Rules for Monthly Competitions

1. Monthly competitions, held September through May, are limited to members in good standing. Members whose dues have not been paid prior to the September competition are barred from competing until such time as they are reinstated in good standing.

2. Each eligible member may enter the prescribed number of digital images in one of the three groups. (C, B, or Salon) The Board of directors will determine the number of images at the beginning of each club year.

3. Images submitted must have been taken by the entrant within the last five years.

4. In order to be eligible for club competitions, entries must originate as PHOTOGRAPHIC (image captures of objects via light sensitivity) made by the entrant, acquired digitally or in photographic emulsion and then scanned in. No digital image may be placed in any competition twice in the same club year regardless of any subsequent modification. It may be entered again in another club year provided it has not been awarded a ribbon. No Award or HM image may be used again in subsequent competitions. Members are requested to avoid the use of near duplicates of the same subject.
NOTE: It is the individual member's responsibility, not the Competition Committee's, to keep records to comply!

5. There will be nine competitions held during the club year. Any subject matter is acceptable for eight of the competition, but a special topic will be assigned to one of the competitions. Our judges are instructed to judge the images from a pictorial viewpoint, including nature, portraits, landscapes and etc. The assigned topic competition must reflect the designated subject matter. To help insure a measure of success, the photographer's creativity should be apparent. The eight regular plus the designated competition scores will be combined for the end of the year point totals.

6.There are three levels of competition.
Level C: Members with a basic level of experience. New members who choose to start in this group provided they have less than 5 acceptances in PSA Color Projected Image.

Level B: Members who were promoted from Level C. Members who have, by the beginning of the club year have received 5 or more acceptances in PSA Color Projected Image. Members who opt to be in this group.

SALON: Members who were promoted to SALON from Level B. Members who at the beginning of the club year have received one star or higher rating in PSA Color Projected Image. Members who opt to be in this group.

NOTE: New members may elect to compete on any of the three levels which they deem suitable to their photographic qualifications and abilities.(As per the above) Any member may opt to compete at a higher lever, but once committed, may NOT return to his former one. Points accumulated on a lower level may NOT be credited to a higher level when the member transfers during the competition year.

7. Each eligible image will be evaluated by a judge and scored one to ten points in half point increments. The top 20 percent, to the nearest whole number of total digital images on each level will be selected as winning images. Of these, fifty percent are to be Honorable Mentions and fifty percent Awards. When the 20 percent calculation results in an odd number of honors, the number of Awards will be LESS than the Honorable Mentions. Awards ribbons will be awarded an additional 4 points in final image scores. An additional 2 points will be given to HM recipients.

8. In the event a member unavoidably misses a SINGLE REGULAR monthly competition, the procedure for makeup is as follows: One makeup image, in addition to the regular number of images permitted, to be entered in each of the next REGULAR competitions until the full complement of images has been reached.

(Assuming a club year of 8 regular and 1 special assigned topic, a member missing competition #3 would enter would enter 1 extra image in each of competitions 4, 5 and six. A member missing competition #6 would enter 2 make-up images in competition #7(5) and a single in competition #8. A member missing competition #7 would be permitted to enter 6 images in competition #8. Should a member miss competition #8, there would be no makeup and he/she would receive a score of zero.

Should a Special (assigned topic) competition fall within a makeup period, the makeup date coinciding with the Special competition date would be skipped and carried forward to the next REGULAR competitions.

NO MORE THAN ONE REGULAR COMPETITION CAN BE MISSED AND MADE UP EXCEPT IF THE COMPETITION IS CANCELLED DUE TO INLEMENT WEATHER COMPETITION OF AN ASSIGNED TOPIC CAN NOT BE MADE UP. THE MAKER WILL RECEIVE A SCORE OF ZERO. IMAGES ENTERED IN AN INCORRECT GROUP AND SO JUDGED WILL BE DISALLOWED. THE MAKER WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT FOR THAT COMPETITION AND BE GIVEN A SCORE OF ZERO.

9.At the end of the competition year, Awards will be given respectively, to first, second and third place on each level. In the event of a tie, duplicate awards will be made.

10. The highest score in C and B groups will automatically be promoted to the next higher group. Second and third place may be promoted at the discretion of the Board.

11. Digital Images for competitions must be submitted via the internet to Photo Contest Pro at www.PhotoContestPro.com. Competition entries must be submitted by an explicit date as designated by the above service. This deadline will be strictly observed by the software. Once this date (and time) has passed, the competition will no longer be available online. There will be no exceptions. Detailed instructions necessary for submissions are available on the club’s website.
Since Photo Contest Pro must be notified of a new or reinstated member in advance of the deadline, it is necessary the individual fulfill club requirements in a timely manner.

12. There are two categories of digital imaging in each monthly competition, and in the assigned competition.

TRADITIONAL: A category of images that begin as photos and may include such enhancements as Levels, Curves and the like, for the purpose of correction of color, tone sharpness, contrast, etc.
((Straightening a horizon; Hue/Saturation; removing blemishes, burning/dodging; any work previously carried out in a darkroom. Borders and frames-vignetting, colored line outside or inside an image as a framing technique. Using an image as an outer frame. Blurring/toning/soft focus which doesn't alter basic subject. Texture erg Canvas filter as enhancement. (More radical filter would become New Dimension image.) Group of related images; triptych, panoramic. Placing a cutout into another image. (Object, person, moon) Selective coloring-adding a single color to a monochrome image. Replacing a sky. HDR only to a natural appearing extent. Abstracts, small isolated areas; if radically changed, New Dimensions. Zooming, using filters on camera, moving camera. Montages))

NEW DIMENSIONS: a CATEGORY OF IMAGES as presented, that looks as if they could not have been taken with a camera alone. For example, but not limited to these examples; images that are surrealistic, unreal, non-representational, abstract or fantasy including images that have been changed by posterization, special effects, filters, sketching, painterly, open and ink or in any other way.
(( Photographs that display a novel effect because of an unusual combination of objects and or viewpoint. Images modified during or after exposure. Creative use of line, form and color expressing a photographer’s ideas and or feelings in a non-traditional style. Using filters for effects, Fractals, Painter, Photoshop Filters, Distortions and other programs to enhance creativity.))

13. The major part of each image must have been captured by light sensitivity either digitally or on film and then scanned. A scanner may also be used as a camera to capture photographs of objects placed on the scanner glass. Composite images are acceptable as long as all elements included are the entering photographer's own work. Commercial clip art, parts of commercial photographic collections or the work of another photographer may NOT be included. Artwork or computer graphics created by the photographer may be incorporated as long as the PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTENT PREDOMINATES. . However, clouds, frames, moons or items photographed or drawn by the photographer may be combined with other photographs.

14. ) Image of the Year Competition
Image of the Year awards will be given (First, Second and Third Place) on each level. All Award and Honorable Mention images from the club year competitions will be entered and judged on their respective levels for year end honors.