1. GENERAL

• Only financial members of the Belmont 16 Ft Sailing Club Photographic Club may enter images in our club competitions.
• Each image must be taken by the club member who enters the image.
• Printing may be done by the club member or by someone else (including a commercial printer) on behalf of the Club member.
• Digital images may be edited by the club member or by someone else acting under the directions of the club member.
  

2. COMPETITION SECTIONS

PHOTOGRAPHY – A photograph is a visible image resulting from the action of light or other forms of radiant energy upon a photosensitive medium or device. Photographs entered in club competitions must retain obvious evidence of one or more photographic images that are predominant in the picture and which have been taken only by the author. Images consisting entirely of one’s own or another person’s art form, not of photographic origin, are inadmissible.

MONOCHROME – Any photograph containing shades of only one colour. If tinting is carried out, it must be over the total photograph - partial tinting and/or the addition of one extra colour is NOT acceptable in the monochrome section. Digital monochrome prints and modified monochrome prints may be entered in this section. Images entered in monochrome competitions may be processed or altered in any way as long as they remain monochrome.

COLOUR - Any photograph that is not monochrome. It includes a monochrome photograph that has been partially toned or had colour added. An otherwise monochrome print that has one area of colour (for example, a red scarf on a person) should be entered in this section. Modified colour prints (for example, images to which filters have been applied in Photoshop) may be entered in this section. Images entered in open colour competitions may be processed or altered in any way.

NATURE - Nature photography depicts living, untamed animals and uncultivated plants in a natural habitat, geology and the wide diversity of natural phenomena, from insects to icebergs. Photographs of animals that are domesticated, caged or under any form of restraint, as well as photographs of cultivated plants, are ineligible. Minimal evidence of humans is acceptable for nature subjects, such as barn owls or storks, adapting to an environment modified by humans, or natural forces (for example, hurricanes or tidal waves) reclaiming it. The original image must have been taken by the photographer, whatever photographic medium is used. Any manipulation or modification to the original image is limited to minor retouching of blemishes and must not alter the content of the original scene. After satisfying the above requirements, every effort should be made to ensure the highest level of artistic skill in all nature photographs. [This is the FIAP "nature" definition.]

SMALL PRINTS – Prints that are a maximum of 10x15cm (6”x4”). In the 2010 competition there are no restrictions on the cropping or altering of small prints.

SET SUBJECTS – In the months where there are set subjects, entries in the Monochrome, Colour and Small Print sections must depict the set subject for that month.

ALTERED REALITY - A print or digital image that has been altered in its reality by any means - film, digital, computer, darkroom, etc. The original image or images must have been taken by the member entering the image. In 2010 there is no separate category for Altered Reality images in the monthly competition. Altered Reality images may be entered in the open categories. There is a separate category for Altered Reality digital images in the Image of the Year competition.

ELECTRONICALLY DISPPLAYED IMAGES (EDI) – These are images submitted as digital files and displayed through digital projection. Acceptable formats and sizes are described in Rule 9 and in the instructions for the Coppermine gallery that is used for submitting these images.

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3. GRADING OR MEMBERS

• All club members are graded - either A grade or B grade.
• New members of the club may request to be placed in either A Grade or B Grade for their first year of competition.
• A member's grade applies to all competition sections in which the member enters images during the competition year.
• Members who consider that they have been inappropriately graded may apply in writing to the Secretary for regrading. This application should set out the reasons for the request.
• A member who changes grades during a competition year will NOT be able to transfer accumulated competition points to their new grade.
• The Committee reviews the grades of all members at the end of each competition year. Highly successful B Grade members may be required or invited to move to A grade.

4. MONTHLY COMPETITION SECTIONS

The monthly competition sections in both A and B grade are:

Open colour prints
Monochrome prints
Nature prints (only every second month)
Small prints
Open EDI (only every second month)

The sections for the monthly competitions in the “odd” months (January, March, etc) will be open colour, monochrome and nature in large prints, plus an open small print section.

The sections for the monthly competitions in the “even” months (February, April, etc) will be colour and monochrome in large prints; small prints; and open digital projected images. (The digital images will have to be submitted in advance so that that they can be judged in advance and shown on the nominated night. Refer to the club web site for instructions on submitting digital images.)

Set subject competitions will be held in April and August in the colour, monochrome and small print sections. All EDI competitions will be “open”. The definitions for set subject topics for 2010 are given in Section 15.

 

5. NUMBER OF ENTRIES

In each monthly competition a member may enter either ONE or TWO images in each section provided the maximum number of images entered by a member in any month does not exceed SIX. This limit includes large and small prints and digital images.

The above limits apply to both open and set subject competitions.

 

6. MONTHLY COMPETITION AWARDS AND POINT SCORE

The awards given in monthly competitions are as follows:

• In each competition section , judges are asked to select images that they consider deserve a MERIT award and images that they consider deserve an HONOURS award. The number of merit and honours awards given is at the judge’s discretion.
• Judges also nominate a JUDGE’S CHOICE image in each competition category (e.g., B grade monochrome).

A point score is kept throughout the year for each competition section in each grade. Points gained in Open competitions and Set Subject competitions are combined in the point score. Points are awarded on the following basis: 

• Members receive one point for each entry in each section.
• Members receive three points for an image that gains a merit award.
• Members receive five points for an image that gains an honours award.
• Members receive two additional points for an image that is selected as a Judge’s Choice.

At the end of the year there are awards for the members who gain 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each section of the point score. The nature of these awards is determined by the committee.

 

7. RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRY OF IMAGES IN MONTHLY COMPETITIONS

In addition to the restrictions on the number of images that may be entered (Rule 5), the following restrictions apply to monthly competitions:

• Any image that has gained an Honours award in any category in any year cannot be entered again in the same category.

• An image that gained first, second or third place in a monthly competition or a Top 10 place in a PASOTY in 2009 or earlier cannot be entered again in the same category.

• Any image that has gained an Honours award in any category in any year cannot be entered again in a different category unless it has been substantially changed.

• An image that gained first, second or third place in a monthly competition in any year or a Top 10 place in a PASOTY in 2009 or earlier cannot be entered again in a different category unless it has been substantially changed. Examples of substantial changes are:

• Converting a colour image to a monochrome image.

• Altering more than 50% of the content of the image by cropping, cloning or other forms of editing.

• Any image that gains a merit (or that does not gain any award) may be entered in the same category or a different category up to a maximum of THREE times. An image that has been substantially changed is considered a new image.

A simple checklist to help you verify that a particular image is eligible for entry in a monthly competition can be downloaded here.

 

8. PRINT SIZES

There are no minimum or maximum sizes for prints, other than Small Prints, provided the image fits within the mount board size specified in Rule 9.

9. PRINT MOUNTING

For ease of handling by the print stewards and to minimise the ppossiblility of damage to prints:

• All prints must be mounted on a rigid mount board that is less than 4mm thick.
• For small prints the board MUST be 9” x 7” (23cm x 18cm).
• For all other prints the board MUST be 20” x 16” (50cm x 40cm).
• The mount board may be of any colour.

Images that are not mounted according to these requirements, or that are mounted in such a way that they may damage other images in the normal course of handling during a competition, will be rejected.

 

10. EDI FORMAT AND SIZES

All digital images entered in EDI competitions must comply with the following requirements:

• The maximum image size is 1024 pixels wide (horizontal) and 768 pixels high (vertical) when the image is viewed in its correct orientation.
• The file format must be JPEG.
• The maximum file size is 300 KB.
• Images should be in the sRGB colour space.

The club web site provides detailed instructions for sizing digital images and for submitting them via the Coppermine gallery system on the club’s web site. Images that do not meet the above requirements will be rejected.

 

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11. NAMING OF ENTRIES

All print entries must have the entrant’s name and the image title on the back and an ARROW to clearly indicate the TOP of the print.

All digital entries must be named in the manner described in the “How to use Coppermine” instructions on the club web site.

 

12. SUBMITTING ENTRIES

All PRINT entries and a completed entry form must be handed to the recorders before 7.00pm on the monthly competition night. Forms may be downloaded from the club web site. They are also available each club meeting night. These forms are kept by the recorders and members should keep their own notes of dates and names of each image entered and the award each image receives. This is to avoid re-entering images that are excluded under Rule 7.

All EDI entries must be submitted through the club web site (using the Coppermine gallery system) by the date and in the manner described on the web site.

 

13. IMAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

There is no monthly competition in November. Instead, there is an IMAGE OF THE YEAR competition in both A and B grades. The competition sections are:

Colour prints
Monochrome prints
Nature prints
Small prints
Open EDI
Nature EDI
Altered reality EDI.

A member may enter up to FOUR images in each section of the Image of the Year competition.

Judges will select the Top 10 images in each section and an overall IMAGE OF THE YEAR.

14. RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRIES IN THE IMAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

In addition to the restriction of the number of images that may be entered (Rule 13), the following restrictions apply:

• To be eligible for entry in any print section or in the Open EDI section an image must have been entered in the same section in a monthly competition in the same year as the Image of the Year competition.
• The image entered in the Image of the Year must be the same (no alterations or enhancements) as the image entered in the monthly competition.
• Images in the Nature EDI and Altered Reality EDI sections need not have been entered in a monthly competition in the same year.
• Substantially the same image cannot be entered twice in the same section or in two different sections (even if two different versions of the image were entered in monthly competitions in the relevant year).
• Any image that has gained a Top 10 place in an Image of the Year competition (or in a PASOTY competition—the previous name for the Image of the Year competition) in any year cannot be entered again in the same category in any Image of the Year competition.
• Any image that has gained a Top 10 place in an Image of the Year competition or a PASOTY competition in any year cannot be entered again in a different category in an Image of the Year competition unless it has been substantially changed in the manner described in Rule 7.

A simple checklist to help you verify that a particular image is eligible for entry in the Image of the Year can be downloaded here.

 

15. SET SUBJECT DEFINITIONS FOR 2010

In April and August all PRINT entries must illustrate the following set subjects:

April – An emotion. The image must portray a person or people expressing an emotion such as anger, joy, despair, embarrassment, gratitude, pleasure, etc.

August – Kaput. The image must illustrate the idea that something which is “kaput” is broken, ruined, not working, unable to function, incapacitated, wrecked or destroyed.

 

These rules were approved by the club committee on 4th November 2009.

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