Competition Rules

Huntington Camera Club

(Revised August 2004)  

Print a copy here

I. CLASSES

Masters Class – Those who have, in previous years of club competition, established photographic skills in a specific category superior to Class A workers, or, met the requirements of II below. 

Class A – Those who have, in previous years of club competition, established photographic skills in a specific category superior to Class B workers, or, met the requirements of II below. 

Class B – All others.

The Competition Chairperson may, with the approval of the Executive Board, combine classes if in their judgment there are not enough workers in a class. If a category does not have all 3 classes, the competition chairman may request approval from the Executive Board to add them when the number of workers in the existing classes justifies the expansion.

 

II. ELIGIBILITY AND CLASS ASSIGNMENT

A. Only those members whose dues are paid for the year may compete. Payment must be made to the Treasurer on or before the competition date. 

B. New or returning members will be assigned to Class B unless they have previously competed in a higher class at this or another club, in which case they must, prior to the first entered competition, submit six prints or slides for the desired category for evaluation. The Competition Chairperson will select a committee of three Masters in the category, who will determine in which class the member should enter. Any member wishing to enter a category for the first time (e.g. Black and White prints after only competing in slides) or a higher class must follow this same procedure. 

C. No change in class may be made during the competition year. 

D. Once having competed in Masters or Class A, a member may not compete in a lower class, even if the member has not entered a competition for a period of time. If a class is eliminated, the member retains that designation in the event it is ever re-instated.

E. The Competition Chairperson will review the standing of the competitors at the end of the competition year and, at his discretion, move the first place winners in each class to the next higher class. The Competition Chairman and/or his designees may review any member who has achieved a second place ranking two or more years in a row and determine whether or not that member is moved up to the next class. 

F. The Class A and B winners must move up to the next level. In case of a tie in A or B, both must move up to the next level. 

G. If the Competition Chairman and Executive Board decide to expand from 2 classes to 3 in a category, the expanded class shall consist of all previous members of that class as well as those in the lower class who are selected by the Competition Chairman and his designees. If a member of the lower class so selected feels this move is unjustified he/she may petition the Executive Board to over rule this decision. If there is insufficient time for the Board to decide the matter prior to the first competition, the President shall appoint a committee of 3 members to review the petition and make a recommendation for his decision.  

H. Placement in a class in one category does not affect placement in another category.

 

III. ENTRY CATEGORIES

A. Black & White Prints – Black & White prints may be either mono-chromatic or have one additional color. The color may be an overall tint (such as sepia) or locally applied (a yellow sun). If the print contains more than one color or more than one color is added (such as in hand coloring) then the print must be entered as a color print. Prints may be made by any means including conventional paper and chemicals, Polaroid's, inkjet, laser or dye sublimation printers, etc., however, they must have originated in a light sensitive medium (see IV below). 

B. Color Prints – Prints which contain multiple colors, including mono-chrome with more than one added color. Prints may be made by any means including conventional paper and chemicals, Polaroid's, inkjet, laser or dye sublimation printers, etc., however, they must have originated in a light sensitive medium (see IV below). 

C. Slides – May be either monochrome or color. Slides must be in a 2 x 2 inch mount.

 

IV. ORIGINAL WORK

All work submitted must be the maker’s original photography. Copies of other two-dimensional art or the use of existing digital images created by another are NOT permitted unless the maker has created a distinctly original work from it. All work must originally have been created PHOTOGRAPHICALLY by the maker. That is, the original image must have been captured by any means such as a conventional film camera, pinhole camera, digital camera, etc., as long as the medium is sensitive to light. 

The original photograph may be manipulated in any way, such as hand copying, spot toning (retouching) burning, dodging, bleaching, distorting, air brushing, painting, etc., either by hand, mechanically or in a computer, provided such manipulations are under the direct supervision of the member. 

The original photograph may be combined with others taken by the member by sandwiching, montaging, pasting, etc., either mechanically or in a computer, provided the combining is under the direct supervision of the member and every element added to the photograph was created by the member.

 

V. SPECIFICATIONS FOR ENTRIES.

A. Prints

1. All prints must be mounted on sturdy material capable of standing unaided in a print display box. 

2. Prints may be horizontal or vertical. The print must be a minimum of 5x7 to a maximum of 16x20. The mount may be any size as long as it fits in the club’s display box, but not more than 16x20 inches. 

3. Prints must be two-dimensional unframed, with nothing laid over the printed surface. No prints are to be mounted on wood or in any manner which might damage other prints (above or below) when place in a stack. This particularly applies to glue, tape or metal clips. Prints so mounted will be rejected at the sole discretion of the Competition representative. 

B. Slides

1. Slides may be commercially processed and must be in a 2x2 inch mount.

 

VI. MARKING PRINTS AND SLIDES.

A. Prints

1. On the back of each mount, draw a sizable and clearly visible arrow, pointing to the top of the print. 

2. A club competition sticker or facsimile, with the required information Title, Photographer’s name, Competition Date, Class, Make-up if applicable), must be affixed near the upper right-hand corner on the back of the mount. 

B. Slides

1. Each slide must be correctly spotted. Use a large solid dot, preferably red or black, on the lower left corner of the mount, with slide viewed properly, left to right, top to bottom, when held up to the light. See illustration below.

 

     

      

2. The club’s PFLI # (17) and class letter must be written on the side of the slide above the spot. The maker’s name must be written (upside down) along the bottom of the slide (next to the spot dot). The Title of the slide must be written (upside down) along the top of the slide. The club name (HCC) should be written on the fourth side. 

3. Glass or plastic mounted slides must bear an external label so they can be marked for PFLI competition and the items called for in items 1 and 2, above. Slides which are too thick to fall freely in an 80 slide Carousel projector shall be rejected. 

 

VII. MONTHLY COMPETITIONS

A. A club year will consist of nine monthly competitions, September through May. 

B. All entries must be received no later than 10 minutes prior to the announced start of the meeting on competition night to be eligible for judging. Late entries shall be accepted at the discretion of the Competition Chairman. 

C. Each member may submit two entries in each category. Should a member submit only one entry in a category such single entry shall constitute a full entry. The other may not be "made-up" later. 

D. Members who miss one or more monthly competitions, or join later in the club year, may make-up only one missed entry for each of the missed months. Only one make-up entry in each category may be submitted in any month. Make-ups are limited to a total of three per category for the club year. Make-ups must be clearly marked on the print or slide mount with an "MU" plus the month being made up. 

E. If a member has a situation that is considered extreme or unusual in nature, which has caused them to miss at least 4 competitions in any club year, they may petition the Board for more than 3 make-ups. (Note: This provision will generally only be granted in cases of severe hardship). 

F. Scoring for all images at a competition will range from 5 to 9, with half-point increments. Therefore, scoring will consist of 5, 5 1/2, 6, 6 ½, 7, 7 ½, 8, 8 ½, and 9.   

G. Ribbons will be awarded for each entry that received a score of 8 or 9. Only  “B” workers will receive ribbons. A– and - Masters will have to sign up to receive them. 

H. An entry which receives a score of 7 or less may be re-entered in subsequent competitions. 

I. Any entry which receives a score or 8 or 9 in a monthly competition may not be re-entered in the same or later year, regardless of variations or changes made. 

J. No print or slide previously entered in another club’s competition and exhibited at PFLI may be entered here. 

K. Members need not be present to have their work judged. 

L. Non-compliance with any entry rule will result in rejection or disqualification of the entry. The Competition Chairperson or his designee will be the sole judge of acceptability on competition nights. 

M. Annual Awards

1. The member’s highest score from each monthly competition will be totaled to arrive at a cumulative score for each category.

2. First, second and third place awards will be presented at the annual awards meeting. No award will be made if a member receives a cumulative score of less than 60 points.

3. There will be no award for any category in which there were not three members competing in at least in four monthly competitions.

4. A separate award will be made for the highest total year-end score in a category regardless of class, by counting every score (both monthly entries).

5. In the event of a tie, duplicate awards will be made.

6. The Executive Board may present a "Most Improved" award to a worker in class B. This award will be based on a comparison of the first four months with the scores from the last four months.

 

N. PRINT & SLIDE OF THE YEAR

1. Black & White print, Color print and Slide of the year competitions are held during the annual award meeting.

2. A member may submit up to four entries per category.

3. Each entry must have been submitted during one of the year’s nine monthly competitions.

4. The Joseph Giambalvo Memorial Cup for the Image of the Year will be awarded to the winner among the categories.

 

O. DISPUTES

1. If a member believes anyone’s slide or print has been submitted in contravention to any competition rule, they should mention it to the Competition Chairperson after the competition. This may result in cancellation of the score with no make-up allowed.

2. The Executive Board will decide any disputes concerning the interpretation or execution of these rules.

 

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Last modified: February 23, 2008