Competition rules effective February 2011

28/12/10

Annual Print Competition (and Exhibition)

3. The Annual Print Competition (and Exhibition) shall comprise nine sections, as detailed in the attached addendum.
4. Members are limited to a maximum of eight prints if not entering for the Challenge Cup. If entering for the Challenge Cup, members may submit an additional four prints in that section; these prints cannot be entered in any other sections.
5. All entries must be of work created during the current photographic year, ie. only photographs taken between the previous October and the date for handing in entries are eligible. Entries in previous Annual Print Competitions or work created during any other photographic year will be withdrawn without notice.
6. Members must submit their print entries to the Competition Secretary on the official entry form and by the deadline specified. No print entries will be accepted after the deadline.
7. All prints must conform to the East Anglian Federation standards set out in Annex B.



Club print and projected image competitions

8. Club print competitions and digitally projected image competitions will be held during the photographic year. The final annual projected image competition will be judged on a date close to the Annual Print Competition.
9. The club competitions held during the year shall comprise general pictures taken in any category including those taken on a society outing. Both colour and mono pictures shall be judged together. Members are limited to a maximum of six prints for each competition.
10. The digitally projected image competitions shall comprise one section to include monochrome and colour photographs, including photographs taken on a Society outing. Members are limited to a maximum of three photographs for each digital competition.
11. Any member who so wishes may elect to enter a novices’ section. His/her photographs will be judged in the usual way, but no points will be awarded by the judge. Members may enter this section or leave it for the main section at any time on notifying the Competition Secretary.
12. No photograph may be entered in more than three competitions and no photograph may be entered in any further competition (except the Annual Print Competition) after it has been awarded a first, second or third place. Older photographs may be entered into the club competitions during the if they have been updated/improved from their original state.
13. All print entries must be handed in by 8.00pm on the evening of the competition and none can be accepted after the meeting has begun.
14. All projected image entries must be submitted to Alan Simpson. Alan will send an email prior to events setting a final date for images to be submitted. The format is outlined in Annex A below.
15. All prints and projected images must conform to the East Anglian Federation standards set out in Annexes A and B.
16. The judge will award up to 20 points to each photograph, from which first, second and third places will be calculated. In the event of a tie, he/she will also choose the relevant positions. In addition, he/she may also ‘highly commend’ a photograph, and this will not count as a ‘place’ for the purpose of Rule 12.
17. All points will be totalled at the end of the competition year for the purpose of awarding i) the Crittal Cup, for the most points during the year for prints; ii) the St Christopher Trophy, for the most points during the year for monochrome prints; and iii) the . . . cup/trophy, for the most points for projected images.


All competitions

18. All photographic work must be entirely the original work of the author and not a copy or derived from the work of another person. Members must have originated and own the copyright of all work submitted, including all components of composite photographs whether assembled by traditional or digital means. The inclusion of ‘copyright free’ images or ‘clip art’ is not acceptable.
19. Home-processed, trade-processed and digital prints will be judged together (except for Challenge Cup entries in the Annual Print Competition which must be home-processed, either by traditional means in a darkroom or digitally).
20. Authors will not identify themselves to the judge before their photographs have been marked.
21. The judge’s decision is final.




Annex A

Projected image competitions

1. All digital images must be 8-bit sRGB JPEG files and will be judged at a resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels. The 1400 pixels is the maximum width of an image and the 1050 pixels is the maximum height of an image. All images, whether landscape format or portrait format, must be constrained to these pixel dimensions. Information on how to create image files conforming to these standards is below.

2. The name of the author must not appear in the file name, but a title must appear in the file name. Titles will be read out unless the judge wishes otherwise.


How to re-size a JPEG file

1. Open your image.
2. Photoshop users go to Image>Image Size. Photoshop Elements users go to Image>Resize>Image Size. The Image Size dialog box will appear on screen.
3. At the bottom of the Image Size box, tick all three boxes, ie. Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions and Resample Image. Use Bicubic (best for smooth gradients).
4. In the Pixel Dimensions section at the top of the box, change the units to show pixels.
5. For a landscape image, enter the width as 1400. The height will automatically adjust, maintaining the proportions of the image.
6. Before clicking OK, check the height in pixels. If the height is more than 1050, then you need to enter 1050 in the height; this will reduce the width to less than 1400 pixels. Click OK.
7. For a portrait image, or a square image, enter the height as 1050. The width will automatically adjust, maintaining the proportions of the image. Click OK.

NB People may talk about ‘file size’ or ‘ppi’, but none of this is relevant here, you are measuring in pixels only.


How to change the mode of an image file

1. From the Image menu, choose Mode.
2. Tick on both RGB and 8 bit/Channel so that a tick appears to their left. These may already be ticked and will not, therefore, need changing.


How to convert your image to the sRGB colour space

1. In newer versions of Photoshop go to Edit > Convert to Profile - as this produces the best result, if a change is required. In older versions of Photoshop go to Image>Mode>Convert to Profile. The Convert to Profile dialogue box appears. At the top of the box, the Source Space, Profile needs to be sRGB IEC61966-2.1. If it is not, then a different profile may actually be attributed to the image. If the Source Space is not sRGB IEC61966-2.1 then select that profile from the Destination Space, Profile drop down box and click the OK box at top right, to convert the colour space.
2. For Photoshop Elements users go to Image>Convert Colour Profile>Apply sRGB Profile. If the option is greyed out you do not need to change anything here because sRGB is already selected.


How to save your image as a JPEG file

1. From the File menu, choose Save As. The Save As dialog box appears.
2. Select the folder you want to save to. Type in your File name; this file name (excluding .jpeg) must not be longer than 24 characters – a space between words counts as a character.
3. Check that the Format field is set to JPEG.
4. Click the Save button. The jpeg options dialogue box appears.
5. Set the amount of compression to apply to your image. Set the quality to 12, this will ensure you will retain the quality of the image. Make sure the Format Options is set to Baseline (“Standard”).
6. Click OK.




Annex B

Print competitions

1. Prints must be a minimum size of 323 sq cm (50 sq ins) and must be mounted on card, which can be of any shape or colour provided it can be fitted within the boundaries of a 50 cm x 40 cm (19.68 ins x 15.74 ins) rectangle.

2. The name of the author must appear on the back only, but a title must appear on the back and may appear on the front. Titles will be read out unless the judge wishes otherwise.


Annex C
Annual Competition Categories

1. The ArkBuild Man-Made World Trophy. Architecture, machinery - the majesty of buildings, industrial scenery, trains, cars, fountains, sculpture. Successful entries might be those that make best use of angles and perspective, lighting, picking out detail, or those that evoke a reaction of surprise, intrigue, sentiment or wonder. (Previously “Record Trophy”).

2. The George Hall Trophy, awarded for the best landscape, waterscape, snowscape, skyscape, nightscape. The most successful entries will be those that evoke a reaction of surprise, intrigue, sentiment or wonder. (No change).

3. The Anderson Trophy. The Natural World – Animals, including insects and the details of nature. The most successful entries will not just be technically proficient, they will have added elements such as movement, stories, or interaction. The details of nature can include macro photography and representation of natural elements in an imaginative way. (Previously animal prints, excluding insects).

4. People and Stories Cup. Portraits, group scenes, reportage, pictures that tell a story. Emotions, moods, sport, movement, dance, music, the arts. (Previously “Portrait Cup”)

5. Newmarch Trophy. Creative Imagination. The most successful entries will show artistic imagination, through the use of original concepts, abstract creations, and/or artistic manipulation through computer techniques. (Previously best pictorial print)

6. Vince Mansi Cup. Overall best print. Awarded to the best picture, including all in other categories and more traditional shots. (Previously best colour print).

7. Club Trophy. Best digitally projected image. Awarded to the best overall digital image taken within the year. This will be judged and awarded on a separate evening. (Previously best mono print).

8. Digital Panel Award. A new award for the best set or panel of four digital images – the most successful entries will include those that together tell a story. This could include a set of prints of a sporting event or a simple chain of events. The sports setting on your camera might help here, as might an imagination to create a story using characters/friends or “reportage”.

Entrants should specify in which order his/her four images are projected. If possible, it would be helpful if a fifth image could be provided showing the other four as smaller versions. This would enable those viewing to see how they look as a 'panel'.

9. Challenge Cup. Best Panel. Awarded for the best set or panel of four prints – the most successful entries will include those that together tell a story. This could include a set of prints of a sporting event or a simple chain of events. The sports setting on your camera might help here, as might an imagination to create a story using characters/friends or “reportage”. (No change).