On the second Monday of each month (except December)
the club holds a photo competition, either for print media or digital images.
The club no longer holds competitions for slides.
A contest is usually divided into four categories, chosen from among
the "traditional" categories of
Color Pictorial (usually divided into A - advanced and B - beginner), Monochrome,
Travel, Nature, Creative and Photojournalism, and also "non-traditional"
categories such as portrait, landscape, macro, etc.
See competition categories
for descriptions of the categories.
Each contest has a different mix of available categories.
See the calendar for details of the medium and
categories for each month's competition.
Each member may enter up to four images in a
competition. No
more than two images may be in the same category, and a
member may enter either Color A or B but not both (as described below).
Once entered in a competition, the same image may not be entered in the same
category in a future competition.
All images are critiqued by an invited judge, who then selects entries for the following
awards:
- The "Best of category" in each category.
- Up to five awards of merit in each category, except that not more than one
third (rounded up)
of the entries in a category may receive any award.
- The "Best of Show", to be chosen from among the category winners.
Print entries are brought to the meeting on the evening of the contest.
Prints must be mounted, and preferably covered with an overlying window mat.
No framed prints.
There is no maximum size, but no credit is given for square footage.
Enter the image title, category, your name, and club name on the back of the
mount. Do not enter your name anywhere on the front of
the mount or window mat.
If not completely obvious, draw an arrow on the back of the mount
pointing upward to indicate
the correct orientation of your print.
Digital entries are uploaded to the club
website in advance of the contest, using the tools in
the Clubroom.
An entry should consist of a high-quality JPG file. If the image is larger than 1024 pixels wide
or 768 pixels high, it will be resized to fit the club projector.
Enter your name, the image title and category in the webtool.
Each member should elect which
of the Color categories they should enter.
New members are encouraged to view entries submitted by others
before deciding at which level they feel comfortable to enter in
competition.
If uncertain, it is best to start at level B, or
consult with another experienced member. Members in level B are encouraged to
move up to level A when their photography consistently earns
awards.
Judges are volunteers who
are experienced amateur or professional photographers and are generally
members of other camera clubs in the Bay Area. They are familiar with
the rules for entries, undergo training as judges through
the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs (N4C), and do
their best to provide an informative and constructive assessment of the
pros and cons of each entry.
Like all of us, their assessments are to a
certain extent subjective, and this may explain why good entries that
meet all the rules may receive different assessments and awards. Some
judges are more adept at discussing the artistic merits and weaknesses
of an image than others, while others are fussy about seemingly minor
technical 'flaws.
It is important to remember that the opinion
presented by the judge is a single opinion. Different judges can
and do have varying opinions on the same image.
We are very
fortunate that these individuals take the time to travel here, often
from a great distance, to spend an evening at the club to help us all
improve our photographic skills and images.
