based system to tabulate the scores and announce the winners and their scores at the end of each competition.  Places of 1st, 2nd and 3rd are awarded, and ties are permitted.  Winners will be announced by name.

The club places high value on education.    Images will be discussed after each competition.  The discussion will include time for the photographer to comment on his/her own image(s).

Photos of the Year

Each fiscal year two photos are selected as Photos of the Year (POTY), one from the digital group and one print. 

Members may enter up to two (2) total images in digital format.  Eligible entries are those previously entered into monthly competitions that club year, with 1 of the 2 placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.  The second photo may be any other image previously entered that club year, whether it placed or not.  The Compiler will provide members with a list of eligible photos prior to the Photo of the Year competitions.  The deadline for these entries will be announced to the membership after the April competition.  Digital entries are submitted in accordance with the "Entry Requirements Section" above, except that the images, which are already on file with the compiler, need not be attached.

A Print of the Year will be selected from member prints displayed at TCC exhibits.  Each displaying member may select up to two (2) qualifying prints for Print of the Year consideration.  Eligible prints must have been on display in any club sponsored exhibit during the current club year and not previously submitted for the print or digital POTY.  Since members are allowed to display prints taken during any timeframe in many exhibits, only those prints also qualifying under the “time limit” rules imposed on competition entries will be eligible for Print of the Year.  The submitting member shall limit submissions to those meeting both requirements. Prints entered will be no smaller than 8 x 10 and must be framed and wired for hanging.  If a print sells during an exhibit, an identical copy may be entered in the print POTY.

POTY print submissions must be registered by 11:45 PM on a date determined by the Competition Team.  Prints should be registered using the “Print Competition Registration” link on the photo competition page of the TCC web site and must be submitted to the club via the –
print registration@tidewatercameraclub.com
e-mail address. 

For each entry, members will provide their name, Member ID number, image title(s) (maximum of 2) and section ("A", "B", or "C") in the body of the e-mail.  All entries must have distinct titles.  Titles must also be identical to those used to register for an exhibit, since qualifying images must be listed in the exhibit database.  The Compiler/Score Tabulator will disqualify prints not properly or incorrectly registered by the deadline.

Attach a “Print Registration” label to the back of your print(s).  The label has spaces for member ID number, section and title.  Be sure that all portions are completed.  A label template will be provided to each member, either electronically or via e-mail, and will also be placed in the member’s resource pack. No names should appear on the print or backing.  Any names will be blocked out with a label during the judging.

The Competition Team shall arrange for one to three judges for these annual competitions.  Every effort shall be made to obtain the services of qualified outside judges, including artists or professional photographers of merit.  Prints and digital entries shall be judged separately.  First, second and third place winners, and an appropriate number of honorable mentions, shall be selected for each competition.

Awards

Gift certificates, checks, or photography-related items may be used as awards for the Photo of the Year competitions.  First place, second place, third place, honorable mention, and high point ribbons may also be given.  Other types of awards may be given at the discretion of the Advisory Committee.  These awards are usually presented at the annual dinner meeting in June.  In memory of Frederick A. Curtis, the club may also give an award to a 1st year member who has shown the most progress in photography or has made significant service contributions to the club.  A President's Award to a member for distinguished service during the year may also be given.  Nominations for this award will come from the membership, but the President will select the winner.

At the discretion of the Advisory Committee, other competitions may be conducted and awards given for photographic excellence.

Revising the Rules

These rules will become effective on day they are approved by the membership and may be revised in accordance with the “Bylaws.”

Prepared 21 December 2007
Approved by the Advisory Committee and the membership on 7 January 2008
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee on 22 August 2008
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee - June 2009
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – July 2009
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee -- July 2010
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee - July 5, 2011