Contests provide opportunities to share your photos and learn what makes a winning image.  We encourage all members to participate in one of 3 groups:  Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.  In addition to learning how you can improve your own images, you will see the work of your fellow members.   Contests are either digital, where the images are projected, or print.  For the print category, we encourage all members to try their hand at printing images – we provide print mounting instruction and demonstration and allow images as small as 8″x10″.   All judging is done by certified Judges – and the comments are always constructive and useful. Certificates are awarded to the contest winners.

Challenges provide a fun and relaxed opportunity to share your work with our members. Each member is asked to contribute up to three images to a slideshow of images which will be presented at the beginning of the club meeting. The challenges this season are categorized in two ways: reactive and intentional. The maker is either reacting to the world or actively looking for something or setting up a scene or scenario. Take these opportunities to be creative, “think outside the box” and have fun during both the capture and editing stages of your image.

When submitting images to challenges, competitions, critiques and "What am I?", the maximum size requirement for an image is 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. This sizing matches the (FHD) Full High Definition specification which is typical for many displays. The most important point to keep in mind is that the dimension sizing is a maximum for each side, not a combination.

How does this affect the makers?

• Makers can submit images with ANY aspect ratio as long as the resulting image has a maximum of 1920w AND 1080h.
• For example, if a maker resizes their image to be a maximum of 1920w and the other edge ends up being 1280, then the image is larger than the required specification maximum (the 1280 is greater than 1080). The action of the maker would be to resize the 1280 edge to a maximum of 1080. The longer, 1920, edge, will now be 1620. The result is that both edges are now within the maximum required sizing of 1920w and 1080h. And the maker's desired 6:4 ratio is intact.
• Similarly, if the maker has a square image, the image will be sized to a maximum of 1080.

The Contest Schedule for 2022-2023:

Digital Competition# 1 (November 17, 2022):

Nature Birds/Animals

This category is open to any type of animal or bird; domesticated or wild. e.g. mammals, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, crustaceans, fish, insects, family pets, ducks, geese, herons, raptors, song birds, sea and shore birds, etc. Images may be shot in a studio, zoo setting or in the wild. Artificial backgrounds ARE permitted either in studio or the wild. Any form of image manipulation is allowed as long as the results look natural. Large areas of black/solid/ manipulated background are permissible. Hand of Man is allowed. No artificial or taxidermy specimens.

Creative – Shadows and Silhouettes

This is a creative category. Light and shadow photography aims to create patterns, abstracts, and a combination of silhouettes. There is no limit on the ideas you can implement in light and shadow photography.

Any form of image manipulation is allowed.

Beach – Hometown Pride

This is a pictorial category in which the images tell a story of what The Beach is all about.

Note: The images from this category will automatically be submitted for consideration for the 23/24 Beach Photo Club Calendar.

Open

Any subject matter is acceptable.

Digital Competition# 2 (February 16, 2023):

Expansive Views (Hand Of Man Allowed)

(Landscapes, Seascapes, Skyscapes, Natural phenomena, Geology, Astronomy.)

Landscape is described as an expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view. Seascape is described as an expanse of water in which the water or waves predominate. Coastal features or the shoreline may be included.

Skyscape is described as a representation of the sky which can omit any view of land or anything else which might help to suggest scale or orientation.

Natural Phenomena refers to an observable event which is not man-made. Examples include: sunrise, weather, tornadoes, biological processes, decomposition, germination, physical processes, frost, ice patterns, snowflakes, wave propagation, erosion, tidal flow and natural disasters such as electromagnetic pulses, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. 

Geology is described as a natural geological formation. Objects, features, and processes of geological significance.

Any form of image manipulation is allowed as long as the results look natural.

Hand of Man is allowed.

People in Action

This category must include a person, or a group of people, engaged in an activity depicting physical motion. This can be related to sports, hobbies or leisurely activities where the activity is represented as the principle subject. E.g. running, canoeing, bicycle riding, car or boat racing, etc., The intent is to show a person in obvious motion or action, not merely engaged in an activity in which the motion is passive or slow. A physical person, or evidence of a person, must be present in the image. It is not required that the person’s face be visible if it is clear that there is a person engaged in an activity in which there is obvious action taking place. E.g. a skier in full gear, race car driver with helmet visible through window, a racing vehicle (such as a car or boat) would be eligible as long as there is clear evidence of a person. 

Any form of image manipulation is allowed as long as the results look natural.

Creative – Monochrome

This is a creative category. Monochrome photography is any photography that utilizes differing amounts of light instead of different colours to capture and represent images. Take only one single colour and use a range of tones of that colour.

Any form of image manipulation is allowed.

Open

Any subject matter is acceptable.

Digital Competition# 3 (May 18, 2023):

Architecture

This category is limited to images of any architectural manmade structure. The subject must be a significant aspect of a landscape or cityscape. E.g. building exteriors/interiors, architectural details, bridges, piers, etc. 

Any form of image manipulation is allowed although the intent is that images look natural.

Pictorial

Creative – Altered Reality

This is a creative category. The image may be of any subject matter and must obviously display a change in natural colour, form, shape or any combination of these three. All images must be original and may not incorporate elements produced by anyone else. Artwork or computer graphics generated by the entrant may be incorporated if the original photographic content predominates. Images may not be constructed entirely within a computer.

Any form of image manipulation is allowed.

Open

Any subject matter is acceptable.

 

The Challenge Schedule for 2022-2023:

Sept 22: Summer Scavenger Hunt Results (5 categories)

This challenge consists of 5 categories: cool down, summer food, sports/activities, festivals and  sunset. Enjoy your summer!

October 6: Waves and Ripples

Ripples are the instant effect of wind on water and they die down as quickly as they form, as the surface tension of the water dampens their efforts. If a wind blows steadily across a large enough patch of water for a few hours then the ripples become waves and these will not be dampened so easily. Waves always travel in the same direction as the wind is blowing. Be creative. Where else can you find ripples and waves?

Nov 3: Seven Colours of the Rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)

Find ways to incorporate the seven colours of the rainbow into your image. It could be an actual rainbow, a refraction through a prism, or a scene with 7 seven colours. Be creative!

Dec 1: Intentional Camera Movement

Intentional camera movement (ICM) is a photographic technique where you move the camera as the image is taken. There are no hard and fast rules. It is all about experimentation. Have fun!

Jan 5: Still Life

In still life photography, the subject matter is inanimate commonplace objects. The composition and lighting are key and you have all the time in the world to perfect your vision and make your still life come alive. 

Feb 2: Red

The purpose of this challenge is to focus on the colour red. 

Mar 2: Good-bye Winter

This will be a collection of your iciest, coldest images from winter. Let’s say “Good-bye Winter!”.

 

April 6: In Camera Multiple Exposure

The intent of this challenge is to explore your camera. Is it capable of doing multiple exposures? How is this accomplished? Can your phone do multiple exposures? If your equipment cannot do multiple exposures, then editing multiple images for the same effect is accepted. Have fun and be creative!

May 4: Sayings Illustrated

This challenge requires research and setup. Choose a favourite saying such as “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”. Now create a composition for that saying. During the presentation, we will ask the membership to try to guess the saying. Have fun!