Print and Digital Competition

Thursday, October 3rd will be both a print and digital competition night.

Categories for print are:
Open
Nature
Black & White

Categories for digital are:
Open
Nature
Creative

Our judge will be Mary Doo. Mary has gradually become a serious nature and wildlife photographer after joining the Society of Rhode Island (PSRI) in 1998. Since then, she has won a number of regional and international awards. Mary served as President of PSRI from 2006 to 2008. To see some of Mary’s incredible work, visit her website at: http://www.marydoo.com/index.htm

A reminder about competition rules:

Class AA - any member who has earned 5 combined 1st or 2nd place ribbons in the major categories last year will automatically be placed in the AA class. Any member who has earned a 1st or 2nd place ribbon in the 2012-2013 year may elect to join the AA class. Members must remain in the class for the entire year.

Class A - all other members

Digital Competitions:
Digital entries must be submitted to Dropbox NO LATER THAN 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION. Dropbox is a free software program which can be found at http://www.dropbox.com (or you can go to https://db.tt/wfvZDNo8 and we will both get 500 MB of bonus space). Once the software is installed to your desktop, you can email the competition coordinator who will send you an invitation to join the dropbox. When you receive the invite you click on the folder and then you will be asked to "accept" or "decline" the invite. You accept. Once you accept, you can open the "dropbox" folder on your desktop and you will see the competition folders. You just drag and drop your entries into the folder or you can copy and paste. Please note: do not delete any of the QVPC folders or pictures inside them from your computer as that will also delete them from Dropbox.

Digital entries must be labeled like the following examples:

Class AA or A$Category$LastName,FirstName$Title.jpg

AA$N$Lamarre,Karen$MuddyFrog.jpg (example of Class AA, Nature category)
A$O$Lamarre,Karen$MuddyFrog.jpg (example of class A, Open category)
A$C$Lamarre,Karen$MuddyFrog.jpg (example of class A, Creative category)

Print Competitions:
All print entries shall have a picture area that is a minimum of 5 X 7 and no larger than 16 x 20. All entries must be matted and/or mounted. The maximum size of the presentation, including the matte or mount shall be no larger than 16x20. Images may be submitted on foam core. Matted prints should have a same size backing board. ie an 11x14 matted print should have a solid backing sized 11 x 14 adhered to the print.

Each picture MUST have the following information on the back of the SUBMITTED ENTRY:

a) The makers first and last name (please don’t abbreviate or use initials).

b) A title that is different than any other picture you own. The title often distinguishes the subject matter such as “Mary” or “Goldenrod”. The title should never be reused on another picture. If you have two pictures of Mary, you can call one “Mary #1 and the other “Mary #2”, etc. We encourage members to use titles on “Nature” pictures that identify the subject to allow for submission in NECCC nature contests.

c) The class in which it is entered

d) The date it is entered

e) Prints in which the subject matter does not make clear which direction is up, should have an arrow on the back with the word “up”.

NATURE CATEGORY RULES
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 while maintaining a high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals is permissible. 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 techniques that add to, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content are permitted. All adjustments must appear natural.

Enhancements to make a scene more closely represent the original scene photographed are permitted but must not change the truth of the original nature story. Cropping and horizontal flipping are acceptable modifications. Removing spots is allowed. Adding elements to an image, removing pictorial elements from your image other than by cropping, combining separate images or rearranging and/or cloning and/or copying elements in your image are NOT acceptable.

BLACK & WHITE CATEGORY RULES:

In Black & White only: the use of more than a single color in toning, dyeing, or painting in an image. More than one color automatically categorizes the print as "color" not monochrome (B&W).

CREATIVE CATEGORY RULES:

The PSA definition of Creative is "Altered Reality." More specifically, the image must obviously display a change in natural color, form, shape, or any combination of three. High Dynamic Range (HDR) images without further changes are not considered "altered reality."

The original image must be made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or captured digitally. All images must be original and may not incorporate elements produced by anyone else. Original images must be altered by the maker; artwork or computer graphics generated by the entrant may be incorporated, if the original photographic content predominates. Images may not be constructed entirely within a computer. It is necessary that the image's core content be identifiable. Non-creative images are not eligible for this competition. Any subject matter is acceptable as long as the Altered Reality guidelines are apparent.