COMPETITIONS 2011-12
COMPETITION PACK
 Download all you need to enter competitions here.....
  Competition Pack in WORD Format   Competition Pack in PDF Format
 
Download entry forms PRINTS - PROJECTED IMAGES & labels HERE
 
GENERAL RULES

  1. In all competitions entries MUST be the original work of the MEMBER.

  2. All entrants must be fully paid up members of the Club.

  3. Digitally manipulated images may be entered in any competition and will be judged according to any current YPU guidelines for such images.
    The original image must be photographed by the author using film or digital   capture. Images generated purely from the computer are not allowed.

  4. Members are allowed to submit up to 2 entries in both the Club Projected Image and Club Print Competitions, both of which will count towards the points total at the end of the year.

  5. Members are allowed to submit up to 2 entries in the Monochrome Projected Image and up to 2 entries in the Monochrome Print Competition, the top six of which will go forward to the Best of the Year Competition

  6. Slides may be entered but must be scanned professionally or by a member of the committee for entry in to the competitions. Members entering slides will accept that the quality of the scans will be the best that can be achieved by the equipment available. No liability will be accepted for the quality of the final image.

  7. Prints / Projected Images may be in Colour or Monochrome and may be self or trade processed.

  8. All entries should be handed to the Competition Secretary AT THE MEETING PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION OR 14 DAYS PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION, WHICHEVER IS THE SOONER. ALL entries should be submitted with an entry form and placed in the Club Print Box with print entries. The Competition Secretary will provide entry forms for this purpose (or downloadable from the Club website)
    Projected Image entries must be submitted as per guidelines – see Projected Image Guidelines below.

  9. Prints MUST be mounted and titled, with a specific title for each entry. Please use labels supplied by Competition Secretary or download from the Club Website.
    The MINIMUM size of entry is 64 sq inches, e.g. 8” x 8”, unmounted,
    the MAXIMUM size of entry is 40 cm x 50 cm WHEN MOUNTED. 
    Digital files of Print entries are also required. All entries shall be available for selection to represent the Club in competitions and exhibitions.

  10. Projected Images /Prints can only be entered ONCE for any Club competition with the exception of the Hazlehurst Trophy, Creative Competition, Interclub Battles and Best of the Year

  11. To encourage members to take competition photographs, the Committee would like to see members submit work taken in the last three years.

  12. The same image cannot be entered both as a Projected Image and as a print.

  13. Images should not be re-entered in any other form, e.g. colour and mono, print or projected image. Like or similar images from the same original capture may not be used.
RULES FOR THE CLUB COMPETITION
  1. All entries will be marked and the scores will count towards an aggregate score, the top score for the season will win a Trophy.
  2. The MOORSIDE CUP, (PI section) and DEVON TROPHY (Print section) will be awarded to the highest number of marks gained over the season in the Club Competitions.
  3. The IRELAND TROPHY will be awarded to the best Newcomer in the PI Section, and the PRESIDENTS TROPHY to the best Newcomer in the Print Section.
  4. The IRELAND TROPHY will be awarded to the best Newcomer in the PI Section, and the PRESIDENTS TROPHY to the best Newcomer in the Print Section.
THE BEST OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
This Competition is open to the top SIX placed Prints/ Projected Images in each competition leg. It will also include the top SIX prints from the Monochrome Competition. Plus discretion entries from each Applied Competition.
Entries must be unaltered from the original judgement.
The Trophies awarded are: - The ELISABETH CUP for Prints and The RICKABY CUP for Projected Images.
To encourage members to diversify Trophies will also be awarded for the best
• PICTORIAL • PORTRAIT • SPORT / PASTIME • NATURAL HISTORY • ARCHITECTURE / RECORD •
in both the Projected Image and Print sections.
These Trophies will be awarded at the discretion of the judge. If the entries do not fall into any of the categories no trophy will be awarded.
RULES FOR THE monochrome COMPETITION.
  1. Monochrome Prints MUST be mounted and titled, with a specific title for each entry. Please use labels supplied by Competition Secretary or download from the Club Website.
    The MINIMUM size of entry is 64 sq inches, e.g. 8” x 8”, un-mounted, the MAXIMUM size of entry is 40 cm x 50 cm WHEN MOUNTED.
  2. Open to all members. Maximum of 2 Prints and or 2 Projected Images. 
  3. The top SIX entries in both the prints and Projected Images will go forward to the Best of the Year Competition.
  4. The Bristow Trophy will be awarded to the best print and the Hailey Trophy will be awarded to the best Projected Image in the Monochrome Competition.
RULES OF THE HAZLEHURST MEMORIAL KNOCKOUT COMPETITION
  1. An entry consists of 4 digital images on any subject.
  2. Images should not have been previously entered in any Club Competition but may be entered afterwards. 
  3. Four digital images will be handed / emailed to the Competition Secretary AT THE MEETING PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION OR 14 DAYS PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION, WHICHEVER IS THE SOONER.
  4. The first 3 Digital images in an entry will be judged and marked out of 10. The points awarded will be added up and a Trophy will be awarded to the winner.
  5. In the event of a tie the fourth digital image will be called for and judged to a conclusion.
  6. See Projected Image Guidelines for entering Projected Images.
RULES OF THE ASHLEY AUDIO VISUAL COMPETITION
  1. The competition is for a sequence of projected images with accompanying sound. The images can be either slides or digital images. 
  2. The competition is for a sequence of projected images with accompanying sound. The images can be either slides or digital images. 
  3. The sequence should consist of not less than 20 images and a running time of between 2.5 and 5 minutes. 
  4. Members may enter up to 2 sequences. The entries must be clearly marked with the number of the entry and the duration (e.g. 4 mins 33 secs). If there are too many entries only the first will be judged. 
  5. The Author’s name must not appear in the production.
  6. Copyright of all the work entered must be at the disposal of the entrant. It is the entrants’ responsibility to obtain the necessary licences or permissions to use material for which they do not hold the rights.
  7. Members are advised to read the Club’s General Rules in conjunction with the above rules.
RULES OF THE LAFLIN TROPHY FOR CREATIVE EXCELLENCE
  1. Entries should be handed in no later than THE MEETING PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION OR 14 DAYS PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION, WHICHEVER IS THE SOONER.
  2. An entry consists of up to four digital images.
  3. See Projected Image Guidelines for entering Projected Images.
  4. The images will be judged prior to the evening. In order to attain a score of 10 or above, the image must display real creativity. We regard creativity as something new,   either the image content or the way it is shot or processed. Images that are simply   emulations of someone else’s work are not strictly speaking creative.
  5. A winner will be selected on the evening together with any entries the judge recommends for commendation.
PROJECTED IMAGE GUIDELINES
  1. The image and all elements within it must be the sole work of the author. Images made completely by computer software and having no photographic   content will not be accepted.
  2. Images must be submitted in JPEG file format only.
  3. Each image must be titled, with a specific title for each entry. Titling as
      follows:-
      Number (as on entry form)   -  (hyphen)    
      Name (Entrants forename followed by surname initial)    -   (hyphen)    
      Image Title (Spaces are allowed in the title)
          Example: 1-ColinD-Puffin.jpg,
                         2-ColinD-British Museum.jpg
  4. Entries can be either emailed to the competition secretary or handed in on a CD or memory stick.
  5. Where entries are sent as email attachments the email should include the   author’s name, phone number and  list the titles of the images. 
  6. Images will be projected at 1400 pixels x 1050 pixels. Images should not exceed these dimensions e.g. images projected in Portrait mode must be no more than 1050 Pixels high. If your image is less than the maximum in any direction the unused area can either be filled or left blank.
APPLIED COMPETITIONS EXPLAINED
During the year we have a number of Applied competitions. The first is for Architecture, Record and Natural History and the second one is for Sports, Pastime and Portraits. A number of members have asked for some clarification as to what can be submitted in each category, after all one can argue that any photographic image is a ‘record’ of what the photographer saw but not every image can be submitted under record. I’ll try to bring some clarity to the subject, but I’m no expert and maybe some judges see things differently.

 Architecture and Record

Shall be for any building or part of a building, ancient or modern, and/or allied objects or furnishings belonging to or associated with the subject. This class includes archaeological or other inanimate objects, e.g.; motor vehicles, ceramics etc.  

I think that the subject would be manmade (a study of natural rock formations would be Natural History I believe).

A record shot should be such that the subject could be rebuild, so should all be in sharp focus with no or minimal distortion (such as converging verticals). People in the shot would normally be not acceptable (a man with his steam engine would fit in ‘pastimes’)

Architecture can be taken more creatively (rather than as a pure record) with converging verticals, creating the impression of soaring buildings, people can be included, showing maybe the grandeur of an interior (but Auntie Mary in front of the alter in York Minster is not architecture – no matter how hard or fossilised she is!)

Natural History

Natural History photography depicts untamed animals and uncultivated plants in a natural habitat and all natural phenomena. The accurate record of the subject and natural environment is the prime factor. Evidence of man, his manipulation of his environment in any part of the picture is undesirable and should be avoided. After satisfying the above requirements every effort should be made to use the highest level of artistic skill in all nature photographs.

Photographs of cultivated plants, floral arrangements, domestic and caged animals, mounted specimens, museum groups or man and his specialised environment are NOT acceptable. Where appropriate entries should be accurately titled.

The word ‘natural’ is all important. Birds on a feeder wouldn’t go down well, whereas birds on a branch is fine as long as you can’t see a house. It gets a bit blurred when the natural environment is now man made e.g. a fox hunting by a barn, barn owl leaving a barn or sitting on a fence post or a badger passing through a fence. I think this must be acceptable otherwise it would be nigh impossible to do natural history in this country.

Natural phenomena might include thunder storms, hurricanes, rock formations such as rock arches, stalactites, water and wind sculpted rocks.

For some subjects (botanical/fungi/etc) some ‘gardening’ (i.e. tidying up of the surrounding vegetation) may be necessary. This should be kept to a minimum to avoid exposing the subject to predators, people, or weather. Plants or branches should be tied back rather than cut off and the site restored to as natural a condition as possible after any photographic session. The aim should always be to leave no obvious signs of disturbance.

A nature photograph should convey the essential truth of what the photographer saw at the time it was taken.

No radical changes should be made to the original photograph, nor additions made from any source. The removal of minor blemishes or distractions is permissible.

Sports

This should be the easiest category to define, it should show sport being undertaken.
A horse racing or in training is fine but a race horse in a stable is not. A close up shot of the tip of a snooker cue about to strike the cue ball is fine but a static arrangement of cue and balls is not.

Pastimes.

This should show the pastime being undertaken and not just the result of the pastime. I think you would expect to see human activity.
Someone embroidering or at least a needle being held in fingers would be acceptable whereas a piece of embroidery (complete or incomplete) wouldn’t be (it could be a record shot though)
Someone gardening or a hand on a trowel would be acceptable whereas a shot of a bunch of flowers would not be.
Someone picking or carrying a marrow would be acceptable whereas just a shot of the marrow or a pile of marrows would not be.

Portraits

 This includes portraits of people and animals. Groups of a portrait nature are also acceptable. The portraits can be posed or candid's, in a studio or open air with the lighting natural or artificial.

Environmental portraits which show the subject in their environment are currently popular.
Also included in this category are figure studies, these generally are nudes or scantily clad figures in artistic poses with creative lighting (can’t recollect seeing any of these at the club)

Hopefully these notes have helped clarify the categories and have not confused you even more. If you have any doubts if something would be acceptable in a competition, just ask a member of the committee and we’ll advise you.