Competition

This page contains the documentation and guidelines for print and digital projection at club competitions.

Participation Information

Participation can be in one of two groups.
1. Group A – for accomplished photographers.
2. Group B – for less experienced or beginner photographers.

Group B is for newer club members to compete against other photographers new to the club in order to learn techniques and polish their skills before beginning to compete against long time members.  A photographer can, if he or she chooses, begin participating in Group A anytime he or she wishes.

A system is in place that will allow a photographer to move back into Group B if he or she has not placed in Group A competition for two (2) years and submits his or her request to compete in Group B to the executive board for approval.  Permission for said photographer to begin competing in Group B is totally at the discretion of the executive board.

Unless otherwise stated, photographs for competition must follow these guidelines:

1.) Open Slides – can be of any subject taken at anytime. Two (2) slides.

2.) Prints – can be of any subject taken at anytime.  Color or B&W.
Must be sizes 8 X 10 to 16 X 21 including mats.
Prints must NOT be framed.  Two (2) prints.

3.) Assigned subjects – Must fit the described subject and be taken during the assigned time period.
Three (3) slides.

The images submitted for competition cannot have placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in any previous club competition.  A submitted image can be of the same subject but of a composition different enough from the previous winner as to make it a significantly different photograph.  It also must have been made by the photographer who submits it (the photographer can be in the shot, but must have set it up).  Honorably mentioned photographs can be re-entered.

Points are awarded as follows:

1   point   – for attending meeting
4   points – for 1 entry
5   points – for 2 entries
6   points – for 3 entries
8   points – for third place finish
9   points – for second place finish
10 points – for first place finish
0   points – for Honorable Mention

Photos that tie for any places will split acculmulated points; for example, there are three photos tied for 1st place – the three makers divide the total 27 points and no second or third place is awarded.

If either group has only one competitor, that photographer will only be awarded 1st place points as well as attendance and participation points.

At the end of the calendar year, all the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners during the year from each group are judged by an outside judge and points are awarded as follows:

25 points – Slide of the Year
25 points – Print of the Year
20 points – 1st place in each group
15 points – 2nd place in each group
10 points – 3rd place in each group

Slide of the Year and Print of the Year can come from either Group A or Group B.
Accumulated points including year-end competition are added at year’s end to determine the PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (one for Group A and one for Group B).  The Group B – Photographer of the Year – is required to move into Group A competition.

Digital Projection Protocol:

To submit your projection image for competition, please use the following guidelines.

As of April 18, 2007, a new category called “Digital Projection” will be judged along with slides.
Images submitted will be displayed with a digital projector or slide projector.

During competition, a generic number will be displayed below the image for identification purposes.  As with slides, a preview display of the images will be shown for five seconds each. Images will then be displayed for 15 seconds during the judging.

The number of images allowed for entry into the competition is inclusive of both formats.  For example, a member can enter two slides, two digital files, or one slide and one digital file.

In order to maintain a consistent high-quality presentation, a standard format has been established for all entries in the “Digital Projection” category.

• Files must be in the sRGB color space.
• The longest side dimension must be 768 pixels.
• Images must be saved as high quality JPG files.
• Image names must be in the following format: Group_Last_First_Suffix_Title.jpg
  Example: A_Doe_John_Jr_Boy_in_Window.jpg

Below are the step-by-step instructions for making the necessary file adjustments.
These steps are based on Photoshop CS3 (7.0).  Other versions may vary slightly.

Color Conversion:

To Confirm/Change to sRGB color space:

From an open file, follow the following path

• IMAGE>MODE>CONVERT TO PROFILE
• Identify the source space
• If the source space begins with the letters “sRGB” your file is already in sRGB and you can click CANCEL and proceed to sizing your file.
• If the source profile begins with anything but sRGB you will need to convert to sRGB by performing the following steps.
• From the menu, navigate the following path: IMAGE>MODE>CONVERT TO PROFILE
• Within the CONVERT TO PROFILE window, change the Destination Space to sRGB.
• Set the ENGINE to Adobe(ACE)
• Set the INTENT to RELATIVE COLORIMETRIC.
• CHECK the “Use Black Point Compensation” box.
• Check the “Use Dither” box.
• Press OK

Sizing the Image:

• From an open file, choose IMAGE>IMAGE SIZE
• Check the “Constrain Proportions” box.
• Check the “Resample Image” box.
• Select “Bicubic”
• Find the larger of the width and height in the pixel dimensions box.
• Choose the larger of width and height and change that value to 768 pixels.
• Ignore the settings in the “Document Size” box.
• Press OK.

Notes on Sizing:

We have a square screen, and to fit both horizontal and vertical images into that space, a consistent maximum pixel length needs to be set for each image.

To match the projector, the longest dimension of your image must be 768 pixels.
When projecting digitally, this is plenty of resolution to see spectacular high fidelity images.
Projecting a larger file will not increase the quality.

Saving the Images:

PROPER NAME FORMAT

The file name must contain these three elements:

• Group
• Member’s Name
• Submission Title

Example:

Group_Last_First_Suffix_Title.jpg  (Example: A_Doe_John_Jr_Boy_in_Window.jpg)

• From the menu, choose FILE>SAVE AS
• In the SAVE IN box, choose the location where you wish to store the image.
• Enter the correct name (above example) in the File Name box
• In the “Format” box, choose JPEG.
• Check the ICC Profile sRGB
• Click SAVE
• In the Image Options Box, toggle the quality value to 12.
• In the “Format Options” box, select “Baseline (Standard)”
• Press OK.

Submissions:

Images can be submitted for the “Digital Projection” competitions in two ways:

• Entries can be personally furnished to the competition chair at the meeting prior to the competition. These files should be provided on a CD.
• Files can be emailed directly to the competition chairman at rick@shutterfreaks.com.

Email Protocol:

The entry window will be open two weeks prior and will close at 7:30 PM the Monday preceding the competition.

For example: For the upcoming April 18th competition, you may email the files anytime between April 4th and 7:30 PM on Monday, April 16th.

Email images as attachments to the following address:

rick@shutterfreaks.com

Please address the subject line as follows:

(A,B)-Group, Full Name, Quantity

Example:

A-Group, John Doe Jr, Two

If you have any questions or problems with this process, please feel free to contact Robert Dant or John Setzler, Jr. through the contact information on the “Club Officers” page of this website.