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Competition Rules

Competition Rules

The information contained in these rules cover the following competitions.

Monthly Prints, Projected Digital Image (PDI) Championship, 5PDI, Versatility Challenge and Print of the Year.

The aim of competitions is to provide a means for members to improve their work and to get the maximum enjoyment from their photography. The competitions also provide the Club with some of the most popular events on the programme. All members are encouraged to participate. It is for this reason home or trade processing is allowed.

New members need not feel nervous about entering as Duston Camera Club has a tradition of friendly co-operation between its members who are only too happy to help and advise. Above all, competitions are for fun and enjoyment. Ribbons are awarded monthly and Trophies annually with the presentation at the Club’s annual dinner.

General Competition Rules

  1. Prints must be titled but must not bear the author’s name.
  2. Prints must be mounted; the minimum mount size is 80 square inches. There is no maximum.
  3. All entries to be handed in 1 week before the competition. Members must collect their entries after each competition.
  4. Entries can be home or trade processed.
  5. All images entered must be the sole copyright of the author.
  6. All trophies awarded remain the property of Duston Camera Club.
  7. Images entered into a Club competition cannot be identical to or significantly similar to work which has been entered into any competition previously, P.O.Y. excepted.
  8. All images or parts of images submitted for entry to Club Competitions must have been ‘photographed’ by the author. Images or elements of an image that are generated by software via written prompts or developed from the work of others are not allowed. Content-aware fill or similar processes which utilise pixels in the original image are allowed.                   

Rules for Specific Competitions

Monthly Prints

  1. Monthly prints shall consist of two groups. The “Focus” group and the “Aperture” group.
  2. At the beginning of the season any new member may enter either group. At the beginning of any subsequent new season a member from the Aperture Group may opt go into the Focus Group but once in the focus group may not go back into the Aperture Group.
  3. The person with the highest total score at the end of the competition year from the Aperture Group will automatically be promoted to the Focus Group.
  4. Each member may enter two prints per Open monthly competition and 1 for set subject
  5. No print may be entered into more than one monthly competition.
  6. There shall be ten monthly competitions per year, 5 open subjects & 5 set subjects. The number of competitions may be reduced at the discretion of the Committee; any such reduction will be notified in advance.
  7. Judging shall be by an outside judge for both
    Open & Set subjects.
  8. Judges shall select the top six in each section and award points thus:
    1st = 10pts, 2nd = 8pts, 3rd = 6pts, 4th = 5pts
    5th = 4pts, 6th = 3pts, rest = 1pt
    If the number of prints entered in either section is ten or fewer then the judge will, for the section concerned, select the top 3 places. The marks will be awarded as follows:
    1st = 5pts, 2nd = 4pts, 3rd = 3pts, rest = 1pt
  9. Only the higher score for each section entered will be entered in the year’s accumulation of points. And each member’s nine best scores shall be counted towards the annual trophy awarded to the winner of each section.
  10. In addition to the annual trophy, a ribbon will be awarded each month for the winner of each section.

PDI Championship

  1. The Competition to be held over two rounds, each round to be in 2 parts, Part 1 = “Open”, part 2 = “Set subject”.
  2. Images or significantly similar images that have been used in any previous Club competition including in the form of Print, PDI  or Slide, are not eligible for this competition and once entered cannot be entered in any future Club competition either as a projected image or as a print.
  3. Judging will be by an outside judge who will select the top six, Marks will be awarded thus:
    1st 10pts,       2nd  8pts     3rd 6pts
    4th 5pts          5th 4pts,      6th 3pts
    All other entries to receive 1 point,
  4. The member with the highest total score over 2 rounds (4 parts) will be awarded the Championship Trophy to be held for 1 year.

5PDI      

  1. Each member shall enter 5 PDIs 1 each of 5 subjects selected by the committee annually
  2. Work must not have been entered in any previous Club competition.
  3. Judging will be by an external judge who will mark each PDI out of 20.
  4. The winner will be the entrant with the highest total score, and awarded the 5PDI trophy to be held for 1 year

Versatility Challenge.

  • Each member shall enter four prints which shall be one each of the following subjects. Landscape, Action, Nature and Human Portrait.
  • Work must not have been entered in any previous Club competition.
  • Judging will be by an external judge who will mark each print out of 20.
  • The winner will be the entrant with the highest total score.

Print of the year (P.O.Y.)

  1. Each member may enter a maximum of 2 prints.
  2. Prints, Negatives, slides or the digital equivalent must have been taken within 14 months of the date of the competition and must not have been entered in the previous year’s competition but may have been entered in other Club competitions.
  3. Judging will be by an outside judge who will select an overall Winner, plus a highly commended in each of the 3 sections.