Competitions

Entry requirements and guidelines

Revised January 2024

Nelson Camera Club holds many competitions, with at least five club competitions throughout the year.

 During June and July, when we have day trips out instead of evening meetings.

Members are encouraged to enter all competitions and external judges, with excellent

photographic  skills and knowledge, are invited to judge the entries and give valuable feedback.

Preparing prints for competition

Prints for competition are prepared to a set format so that they are less likely to be damaged during transit when going round to the various clubs and venues within the L&CPU, if they are chosen to represent the club in their competitions or folios. If prints do not conform to these sizes etc. they will not be eligible to be included in such competitions.

Prints may be home or trade processed 

Mount size  MUST BE  50x40 cm.

Mounts may be of any colour. Backing mount must be the same size as the front mount if used.

The total thickness of print and mount must not exceed 4mm.

There should be no tape on the back of a mount.

NOTE: There is no minimum mount size for entry, but only 50x40 cm mounts will be accepted for folios by L&CPU and ICPA.

Preparing a digital images for competition

Following L&CPU guidelines

All images in the digital competition will be in jpeg and projected in a landscape format, using sRGB colour space with a maximum size of 1600pixels wide and1200 pixels high.

Whatever the shape of the image you must “constrain proportions” but fit it within these limits. For example, a square image could be 1050x1050 pixels, a letterbox might be 1400 wide by 500 high. A “portrait” image can only be a maximum 1200 pixels high.

After resizing, if your image is less than the maximum size in either dimension the background must be filled with black. (It may be advisable to put a narrow white border around the image if the extremes of the image are very dark, so that the image will be well seen against a dark background.) The image will then appear on screen much like a mounted print and be shown to best advantage.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

Open your image Then go to Image>Image size

In the Image Size dialog box ensure the “Constrain Proportions” and “Resample Image” boxes are ticked

Next change the Pixel Dimensions in either the width or height (not both) so that both numbers are within the limits :- 1600 wide and 1200 high (note that when one value is changed the other is recalculated.) The resolution in pixels/inch or pixels/cm is unimportant

Click OK

TO MAKE A BORDER

Go to Select> Select All Make sure white is your foreground colour

Go to Edit> Stroke Enter width 2 px Location inside

Click OK Select> Deselect

TO FILL UNUSED AREA WITH BLACK

Go to Image>Canvas size

In the Canvas Size dialog box uncheck the relative box. Change the measurements to “pixels” instead of inches or cms and type in1600 for width and 1200 for height. In the drop down menu Canvas extension colour, choose black.

Click OK The outer area is now filled with black

(NB. In Photoshop 7 you must choose your background colour before going to Image>Canvas size)

TO ENSURE YOUR IMAGE IS IN sRGB

If you have not altered the default settings in your camera or photoshop, then you will be in sRGB

In Photoshop, go to Edit> Convert to Profile

The dialog box will show your source colour space (your current colour space) and destination colour space. From the destination colour space drop down menu choose sRGB and click OK

Now save the image with your title (File - Save As) in jpeg format at the maximum image quality of 12 .

The image is now ready to be saved onto a memory stick or disk to be given to the club on the handing in date for the next competition.

Rules for Annual Competition (Amended March 2022)

An image or ‘significantly similar’ image may be used only once in either a print or digital image section. 

PRINT SECTION is divided into 2 sub sections: 

1. Open Colour / Monochrome Prints

2. Nature Prints.

A member may submit a total of 5 prints.

These 5 prints may be in any combination of Open / Monochrome & Nature.

Mounts

1. Mount size MUST BE 50cmx40cm. 

2. Mounts may be any colour. 

DIGITAL IMAGE SECTION is divided into 2 sub sections: 

1. Open

2. Nature

A member may submit 4 digital images in any combination of Open and Nature .

File Format

In landscape format,  1600 pixels wide x 1200 pixels high.

In portrait format images should not exceed  1200 pixels high.

Each file format must be sRGB, saved as JPEG on maximum quality. 

If your image is less than the maximum in any direction, the unused area should be filled with black.

It will then appear on screen to best advantage.

Before filling the unused area your image will look best if you give it a small border.

The committee will arrange for the entries to be judged by an independent judge. 

Prints and digital images can be entered in one annual competition only. 

The club has the right to retain any entry from the Annual Competition for submission

to outside competitions and exhibitions for the next 12 months.

It may also be displayed on the club website.

The committee has the right to refuse any entry. 

Any print with Velcro, adhesive or similar material on the back of the mount will be disqualified.

Backing mount must be the same size as the front mount if used.

The total thickness of print and mount must not exceed 4mm.

Monthly Competition Rules (Amended Jan 2024)An image or ‘significantly similar’ image may be used only once in either a print or digital image

competition in any one year

1. Four monthly competitions will be for PRINTS and DIGITAL IMAGES on the same evening
There are 2 sections – Open and Nature in both prints and digital
Members may enter a maximum of 4 images in any combination of prints and digital
(Entries can be in both Prints and Digital Images or in just one of them but the total number of images
must not exceed 4)
2. Prints may be HOME or TRADE processed
3. Mount Sizes must be 50x40cm
Mounts may be of any colour. Backing mount must be the same size as the front mount if used. The total
thickness of print and mount must not exceed 4mm.
There should be no tape on the back of a mount.
4. Prints and Digital Images can be entered in One monthly competition and also in One annual
competition.
Points to be given to the first Four selected in each section in the PRINTS.
Four points for the 1 st place down to One point for the 4th place.
Points to be given to the first Five selected in each section in the DIGITAL IMAGES
Five points for the 1 st place down to One point for the 5th place
5. Photographer of the Year There are Two Sections
a. Print
b. Digital Image
All points earned by a worker in each monthly competition are added
Points for prints and digital images are added separatelyThe winner in each section is the person who has the highest total marks for the year.6. Any competition entry may be held by the club for submission to outside competitions and forexhibition. It may also be displayed on the club website.

Definitions of Categories

Open Colour

Colour includes all images not classified as Monochrome or Nature

Nature

( Revised March 2018 )

Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to 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 and certify its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement. Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and sharpening, is allowed. Cloning of image defects and minor distractions, including overlapping elements, are permitted when these do not distort the truth of the photographic statement. Images entered as Nature can have landscape, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.

Monochrome

Images must be monochromatic.  They may be singly toned in a single tone Colour. Monochrome prints with an added Colour must be entered in a Colour section. e.g. red post box. A Nature Subject in monochrome should be entered in a Nature section of any competition which has a nature category.