*** Important Competition Rules Update October 2011 ***

Competition Changes

The Orlando Camera Club (“OCC”) holds all-digital competitions only. Please review these competition rules prior to entry.

Monthly Competitions

Themed Competitions –Themes will be announced in advance of the coming competition year and are posted on the OCC website. The Competition Chair may disqualify images if they are NOT consistent with the monthly theme. Even if accepted for entry to the Competition, images may be scored lower if their relevance to the monthly theme is marginal. Frontal nudity is not allowed.

Open Competitions –Entries to the Open Competitions are not limited to a specific theme, therefore; appropriate subject matter is allowable within the parameters set in the categories of competition. Frontal nudity is not allowed.

Annual Competition

The Annual Competition is only open to entries from monthly competitions submitted during the current Competition year. New images are not accepted. The criteria for selecting images for the Annual Competition are currently under review.

Eligibility

You must be a member in good standing with OCC to be eligible to enter monthly competitions. A current membership list will be used for verification.

Class

On joining the OCC, a member chooses to compete in one of two classes, “A” or “B”:

• Professional photographers will compete in Class A

• Any member may choose to compete in Class A

• Members ranked in “Class A” in FCCC competition must compete in Class A in OCC competitions

• Once Class A - always Class A

• Progression to Class A will take place immediately based on competition scores and/or performance in the Annual Competition

• Criteria for progression to Class A will be three or more scores of >9 or Best in Category awards

• Any Class B member winning First Place or Image of the Year in the Annual Competition will automatically be moved to Class A

Categories

There are three categories, each judged independently.

Color – All color images (except those defined as “Creative” below) are acceptable for inclusion, whether or not they have undergone digital manipulation. Partially desaturated images that result in a mixed color/monochrome image should be entered in the Color or the “Creative” category.

Monochromatic – All images which are either completely desaturated, or contain only a single color tone (e.g. sepia) are eligible for this category.

Creative – An image, which is a composite of more than one unique image, must be entered in this category. This does NOT include bracketed images taken for High Dynamic range (HDR) purposes as these images differ only by exposure and are not unique. However, any other image that the photographer deems “creative” may also be entered into this category. Please note, however, that Class A and B photographers will be judged together in this category. Those entering this category may also enter either color or monochrome categories.

Number of Entries

Number of Entries -­ Only Two different images per competition

That is: One qualifying entry in any TWO of the three categories is permitted.

Options for entries:
1. One color image and one mono image
2. One color image and one creative image
3. One mono image and one creative image

The same image may not be entered in more than one category or in more than one monthly competition.

That is: A color image that is entered in the competition may not be converted to monochrome and entered as a separate mono image.

All entries must be the original work of the entrant.

Judging

Either 2 or 3 judges will judge each competition. At least one of these will be a non-member from the local photographic community. One or two judges will be experienced members of OCC. Judges who are club members are not precluded from entering a competition but will NOT be allowed to score their own entries.

In each Category, the image with the highest score will receive a rosette for the Best of Category.

Scoring System

The rating system has changed to accommodate a new electronic scoring system in use by our judges. The new system is based on a scale from 65 - 99 where:

65 - 69: Image Needs Work

70 - 74: Average

75 - 79: Above Average

80 - 84: Deserving of Merit

85 - 89: Excellent

90 - 94: Superior

95 - 99: Exceptional

Awards

In each Category, the image with the highest score will receive a rosette for the Best of Category.

The winners of each Category may receive a gift from club sponsors.

Submission of Competition Entries

Entries may be rejected if these guidelines are not accurately followed.

1. ___ Images must be uploaded to the OCC Member Forum

To do this, go to www.orlandocameraclub.com/forum.

Select the link to the competition category that you are submitting your photo for.

You will need to enter the name of your image and select the .jpg file from your computer.

2. ___Images MUST be a jpg file with a .jpg extension.

3. ___Images MUST be sized under 3 megabytes.

4. ___Images MUST be 1400 pixels on the long edge.

Please click on the following link to the resizing examples pdf file for helpful instructions on resizing your images using a variety of different software applications.

5. ___Images MUST be 72 dpi.

6. ___Images MUST use the sRGB color profile.

7. ___ Entrants may submit TWO images per competition. Once you upload your image you should see a confirmation page stating that your image needs to be approved by an administrator.

8. ___ The deadline for submission is midnight on the MONDAY one week prior to Competition Night.

9. ___ Failure to adhere to these submission guidelines may result in your image(s) being disqualified for that month’s competition. Disqualified images may be re-submitted for future competitions if appropriate.

10. ___ Once an image is submitted, it cannot be revised or substituted for another. The image may be withdrawn by contacting the Competition Chair.

If you have any questions please feel free to email Competition Chair, Winnie Gustafson. She will be glad to help you.