Competition Rules
GENERAL RULES
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
MOVEMENT BETWEEN GROUPS
MEDIA SPECIFIC RULES
PRINTED MEDIA
DIGITAL MEDIA
COMPETITION SPECIFIC RULES
NATURAL WORLD
This competition will be a print competition from 2021 until decided otherwise. It should be noted that this competition is unique to HPS and intended to encourage members to photograph flora (e.g. wild plants, fungi, moss etc) and fauna (e.g. wild animals, birds and insects) within their natural environment, but without the stringent rules usually applied to Natural History competitions by the PAGB, RPS FIAP and their member or affiliated organisations.
QUARTERLY COMPETITIONS
SET SUBJECT COMPETITIONS (DIGITAL)
PANEL COMPETITIONS
ANNUAL OPEN PRINT COMPETITION
COMPETITION MARKING & SCORING
The following scoring system will be used for all competitions.
The judge will award 1st, 2nd, 3rd places and three Highly Commended images. Images that are held back but not given a score will be considered as Commended. For the purpose of determining year end winners, points will be allocated as follows.
1st 20 points
2nd 19 points
3rd 18 points
Highly Commended 17 points
Commended 16 points
All other entries will be awarded 15 points.
Where 2 entries are submitted only the highest score of the 2 will be carried forward to the final year total.
SPECIFIC COMPETITION AWARDS
The MIKE VARLEY CUP: Awarded for the first place in the Panel of 4 competition
The ROGER BAKER CUP: Awarded for the first place Panel of Three to Five printed images.
The LINTOTT CUP: Awarded for the first place in the Annual Open Print Competition.
The CAROL BAILEY TROPHY Awarded to the Most Improved Photographer of the Year - Intermediate Group only
The PDI TROPHY Awarded to the member with the highest marks in the Digital Competitions.
The QUARTERLY TROPHY Awarded to the member with the highest marks in the Quarterly Competitions.
The MOST IMPROVED PHOTOGRAPHER (Group 2): This will be decided by the Competition’s Secretary in consultation with the Chairman. This will take into account the overall performance of the photographer both in terms on overall average score and placings in the yearly competitions. This may not be won by any member 2 years in a row.
TROPHIES
PRESENTATION ENVIRONMENT (This section is for guidance only)
DIGITAL PROJECTION
The digital projector used is an EPSON TW2000. This projector native resolution is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. The image management system used will accept an image of almost any size and will automatically convert it to fit the projector. Please note that image conversion could be at the expense of image characteristics which may be of importance to the competitor. It is advisable, but not necessary, that the competitor sizes their own images accordingly.
The expected colour profile is “sRGB IE61966-2.1”. It is assumed that an image file that is not tagged with a colour profile is to be treated as “sRGB IE61966-2.1”. It is good practice to ensure that the images are presented in correct colour profile and tagged as such. Other profiles such as Adobe RGB will probably be converted to “sRGB IE61966-2.1” using relative colorimetric rendering intent.
EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS
DOCUMENT HISTORY
23 March 2011
Major layout and content changes. There are a number of trophies yet to be selected.
29 March 2011
Grammatical changes, removal of “image priority” from the digital file name syntax, clarification of
para 1 in Print of The Year. There are a number of trophies yet to be selected.
01 April 2011
Chapter “Subject Specific Rules” added.
09 April 2011
In “Digital Media” make reference to “PRESENTATION ENVIRONMENT”
28 November 2016
Inclusion of rules governing print size and limit of 2 uses of any image.
Inclusion of Priority in digital image format.
Rationalization of trophies
29 November 2017
Changes to scoring system for competitions.
Additional photographer of the year added.
Clarification of promotion rule from main competition to Photographer of the Year.
Addition of a yearly PDI competition.
Clarification of the rules for Natural History.
September 2020
Rules updated to reflect the current competition environment and software
Further clarification to Natural History Rules.
Change of natural History form a PDI competition to Print
Addition of minimum mount sizes
Clarification of movement between groups
- Only work from paid up members shall be accepted.
- All images shall be the member’s own work.
- Each entry shall have a title (or be identified as ‘No Title 1,2……’), which shall be announced during the judging. The text shall be clearly legible otherwise it shall be announced “No Title”
- The Competitions Secretary will determine the number of entries permitted in each group in consultation with the committee.
- The Competition secretary will send notification for entries to the competition to all members detailing the type of competitions.
- The closing date and time for all competitions will be the Sunday prior to the competition, all digital entries must be submitted before 1300 on that day. For the print competitions the digital upload and title will be subject to the same deadlines.
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
- There shall be two competition groups Group 1 (advanced) Group 2 (Intermediate).
- New members will be assigned to the appropriate group after submitting 5 images for review, as outlined on the membership application form. The group assignment will be made by a panel taken from the advanced group. This panel will be ad hoc, and their decision will be final.
MOVEMENT BETWEEN GROUPS
- Any member may request to be moved between groups at any time, stating in writing and providing evidence as to why this should be considered. This move will only take effect at the beginning of the next society year. The member will be informed by the Competition Secretary as to the decision. This decision is final.
- The winner of the Photographer of the Year from Group 2 shall be promoted to Group 1. and they will be ineligible to request a group move until the end of the next years competitions. At the end of the competition year they may then apply to move groups under the rules in paragraph 1. This would have to be done at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the society year.Groups 1 and 2 may be amalgamated when the number of club members reduces to a level that it is impractical to have 2 groups. This decision will be taken by the committee without reference to the general membership.
MEDIA SPECIFIC RULES
PRINTED MEDIA
- All prints shall be mounted on stiff card and clearly labelled with the title, photographers name and group. The preferable size of mounted prints shall be 40 x 50 cm. This however is the maximum size. Given the presentation environment they mounted size must not be less than A4
- The rear of image mounts must be free of any residual adhesive, undried ink or any abrasive material that may damage other entries.
- Labels or text should be positioned to indicate the correct print display orientation.
- Prints may be commercially processed. Prints framed with glass or other hazardous material shall not be accepted.
- Images entered for print competitions must also be uploaded to the PhotoEntry System before to the notified closing date and time.
- Print entries must be submitted to the competition’s secretary or deputy by 19:45 on the relevant evening. Late entries will not be accepted.
- Digital copies of the print entries will be sent to the judge prior to the live session so that they may have sufficient time to review them if they choose.
DIGITAL MEDIA
- Images for digital competitions shall be submitted via the PhotoEntry System and conform to the maximum size of 1920 pixels wide by 1080 tall. These must be Jpeg images and the colour space set to (sRGB IE61966-2.1).
- Digital copies of the print entries will be sent to the judge prior to the live session so that they may have sufficient time to review them if they choose.
- Images that the author intends to have “No title” as the title must be named as such in the PhotoEntry system so that the Competitions Secretary is clear of intent.
COMPETITION SPECIFIC RULES
NATURAL WORLD
This competition will be a print competition from 2021 until decided otherwise. It should be noted that this competition is unique to HPS and intended to encourage members to photograph flora (e.g. wild plants, fungi, moss etc) and fauna (e.g. wild animals, birds and insects) within their natural environment, but without the stringent rules usually applied to Natural History competitions by the PAGB, RPS FIAP and their member or affiliated organisations.
- In order to maintain the integrity of the image within the spirit of the competition, only minimal post processing is allowed and shall be restricted to cropping, adjustment of levels, contrast, sharpening and the removal of minor distractions.
- There shall be no manipulation of the image that causes misrepresentation of the subject or the environment in which it is found. This includes copying and cloning or any other amalgamation of 2 or more separate images. Photo stacking however is allowed.
- The main subject of the image must be alive. (So, for example, a live raptor with its dead prey would be permitted).
- Skeletal remains of insects and objects like seashells, that have been used or created by an animal in its life cycle, are also permitted, subject to them being taken in situ.
- Domesticated, farm, zoo, or captive animals are not permitted. Plants should be wild rather than cultivated, but images of wild animals or birds, in or among cultivated crops, shall be permitted if it is their natural environment.
- Landscapes and Seascapes are allowed but should not include manmade structures other than when such structures demonstrate the force of nature.
- Any natural history subject must be captured in situ; studio captures that are defined as still life are not allowed.
QUARTERLY COMPETITIONS
- Each entry may be submitted into one Quarterly only. Images used in a Quarterly may be used in other competitions and vice versa. Any image may only be used a maximum of two times in competition with the exception of the Annual Open Print Competition.
- Where there is a tie, the place numbering shall continue consecutively.
SET SUBJECT COMPETITIONS (DIGITAL)
- The subject is defined in the annual programme
- The interpretation of the subject material is at the judge’s discretion
PANEL COMPETITIONS
- The printed images may be mounted individually, as a group on one mount, or printed together on a single sheet. If mounted individually the competitor must number each print and define the required arrangement as a sketch on the rear of the first image in the set.
ANNUAL OPEN PRINT COMPETITION
- Any image not entered into a previous “Open Print Competition” is eligible.
- These images need not have been entered to club previous club competitions.
COMPETITION MARKING & SCORING
The following scoring system will be used for all competitions.
The judge will award 1st, 2nd, 3rd places and three Highly Commended images. Images that are held back but not given a score will be considered as Commended. For the purpose of determining year end winners, points will be allocated as follows.
1st 20 points
2nd 19 points
3rd 18 points
Highly Commended 17 points
Commended 16 points
All other entries will be awarded 15 points.
Where 2 entries are submitted only the highest score of the 2 will be carried forward to the final year total.
SPECIFIC COMPETITION AWARDS
The MIKE VARLEY CUP: Awarded for the first place in the Panel of 4 competition
The ROGER BAKER CUP: Awarded for the first place Panel of Three to Five printed images.
The LINTOTT CUP: Awarded for the first place in the Annual Open Print Competition.
The CAROL BAILEY TROPHY Awarded to the Most Improved Photographer of the Year - Intermediate Group only
The PDI TROPHY Awarded to the member with the highest marks in the Digital Competitions.
The QUARTERLY TROPHY Awarded to the member with the highest marks in the Quarterly Competitions.
The MOST IMPROVED PHOTOGRAPHER (Group 2): This will be decided by the Competition’s Secretary in consultation with the Chairman. This will take into account the overall performance of the photographer both in terms on overall average score and placings in the yearly competitions. This may not be won by any member 2 years in a row.
TROPHIES
- Trophies shall be returned to the Committee by 30th October each year, or if and when a membership leaves the club.
- The Committee shall review the quantity and relevance of the trophies awarded.
- The Committee shall decide reassignment or disposal of redundant trophies.
PRESENTATION ENVIRONMENT (This section is for guidance only)
DIGITAL PROJECTION
The digital projector used is an EPSON TW2000. This projector native resolution is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. The image management system used will accept an image of almost any size and will automatically convert it to fit the projector. Please note that image conversion could be at the expense of image characteristics which may be of importance to the competitor. It is advisable, but not necessary, that the competitor sizes their own images accordingly.
The expected colour profile is “sRGB IE61966-2.1”. It is assumed that an image file that is not tagged with a colour profile is to be treated as “sRGB IE61966-2.1”. It is good practice to ensure that the images are presented in correct colour profile and tagged as such. Other profiles such as Adobe RGB will probably be converted to “sRGB IE61966-2.1” using relative colorimetric rendering intent.
EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS
- The society shall take part in external competitions as the committee agrees. Images for these competitions will be selected by a sub-committee, the makeup of which will be decided by the Chair and the Competitions Secretary, in consultation with the External Competitions Organiser. The External Competitions Organiser need not necessary be a committee member.
- Images for external competitions will be taken from the pool of images available on the PhotoEntry system. Images will only be used with the consent of the Author, who will be required to fill in a proforma on a yearly basis.
- From time to time, members will also be asked to upload images to an external competitions link in order to extend the pool of images available as not all images submitted for club competitions meet the criteria for external competitions even if they came highly placed in the club competitions.
DOCUMENT HISTORY
23 March 2011
Major layout and content changes. There are a number of trophies yet to be selected.
29 March 2011
Grammatical changes, removal of “image priority” from the digital file name syntax, clarification of
para 1 in Print of The Year. There are a number of trophies yet to be selected.
01 April 2011
Chapter “Subject Specific Rules” added.
09 April 2011
In “Digital Media” make reference to “PRESENTATION ENVIRONMENT”
28 November 2016
Inclusion of rules governing print size and limit of 2 uses of any image.
Inclusion of Priority in digital image format.
Rationalization of trophies
29 November 2017
Changes to scoring system for competitions.
Additional photographer of the year added.
Clarification of promotion rule from main competition to Photographer of the Year.
Addition of a yearly PDI competition.
Clarification of the rules for Natural History.
September 2020
Rules updated to reflect the current competition environment and software
Further clarification to Natural History Rules.
Change of natural History form a PDI competition to Print
Addition of minimum mount sizes
Clarification of movement between groups
