Digital Competition
Simsbury Camera Club

Rules, Procedures and Explanations
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PLEASE NOTE: A MINIMUM OF TWELVE (12) IMAGES MUST BE SUBMITTED
IN THE REGULAR MONTHLY COMPETITION DURING THE MEETING
SEASON TO QUALIFY FOR THE YEAR END AWARDS.

IMAGES SUBMITTED IN THE "SPECIAL" CATEGORY
ARE NOT COUNTED AS PART OF THE TWELVE.

To participate in the monthly judged competitions, you must be a paid member of the Simsbury Camera Club. Members may submit a TOTAL of 2 images to that month’s competition (plus 1 additional if there is a Special Category that month.) Images must conform to the category definition for that month as defined in the Focal Point and our web site.

If you are submitting a mixture of Slides and Digital images, they are not submitted to the same place.  

Digital images are due no later than the Wednesday before the monthly judging meeting.

Note - The following requirements are in line with the PSA Exhibition Standards and Practices for Electronic Images. These can be viewed at the PSA website by downloading the "PSA Uniform Practice 2004 Part B - Judging Practice" at www.psa-eid.org/publicat.html.

HERE ARE THE REQUIREMENTS:

1.Digital images may be submitted with any amount of adjustment and manipulation that produces images consistent with the subject of the monthly competition. However, all images used, even if combined together, must have begun life as photographic image and must have been taken and worked on solely by the submitter! No cut-and-paste stock images may be used.

Nature Category Restrictions

Nature photographs must follow the PSA definition of nature: “Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict observations from all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify as to its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality. Human elements shall not be present, except on the rare occasion where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands on wild animals is acceptable.

Photographs of artificially produced hybrid plants or animals, mounted specimens, or obviously set arrangements, are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.

No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged or combined. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be applied. Any sharpening must appear natural”.

2.Once a photograph has been entered into an Simsbury Camera Club Competition, it may never be entered again regardless of score or award received as the image was entered. A different version of the image through manipulation may be used.  Note that entering a photograph into the Open category means it may never be entered in the Special category; also, a photograph entered in the Special category may never be entered in the Open category. We recognize, however, that part of the attraction and fun of digital photography is the ability to alter the pictures captured by the camera, but the emphasis should be on displaying your photographs to best advantage either naturally or after manipulation (even extensive manipulation) for creative effects.

Photographs will be projected using a projector having 1024 pixels in the horizontal direction and 768 pixels in the vertical direction. Photographs must fit within those dimensions.  Unless your photograph’s proportions are in the exact ratio of 4 to 3, one of these dimensions will be less than the maximum. For example, if you have a vertical photograph, the height will be 768 pixels, but the width will be significantly less than 1024 pixels. A square photograph will be 768 pixels by 768 pixels under these rules. Smaller photographs are acceptable. In saving the image with the digital photo editing software the quality should be set so the image size is no more than 500 kb.  This makes sending images by email easier and conforms to the requirements for submitting images for outside competitions.

3. Images must be saved in the JPEG format.

4. The digital image must be submitted in the following format. Modifications to this format will not be accepted. The title should be entered with proper capitalization and with spaces between words. A correct title might be “Polar Bear With Cubs”.,Do not enter it as: “polar bear with cubs”, “PolarBearWithCubs”, “POLAR BEAR WITH CUBS”, or “Polar-Bear-With-Cubs”. Be sure all words are spelled correctly. The way you enter the title in the file name is the way it will appear on the winner's ribbon.

        Example: Polar Bear With Cubs,Jim Patrina,Water,Dec 08

Be sure to use the sequencing seen here as this is the way columns are set up for judging. Commas are to be used separating each part of the title, not period’s dashes or anything else. If the name of the image is more than one word, use spaces. Do not write the name as one word. Images should be an attachment not imbedded into the body of the email.

5. Digital images must be submitted using one of the following methods:

-By e-mail, simscc@comcast.net to Jim Patrina, club Digital Chairperson in a single email if email system can accommodate multiple images or in separate emails. (Image must be received by the Wednesday prior to the monthly judging meeting)

-On CD or jump drive, at the prior month’s meeting digital coordinators (Jim Patrina or Bruce Metzger).

-On CD via US Mail, to Jim Patrina, 10 Gretel Lane, Simsbury, CT 06070. (Must be received by the Wednesday prior to the monthly judging meeting)

JUDGING AND SCORING OF DIGITAL IMAGES:

The judges will be asked to judge the photographs for overall photographic quality and interest, not the amount of manipulation required to achieve the effect.

1. A maker’s digital images will be judged in the same class as the one to which that maker belongs in the slide competition. New competitors will automatically start in Class B. If there are too few competitors at a particular level, then groups may be combined for that particular competition. This would be done at the discretion of the Digital Judging Chairperson.

2. The awarding of ribbons will be decided based on how many people submit in each class. If the number is small only a first and second place ribbon may be awarded. If the number is larger a third and/or an honorable mention may be awarded.

3. Scores will be recorded and published in the Focal Point Newsletter. Special categories are not considered in the total monthly average.

4. At the end of the year, all scores except the special categories, will be combined and averaged to determine high point total and high average awards in each class, and also to determine any class changes which may occur.

5. Periodically digital images will be submitted to outside inter-club competitions. The images will be chosen by the Digital committee from the winners of monthly in club competitions including honorable mention winners. Currently images are entered in the NECCC Digital Image competition three times a year, and the Glennie Nature Image competition. When appropriate, additional competitions may be entered.   Images will also be entered once a year in the NECCC Digital Circuit  where expert photographers will provide comments to help improve the quality of our winning images.

  © 2010 Simsbury Camera Club and contributors. All text and photos are copyrighted by either the club or by the contributing member and may not be reproduced without the permission of the copyright holder.