Monthly Competition Information for Members

 Montly Competition Rules: (revised December, 2011)

Each month, except August and December, we have a member photo competition during our meetings. The competition will be in either print format or digital. See our meeting schedule.

I. T.V.P.C.I. DIGITAL IMAGE AND PRINT COMPETITION GUIDELINES

1. Members in good standing may submit one Digital Image or Print in each category.

2. New members may compete in either beginner or advanced classification, based on their judgment of experience level. Once a person’s print or image is entered in competition that person shall remain at that level and progress from there.

II. PHOTOGRAPHER DIVISION

There are 5 division levels. All members will begin in the Level 1 Division. Point accumulation for each level begins at zero and does not carry over from one level to the next.

Points required to advance:

Level 1 -  50 pts

Level 2 -  50 pts

Level 3 -  75 pts

Level 4 - 100 pts

Level 5 - 100 pts

III. PRINT COMPETITIONS

1. Five (5) club print competitions will be held each year.

2. Prints which have earned points in previous club competitions are not eligible for entry in future club monthly competitions.

3. A print may be entered in Open, Nature, Creative, or Assignment regardless of the print media.

4. Print corrections and manipulations are allowed.

5. Prints must be entered before the start of the meeting.

6. All prints entered must be suitable for viewing by all age groups.

7. All work shall be submitted in the name of the photographer who did the work.

8. All prints submitted for club competition:

a. must be un-framed

b. may be any size up to 8” x 12” format.

c. must be attached to an 11” x 14” matte and/or attached to a 11” x 14” stiff backing.

d. must have the photographer’s name, the photographer’s division, and the photograph’s category labeled on the back of the entry.

IV. DIGITAL IMAGE COMPETITION

1. Five (5) club Digital Image competitions will be held each year.

2. Digital images which have earned points in previous club competitions are not eligible for entry in future club monthly competitions.

3. Digital image corrections and manipulations are allowed.

4. All Digital images entered shall be suitable for viewing by all age groups.

5. All work shall be submitted in the name of the photographer who did the work.

6. All digital images submitted for club competition must follow these requirements:

7. File Size Requirements

a. Pixel Dimensions: The value for the longest dimension will be no longer than 1024 pixels on the longest side x 768 pixels on the shortest side.

b. Use the following standard File Naming Format: “Division”, ”Underscore”, “Category”, ”Underscore”, “First Name and Last Name” , ”Underscore”, “other personal information (such as your image number) if desired” .jpg Omit the last underscore if no personal information is desired.

c. The “Division” and “Category” abbreviations must be in UPPER CASE, and the member’s name and optional personal information must be in lower case.

        Example: L4_NA_CliffBarbour_4376.jpg

This is the only file naming formats that will be accepted.

e. Category Abbreviations:

NA – Nature

OP – Open

CR – Creative

AS – Assignment

f. Photographer Division Abbreviations

Level 1 – L1

Level 2 – L2

Level 3 – L3

Level 4 – L4

Level 5 – L5

g. Submitting Files

1. Deadline – images must be received by the Tuesday prior to competition.

2. Email files as an attachment to:

        photos@victoriaphotographyclub.com

3. The subject line of the email should include the word: competition – followed by your name.

        Example: competition – Cliff Barbour

4. NEED HELP? If you need help resizing your images, please indicate your wishes in the body of your email. Otherwise no other adjustments will be made.

5. A CD with files labeled as per Sections a-f may be mailed to Cliff Barbour, 207 Berwick, Victoria, TX 77904. CDs will be returned at the meeting in which the photos are entered.

6. Label CD with your “Name”, “Date of Competition”, and “Number of files on disk”

7. Files, (email or CD) received after the Tuesday prior to competition will be held over for the next digital competition.

V. CATEGORIES FOR PRINT AND DIGITAL COMPETITION:

1. Nature (NA):

a. Nature in all its forms, including the many facets of botany, geology, zoology, meteorology, and astronomy.

b. Subjects may include all natural forms of life free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat.

c. Human elements are not allowed. Elements that depict cultivated plants, museum pieces, mounted specimens, domestic animals or pets, or similar subjects are not eligible for competition in the Nature Category.

d. Images in which humans are present or images that show evidence that human activity has taken place are ineligible for Nature Category competition. Such images are said to show “the hand of man”.

e. Landscapes, seascapes, and skies may be included in the Nature Category if they do not show “the hand of man.”

f. Images that are not eligible for the Nature category may be exhibited in the Open Category.

2. Open (OP):

a. The Open Category may include any subject matter EXCEPT subjects that are required to be shown in the Nature Category. Where images contain wildlife such as birds, animals, insects, etc. as elements of the over-all image, those elements must be less than approximately 1/3 of the frame in size to be included in the Open Category.

b. Wild flowers may be entered in either Nature or Open categories. A wildflower is a flower that grows wild and uncultivated, meaning it is not intentionally seeded or planted.

c. Cultivated flowers and plants must be entered in Open Category.

d. Landscapes, seascapes, and skies may be included in the Open Category

e. Digital Images or prints which are not acceptable in the Nature Category may be entered in the Open Category.

3. Creative (CR):

a. The Creative Category includes images that have been obviously manipulated to present “altered or artistic reality” (i.e. obvious distortion of color or shape; use of electronic filters to significantly transform the original image for artistic effect).

4. Assignments (AS):

a. Members are encouraged to submit digital images and prints taken specifically for the club assignment.

b. The list of assignments will be included in the club annual calendar of events that will be distributed by the regular club meeting held in January.

c. All Photographer Divisions will compete against one another in this category.

VI. JUDGING OF DIGITAL IMAGES AND PRINTS:

1. Judges will be selected on the night of the competition from the membership.

2. Members may serve as judges for monthly competition after they have observed or competed in monthly competitions for a minimum of 3 months.

3. Every member will be given the opportunity to judge.

4. Six judges will be selected.

5. Each of the six judges will award one (1) to ten (10) point value for each slide or print entered.

a. Perfect = 10

b. Above average = 8

c. Average = 6

d. Below average = 4

e. Poor = 2

6. A recorder and a scorekeeper will tally, record and announce the results to the membership.

7. Winning digital images or prints:

a. The digital images or prints with the highest number of points in each category will be awarded first place and receive 3 points.

b. The digital images or prints with the second highest number of points in each category will be awarded second place and receive 2 points.

c. The digital images or prints with the third highest number of points in each category will be awarded third place and receive 1 point.

d. The digital images or prints with the fourth highest number of points in each category will receive honorable mention. No points are awarded for honorable mention.

8. Point records:

a. Point records shall be kept for three years.

b. Points shall be posted on the Club’s web site.

c. Members who rejoin after three years shall be considered as a new member.

d. Original point sheets from club meetings shall be kept for one year. Any member with a discrepancy shall notify the Secretary immediately upon discovery.

VII. COMMITTEE GOVERNANCE

1. The monthly competition shall consist of both print and digital formats.

2. The President shall appoint a chairperson for the next year by November meeting of the current year.

3. The chairperson shall serve one-year terms and may be re-appointed.

4. The chairperson shall appoint a committee to be responsible for annually reviewing, updating, and implementing the rules for this competition.

5. The chairperson shall appoint a judging coordinator to manage the judging of monthly contest.

6. Suggestions for changes to the rules for the Monthly Competition may be submitted by any current Club member to the Chair of the Competition Committee.

7. Changes to the Monthly Competition rules may be made by a majority vote of the Competition Committee and the approval of the Board of Directors.

Download the rules for our monthly competition in pdf format.

Past Competitions