Masthead
Photo Competition Rules, Revised 3 April 2010
Schedule
  • Print Competition will be in February, April, October, and December
  •  Digital Competition all other months year round except January.
  • January Competition will be a runoff of all First, Second, and Third Place winners from the previous year ( January through December) to select the Best of the Best.
  • Prints will need to be resubmitted by members no later than the second Saturday of January in order to be included in the Best of the Best Competition.
  • There is no need to resubmit Digital entries.
Themes
  • Themes for the 2010 competition year are as follows:
  • January: Doors, Windows, Gates
  • February: Desert Scenes (Print Only)
  • March: Trees (Digital Only)
  • April: Old/New Buildings (Print Only)
  • May: Photo Journalism (Digital Only)
  • June: People at Work (Digital Only)
  • July: Sunrises/Sunsets (Digital Only)
  • August: Still Life (Digital Only)
  • September: Cemeteries (Digital Only)
  • October: Sports (any kind) (Print Only)
  • November: Antiques (Digital Only)
  • December: Old Buildings (Print Only)
Competition Divisions
  • The Competition divisions for our Print and Digital images will be:
    • Open
    • Monochrome (the use of black and one other color), and
    • Theme (to be determined and published one year in advance by the Competition Chairperson and approved by the Camera Guild Board of Directors).
  • Entries in these divisions are abbreviated as A, M, and T, respectively.
  • Small and Large entries will always be judged as one division.
  • Small entries will always be viewed first in the same division for judging.
  • Small Print entries will be defined as those images which are at least 8”x 10” mounted on 11”x 14” mounting boards.
  • Large Print entries will be defined as those images which are at least 9” x 11” mounted on a 16” x 20” mounting boards.
  • Smaller images and other sizes of mounting boards will not be permitted, nor may foam board be used as a mounting board.
  • When there are too few entries entered in either Monochrome or Open in one month to have a meaningful competition, typically less than 5 entries, they will be held back to be judged the following month, at the discretion of the competition chairperson(s).
  • If there are too few Theme entries to be used in competition, those entries will be added to the open entries in the competition of the same month, since the Theme changes.
Entry Rules
  • Each member may enter up to 2 images per category in the 3 categories per month.
  • If more images are entered by a Camera Guild member than is permitted in any of the 3 divisions, all of that member's entries will be eliminated from that month's competition.
  • If an image, either print or digital, wins any ribbon, that image can never be reentered in our clubʼs competition in any division.
  • Any non-winning image, print or digital, that has been entered into one division of competition cannot be reentered into the same, or a different division of competition in the same club competition year.
  • For example: an image that wins in the open print division, cannot later be reentered as a digital black and white entry.
  • If an image wins a ribbon and it is later discovered that the image had been previously submitted that year or had won in the past, the ribbon shall be withdrawn, and the image shall not be eligible for the Best of the Best competition.
  • No age restriction will be placed on when an image was captured, edited, or printed to be eligible for competition.
  • Corrections are allowed in Open, Monochrome, and Theme categories.  All categories will be treated equally with editing permitted.(Revision, 3 April 2010)
Judging
  • Every attempt will be made to get judges from outside the Camera Guild.
  • It is the job of the competition chairperson to get judges for each month's competition.
  • During the first several months of competition and at other times, as desired, the competition scoring/judging guidelines may be read aloud prior to the start of competition.
  • The scoring range for judges will be from 5 to 9 points per judge with a total of 27 points possible per image.
  • Judges may critique competition entries, time permitting.
  • Judges will determine which and how many images they will critique.
  • Run-off judging will be held in each competition division as needed to ensure that one and only one first, second, and third place ribbon will be awarded.
  • When a run-off judging is held, the image or images which do not win the ribbon for which they are tied will be given the next highest ribbon automatically.
  • Any entry that is part of a run-off judging will at the very least receive an honorable mention ribbon, regardless of the number of points received from the judges.
  • Anyone receiving 22 points or more will receive at least an honorable mention ribbon.
  • At the completion of each divisionʼs competition judging, winnersʼ names and the titles of their images will be announced beginning with the honorable mention winners and ending with the first place winners.
  • Winning digital images will be posted on the clubʼs web site and in the digital picture frame in the clubroom window as soon as possible after each competition.
  • The list with scores will be posted on the Business bulletin board.
  • Ribbons will be attached to all winning print images and will be displayed in the clubroom after each competition, to hang until the next competition based on space available.
  • Members with winning digital images may receive a ribbon by requesting one from the competition chairperson.
"Best of Best"
  • Each year after the Best of the Best competition, all first place winners in the digital divisions are asked to provide prints of their winning images to be hung in the Camera Guild club room along with the current year's winning print images.
  • These images will be hung in the club room for twelve months with affixed special blue ribbons.
  • When the Best of the Best images are judged, all Open, Monochrome, and Theme monthly winners will be judged separately.
  • The Theme images will be judged for the quality of the images regardless of the various Theme categories in which the images were originally entered.
Submitting Print Images
  • Deadlines for image submission will be strictly adhered to.
  • Print Images must be properly labeled and brought to the clubroom no later than noon on the Thursday prior to competition.
  • Place the prints face down in the drawers (D2 - D4) across from the dark rooms.
  • Please DO NOT TOUCH other members' print entries.
  • After each competition, non-winning prints and the previous monthʼs winning prints can be collected in the D-5 drawer by their owners.
  •  It is requested that members please pick up their prints as soon as possible since print storage space is severely limited.
  • Prints left in the clubroom greater than 12 months after winning a monthly competition, or greater than 24 months after winning the Best of the Best, become the property of the club.
Submitting Digital Images
  • Digital images must be submitted by midnight Saturday, one week prior to competition through our Camera Guild website at: http://suncitycameraguild.com/ using the digital entry form on the web site.
  • All digital images must be resized prior to entering, to a maximum of 1024 pixels in width and to a maximum of 768 pixels in height, and be in the .jpeg file format.
  • If you need help to prepare or transfer your digital images for competition, please do not hesitate to ask for assistance.
Competition Committee
  • The Competition Chairperson(s) and the Print and Digital Chairpersons, volunteer or are asked to serve by the President of the Camera Guild and serve at the President's pleasure.
  • The Competition Chairperson may also serve in either of these positions.
  • These two or three persons together with anyone else appointed by the club President comprise the Competition Committee.
  • During competition any “on the spot” decisions that are needed will be made by the Competition Chairperson.
  • Besides obtaining judges, Competition Chairperson(s) duties include locating scorekeepers, print passers, score callers, etc., and to order ribbons, gloves, and other supplies needed for competition.

Finally, and most importantly, THANK YOU, for participating and making our club competitions so great.