©Larry Headley "French Laundry Day" 1st Place Travel N4C May 2022
Competition: Introduction
Our members challenge themselves by submitting photographs to compete against other members on both a local and regional basis. Our local club competition events are held most months as described below. Additionally, our club is a member of the North Central Camera Club Council (N4C), an association of 37 clubs in an 11-state area. Like our club, N4C holds competition events most months and a full description is provided below.
- In 2023 our club holds Digital Contests in the months of February, May, and October.
- We hold Print Contests in the month of April.
- See OCC Handbook for complete rules
Competition: Description of Categories
The following subject category definitions are presented as a guide to persons entering the monthly contests so that all entries may be judged fairly and equally. To some extent, their interpretation is subjective, and all judges have some personal biases. It is our intent to minimize these differences. These definitions are as clear and precise as we are able to state them, though it is not possible to cover all eventualities and answer all questions. Generally, those entries that conform most closely to the subject definitions have the greatest chance of success in the contests.
Altered Reality
Altered Reality photography is an opportunity for those who dare to explore the experimental and creative forms of photographic expression. These will include, but not be limited to derived images, ultra-high contrast, black light, bas-relief, solarization, multi-images, trick lenses and filters, and other ways to alter the image to produce a new abstract effect. Just about anything goes. The important thing is the result, not the means to create it. This area of photography bridges between photographic realism and creative art. It is very difficult to judge and there are literally no rules to follow. Generally, concentration on form and color rather than detail in the image will help you succeed.
Homework
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The Homework category refers to the monthly subjects determined by the OCC members during the business meeting each November. Subjects are selected for 12 months at a time and allow members a minimum of 12 months to capture. For example, during our November 2020 meeting, we selected twelve (12) subjects to be taken after January 1st 2021 for submission during the year 2022.
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Our current Homework selections are:
Homework Assignments 2023 - 2024
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journalism
Journalism Photography or Photojournalism means simply the telling of a story by the use of a picture, or a sequence of related separate pictures arranged for presentation as a single entry. The type of photograph that one sees in the newspaper or magazines that depicts some event or activity is what is meant. The caption is important, but the best journalistic photographs tell their own stories and don’t always need a caption. A good picture is, after all, worth more than a thousand words. An element of human interest is important and virtually essential for pictures to succeed in competition. Interest is paramount, but good composition and technique will often make the difference that decides the winners.
Special note for Nature Images and Journalism Images
The only digital editing that can be allowed must fit with the N4C definition for acceptable Journalism or Nature images. In the interest of credibility, photographs which misrepresent the truth, such as manipulation to alter the subject matter, or situations which are set up for the purpose of photography, are unacceptable. No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, combined or changed in any way that affects the integrity of the image content. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be added or applied, and any sharpening must appear natural.
The only digital editing that can be allowed must fit with the N4C definition for acceptable Journalism or Nature images. In the interest of credibility, photographs which misrepresent the truth, such as manipulation to alter the subject matter, or situations which are set up for the purpose of photography, are unacceptable. No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, combined or changed in any way that affects the integrity of the image content. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be added or applied, and any sharpening must appear natural.
nature
- No photograph is worth the distress or injury to any wild creature.
- Nature photography is simply the recording of our natural world by some photographic means. Included are all branches of nature except Archeology and Anthropology.
- The hand of man shall not be present in any nature entry except where wild birds or animals have invaded man’s world such as fence posts and other man-made objects freely adapted for use by wild creatures.
- Banding or tagging on nature subjects is acceptable. Photographs at bird feeders are not acceptable if any part of a man-made feeder is shown in the photograph.
- Photographs taken in zoos, animal farms or game farms are acceptable as long as the setting remains natural and the hand of man is not visible.
- Cultivated plants, domestic animals and pets are not acceptable and should be entered in other categories.
Special note for Nature Images and Journalism Images
The only digital editing that can be allowed must fit with the N4C definition for acceptable Journalism or Nature images. In the interest of credibility, photographs which misrepresent the truth, such as manipulation to alter the subject matter, or situations which are set up for the purpose of photography, are unacceptable. No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, combined or changed in any way that affects the integrity of the image content. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be added or applied, and any sharpening must appear natural.
The only digital editing that can be allowed must fit with the N4C definition for acceptable Journalism or Nature images. In the interest of credibility, photographs which misrepresent the truth, such as manipulation to alter the subject matter, or situations which are set up for the purpose of photography, are unacceptable. No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, combined or changed in any way that affects the integrity of the image content. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be added or applied, and any sharpening must appear natural.
pictorial
In pictorial photography we are concerned with the artistic quality of the presentation of the subject rather than with the subject itself. Literally, all subjects qualify, but since “Interest” accounts for one-third of the score, subjects that catch the viewer’s eye will have an advantage. The judges will be seeking answers to the question, “Did the photographer simply record the subject, or did he/she through the photographic process enhance the viewer’s interest in the subject?” Pictorialism may be accomplished by meticulous photographic technique, proper presentation, careful composition, or most likely all of these factors.
travel
Travel implies going to some place other than one’s customary environment, and photo-travel photography suggests the photographic depiction of that new environment or the means used to get there. There is no definition of how far away that environment must be to qualify as “travel” or how different that new environment must be. However, the judges will generally award prizes to those photographs that depict more exotic and unfamiliar places, even though such places are “home” to someone. Good photographic technique and particularly the ability to convey the feeling and flavor of the place visited will help you be a winner. Try to emphasize the character that makes the place unique from other places. Be sure to state the state or nation in the title where the picture was made on the slide or print.
Omaha Camera Club Competition Rules
Digital Competition
digital image submission guidelines
- Before you enter please read the Description of Contest Categories (below) to confirm eligibility. With the exception of Homework, our categories mirror the N4C categories. You can look at past entries at our OCC Smugmug site (https://occ.smugmug.com) and winners of N4C at (http://n4c.us/Winner_Galleries.htm).
- File sizing, maximum 1920 pixels/side, and <= 750 KB overall file size
- sRGB color space
- Entry Deadline: Last day of the month.
- Number of Entries: 2 per category with a maximum of 7 overall.
- Reveal Night: 2nd meeting of the month (3rd Tuesday).
- All entries must be the work of the entering photographer.
- If you have questions, contact Steve Walling at sw.occ.oma@gmail.com
resizing photos
- If you have questions on how to resize your photo in order to submit for competition, you might refer to one of the following videos: (Note: some of the videos are a bit dated but they can give you an idea of the process).
- Exporting from Lightroom Classic: https://youtu.be/vqk6Qbb6F-E
- Lightroom Export Presets: https://youtu.be/mMB1Nbopqwo
- Exporting from Photoshop: https://youtu.be/BEqmSllYtp4
how to label entries for Occ competition
This is an example of a correctly named contest image.
The example begins with “NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg
This is your personal N4C member number. You are assigned this number when you join the club. If you do not know your number, refer to your name in the club roster or contact N4C representative Nikki McDonald nmcdonald@cox.net
The second section of the example is “NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg The “DP” in the example shows that you entered the image in the Pictorial category of the contest.
Digital Categories
- NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg
The example begins with “NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg
This is your personal N4C member number. You are assigned this number when you join the club. If you do not know your number, refer to your name in the club roster or contact N4C representative Nikki McDonald nmcdonald@cox.net
The second section of the example is “NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg The “DP” in the example shows that you entered the image in the Pictorial category of the contest.
Digital Categories
- DA = the Digital Altered Reality contest category
- DH = the Digital Homework contest category
- DJ = the Photojournalism contest category
- DN = the Digital Nature contest category
- DP = the Digital Pictorial contest category
- DT = the Digital Travel contest category
- The third section of the example is “NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg The “Beautiful Sunset” is your image title. Spaces are only allowed within the title. Note: For Travel category, the name needs to include the state or nation where the picture was taken.
The fourth section of the example is “NE001,DP,Beautiful Sunset.jpg This is the file type –your computer will automatically add this when you name an image that is in .jpg file format.
When all the images are ready, prepare an email that includes your name and the month of the competition. Attach the images individually. The file sizes are small so you don’t need to compress them into a zip file. If you are using an Apple PC – please attach rather than embedding the images. - Send your OCC contest entries to occdigitalcontest@gmail.com by the first day of the contest month.
how digital judging is conducted
How Digital Judging is Conducted:
Judges will be assigned at the discretion of the Chairperson. There will normally be three judges for the digital contests.
Judges will be assigned at the discretion of the Chairperson. There will normally be three judges for the digital contests.
- Judges are sent an email with judging instructions, score sheets and links to the images so they may review the selections in their homes.
- Technique: Focus, lighting, color rendition, exposure, print quality.
- Interest: Originality, imagination, interpretation, subject, impact, mood, humor, etc.
- Composition: Arrangement of all elements within the picture area so
the subject matter is presented as a harmonious, well- balanced photograph. - Each judge will have a total of ten points maximum to give each image. Judges determine if the image follows the category rules – if it doesn’t they award the image a score of 1. If one of the images in the group belongs to the person judging, they need to score the image as 0 and indicate that it is their image.
- Guidelines: For the one score (2 – 9 points) methods the following scoring guideline would be used:
- 2,3 or 4 image weaker than most entries.
- 5 or 6 marginally acceptable image.
- 7 good acceptable image.
- 8 very good image, close contender for an award.
- 9 worthy of consideration of a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place award.
- As soon as judging is complete the judges return the score sheets to the chairperson. The results are tallied. In cases where a judge had an image in the category, the scores of the other two judges are added together and divided by two. The result is the score used for the image. For example, suppose the scores were 0, 6 and 8. Six and eight would be added together (14) and divided by two = (7) This would make the image scores 7, 6 and 8 for a total score of 21. The chairperson will use the scores to determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.
- If there are ties for any of the awards, the chairperson will ask each of the judges to rank the images that tied. (If one of these images happens to belong to one of the judges – the judge will still need to rank the images.)
- The results are then forwarded to the Digital Competition Chair – Allen Kurth.
- The contest results are shown during the second meeting of the month.
- You can view all the images and results at our SmugMug site - https://occ.smugmug.com/
- You can help your fellow members by adding constructive comments to their images in the SmugMug site. You will need to be logged in to make comments. You can use your Facebook login here or your personal SmugMug login.
Print Competition
print submission guidelines
- Print competition shall be held twice per year, spring & fall (generally April and October). Note: the spring competition (still under review) with an outside judge differs from our October “member judged” competition. (See Handbook starting on page 8, you can find a link to the handbook on the Club Resources page).
print competition categories
Print Competition Categories
- A = Altered Reality
- H = Homework (a different subject each month)
- J = Journalism
- P = Pictorial
- N = Nature
- T = Travel
How Print judging is conducted
(note: this section is still under review )
- Judging and critiquing for print competitions will be performed by all club members in attendance for
one of the print competitions, and by one outside judge at the other competition. - If a judge determines that an entry does not satisfy the category, they will give the entry a score and place a “DQ” next to the score. If two or more judges place a “DQ” beside their score, the entry will be removed from competition by the chairperson. The chairperson will notify the maker that the entry has been disqualified and the maker may enter the image in another competition at a later date.
- Print judging criteria will be determined by the print chairman at the time of competition.
- Note: the April competition with an outside judge and differs from our October “member judged” competition. (See handbook starting on page 8).
Show & Tell F.A.Q.
What is show and tell?
“Show and Tell” is an opportunity to share some of your personal photographs with fellow members. It may be of a recent trip you took, an event you attended, a special project you are working on or just some family pictures of a celebration.
Photos can be shown by the member with or without the request for feedback/critique. It is an opportunity for members to invite feedback and discussion of their photos towards a goal of improvement.
Photos can be shown by the member with or without the request for feedback/critique. It is an opportunity for members to invite feedback and discussion of their photos towards a goal of improvement.
how many photos should i submit?
Generally up to 8, but only 3 or 4 if you would like specific feedback regarding them. Remember that we do have some time constraints and other members will want to share their photos during our meeting.
how should i submit photos?
New Method: Each month for Show and Tell, you will receive an email with a link to PollUnit to upload your images. Simply follow the instructions in the email as well as on PollUnit to upload your images.
Old Method: A link to the club's Google Drive account will be sent to the membership prior to our Show & Tell meeting. Place your photos in a folder and then click on the link and drag your folder to the Google Drive workspace. The deadline for photo submission is the Sunday prior to our meeting date.
Since most email servers limit the size of your attachments to 35mb, it is recommended that you limit your photos to 1MB or 2MB in size.
Since most email servers limit the size of your attachments to 35mb, it is recommended that you limit your photos to 1MB or 2MB in size.
how do i make the folder easy to find?
Put your photos in a folder on your computer. Name the folder using the date of the Show and Tell and whatever info you think helpful. For example: for a September 2021 Show & Tell, member Mark Anderson might label his thumb drive one of the following:
- MarkASnT202109
- Show and Tell September 2021
- My Photos 092021
(Photos will be shown in the order they are received on the Google Drive unless you specify differently.)
what should i name my photos?
Filenames don’t matter at all, unless you want your photos to be shown in a particular order. In that case, name your files alphanumerically in the order you would like them to be seen. Examples:
• 01, 02, 03, etc.
• a,b,c,d,etc.
• 01, 02, 03, etc.
• a,b,c,d,etc.
what file type should i use?
JPG is highly preferred. If you’re concerned about data loss, try PNG.
does file size matter?
No, but maximum 1920 pixels on the long side is good. Smaller may not display well on the screen.
what is i want to do something different from above?
Go for it. Your participation is most important.
i just take pictures and all this geek stuff confuses me. what should i do?
If you are confused you can reach out through our Facebook page, or send an email to the membership or contact our President, Don Otis at donaldotis@mac.com.
Pollunit instructions for show and tell
| show___tell_pollunit_participant.pdf |
Note: Please don't confuse "Show & Tell" guidelines with the Club competition or N4C rules!
North Central Camera Club Council (N4C) Competition
N4C competition is competition among 37 clubs in a 11-state area. While their rules for submission are close to our club’s, you should refer to the council’s specific guidelines at http://n4c.us/N4C_Contest_Rules_2020-2021.pdf The major difference between N4C competition and our club’s is that N4C has a “Black & White” category where we have substituted a “Homework” category.
Normally each member may submit one entry per category with a maximum of six entries per member AND a club quota of eight maximum within a category. When our club is asked to judge a category for N4C (ie. Nature), then we are not allowed to submit entries for that category that month. This is made up in the following month when our club is allowed to double our Nature entries. When we have more entries from members than are allowed, we will have a runoff within the club to determine which will be submitted to N4C.
All entries for N4C should be submitted to Nikki McDonald at omahan4c@cox.net and are due by the first of the month.
While N4C hosts both digital and print competition, our club currently only participates in the digital competition.
Normally each member may submit one entry per category with a maximum of six entries per member AND a club quota of eight maximum within a category. When our club is asked to judge a category for N4C (ie. Nature), then we are not allowed to submit entries for that category that month. This is made up in the following month when our club is allowed to double our Nature entries. When we have more entries from members than are allowed, we will have a runoff within the club to determine which will be submitted to N4C.
All entries for N4C should be submitted to Nikki McDonald at omahan4c@cox.net and are due by the first of the month.
While N4C hosts both digital and print competition, our club currently only participates in the digital competition.
Photographic Society of America (PSA) Competition
Our club is an affiliate of Photographic Society of America. The Photographic Society of America (PSA), founded in 1934, is a world-wide organization providing abundant resources for photographers, from the novice to the professional. PSA offers on-line learning, webinars, study groups, competitions, mentors and consultants. Membership is in over 80 countries, 5,000 members, 460 Camera Clubs and 12 Chapters across the United States.
You need to join PSA as an individual in order to access their member services and to enter competitions. Please go to https://psa-photo.org for more information.
You need to join PSA as an individual in order to access their member services and to enter competitions. Please go to https://psa-photo.org for more information.
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