To enter a competition the following conditions must be met
- Photos must be taken and entered by a member.
- Photos must have been taken in the preceding 24 months, except the annual “Best of Summer” competition which must have been taken the previous summer.
- Entries which win a ribbon (place 1st, 2nd or 3rd) in a competition may not be entered in subsequent monthly competitions. They may be entered in the club’s annual competition.
A member may enter up to four photos each month as described below
Only one photo may be submitted in each of the following categories:
- Assigned Subject – enter either for Digital Assigned Subject or Print Assigned Subject, but not both, entries may be color or monochrome
- Digital Open – enter either Class A or Class B, but not both – entries may be color or monochrome
- Print Open Color
- Print Open Monochrome
For printed entries
- Each entry must have a club label affixed in the upper left corner on the back of the photo. Printable labels are available here: Competition Print Labels
- Each entry must be either matted or mounted. No frames. No loose photos.
- The maximum overall size for an entry is 16″ x 20″
- If mounted, the minimum one side dimension of the photo is 10″. For example, a 10×10 photo mounted on foam core.
- If matted, the minimum one side exposed dimension is 9.5″.
- The photographer’s name may not be visible in the photo
For digital entries
- Each entry must be submitted using our digital submission process. See http://www.flagpolephotographers.com/upload for details on file formats and sizes.
- The digital submission process captures the information needed to complete the equivalent of the print labels, for example photographer’s name, title and competition date.
- The digital submission process also controls the resolution of the photo. Currently, our digital competition system supports HDTV resolution, which is a maximum width of 1920 pixels and a maximum height of 1080 pixels. All aspect ratios are supported. Your entries may be landscape, portrait, square, panorama or whatever works best for your photo. All photos will be automatically sized to fit within 1920 x 1080 when displayed. The aspect ratio will be preserved.
- The photographer’s name may not be visible in the photo.
Categories
Digital editing is allowed in all categories. Composite photos are acceptable as long as all elements included are the photographer’s own work. Commercial clip art, parts of commercial photographic collections, or the work of another photographer may not be included.
Monochrome
The Photographic Society of America (PSA) definition of Monochrome will be used to determine eligibility. See http://www.psa-photo.org/index.php?division-definitions for complete information. Summary:
A photo is considered to be monochrome only if it gives the impression of having no color (i.e. contains only shades of gray which can include pure black and pure white) or it gives the impression of being a grayscale image that has been toned in one color across the entire photo. (For example by sepia, red, gold, etc.) A grayscale or multi-colored photo modified or giving the impression of having been modified by partial toning, multi-toning or by the inclusion of spot coloring does not meet the definition of monochrome and shall be classified as a color photo.
Nature
Nature is a special category at the September competition and the annual competition (Dave Kriger Nature Award).
Nature entries should appear to meet Photographic Society of America (PSA) nature requirements. Summary:
Nature photography is restricted to photos that depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material. The story telling value of a photo must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photos of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible.
No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed. Stitched images are not permitted. All allowed adjustments must appear natural. Color images can be converted to grey-scale monochrome. Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not allowed.
Annual Competition and Exhibit
Each Spring the club holds an annual print exhibition and competition.
The entry rules for this competition differ from regular meeting competitions as follows:
- A maximum of six photos
- No more than three may be Color
- No more than three may be Monochrome
- All other rules for monthly competitions apply, including the 24 month rule
The labels used will be similar to exhibit labels with the title on the first line and name on the bottom line, however, no price will be listed. Printing template for the visible labels at the Annual Exhibit.
The following awards, in this order, are presented by a team of outside judges at the annual competition. No photograph may receive more than one award.
- Judges’ Best in Show – most outstanding photograph
- Dave Kriger Nature Award – best photograph meeting Nature category
- Jeannette Talarino Flower Award – best photograph incorporating a flower
- Bruce Allen Open Print Award – outstanding, either monochrome or color, photograph
- Color Open – First, Second, Third place and 2 Honorable Mentions
- Monochrome Open – First, Second, Third place and 2 Honorable Mentions
- Judges Choice – Each judge may give a ribbon to a deserving photo that didn’t get any other ribbon
Community and club members attending the exhibit also may vote for their favorite photo. All photos, including award winners, are eligible for the People’s Choice Award.