On the second Monday of each month (except September and December)
the club holds a photo competition, for media alternating between prints
one month and digital images the next.
The club no longer holds competitions for slides.
A contest is divided into four categories: General
Color A (Advanced); General Color B (Beginner); Monochrome; and a special category
which varies each month, chosen from Travel, Nature, Creative or Photojournalism.
See competition categories for descriptions.
See the calendar for details of the medium and
special category for each month's competition.
Each member may enter up to five images in a
competition, divided between the categories as they wish, except that a
member may enter either General Color A or B but not both.
All entries are critiqued by an invited judge, who then selects up to five entries
from each category to be forwarded to the MPPA competition.
The Mid-Peninsula Photographic Alliance (MPPA) hosts
monthly digital and print competitions for four local clubs: Camera Club of Los
Altos, Palo Alto Camera Club, Sunnyvale Photographic Club, and Milpitas Camera Club.
At the MPPA competition our entries are judged among
those from the other clubs and the winning entries are awarded ribbons for Honorable
Mentions or Awards of Merit.
A member attending an MPPA competition meeting may enter,
or "walk-in", one entry which has not been selected at the club level.
The MPPA hold an annual competition and awards banquet in September, where all entries
from the previous year may be re-judged in a competition for Images of the Year.
Print entries are brought to the meeting on the evening of the contest.
An entry should meet the following conditions:
- Prints must be mounted, and preferably covered with an overlying window mat.
- No framed prints
- Maximum finished size of 16 by 20 inches
- Enter title, category, your name, and club name on the back of the
print or matboard.
- Do not enter your name anywhere on the front of the mount or window mat
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, not more than 1024 pixels wide
or 768 pixels high. Enter your name, the image title and category in the webtool.
Under MPPA rules, each member should elect which
of the General Color categories they should enter for a competition year.
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. However, such moves can only be
made at the beginning of the competition year, in October.
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.
