Competition Rules

General Competition Requirements and Eligibility

All members are eligible to enter competitions. The photographer must have shot all images submitted for competition. Class B and Class A competitors may use a lab to make prints, providing that there is no further manipulation. Members competing in Class M must print their own images.

The subject for each monthly competition is either open or a special topic. The special topics alternate with the open subjects and are listed on page 43 of this yearbook and on the DCC web site under Competitions.

A member may enter a maximum of one projected image, one monochrome print and one color print in each monthly competition. A photographer may not submit the same image in projected image, monochrome print or color print formats in the same monthly competition. All images for a given month, whether projected or print, must be different.

An image that has placed first, second or third in a monthly club competition is not eligible for re-entry in any future monthly club competition regardless of changes in media, cropping, orientation, processing or title. If the photographer has taken other similar exposures of the same scene, these images are considered duplicates of the winning image and are not eligible for competition.

Categories & Classes

Monochrome Prints
The definition for monochrome prints follows PSA rules. If the monochrome print is produced from a color digital file, it must be completely de-saturated or converted to grayscale. There are two exceptions to this rule. One-color tinting, e.g., sepia toning or adding a single color to an area of the print, e.g., red rose are permitted. A discussion of options for converting color images to monochrome is on the DCC web site in the FAQ section on the Members page.

Color Prints
Any print other than those that meet the definition of a monochrome print, as defined above, may be entered as a color print.

Projected Images
Projected images are submitted in digital format. The source may be from a digital camera or from a scanned negative, slide or print. See instructions for preparing submissions in the "Preparing Projected Images" section of this site or in the club's yearbook.

For Monochrome Prints, Color Prints and Projected Images
Class B - Beginner and intermediate photographers
Class A - Advanced photographers
Class M - Masters and accomplished photographers

New Members
New members may begin in either Class B or Class A when they first enter competitions. Entry into Class M is by invitation only. Once the class is chosen, the photographer is expected to remain in that class for the rest of the club year.

Annual Review of Classification
After the last competition of the year is judged in March, the Print and Projected Image Chairpersons review results of the year’s competitions and submit recommendations for member advancement to the Executive Committee. Recommendations for advancement are based on the photographer’s consistent production of high quality work as evidenced by average score and winning record in monthly competitions. Final approval is by the Executive Committee.

Advancement
Members who competed in Class B may elect to compete in Class A at the beginning of the next year starting in May. The club Executive Committee may also recommend that certain photographers move to Class A for the new year. A member, even though recommended for advancement, may choose to remain in Class B for one additional year, but must advance the following year.

Competing in Class M is by Executive Committee approval only. The Executive Committee annually reviews and approves worthy photographers for advancement from Class A to Class M for the new year. A member recommended for advancement to Class M may choose to remain in Class A until recommended again for advancement.

Once a member moves up in class, he or she cannot move back down.

Although mid-year advancement is generally not permitted, anyone advancing from one class to another class during the club year may carry forward any points accumulated to date.

Judging and Awards

!NEW

The competition chairpersons will select photographers from outside the club to judge entries. The judges are asked to evaluate images based on impact, composition and technical merit. Competition scores may range from 6 to 15 points and there is no required distribution. A score of 9 is considered to be a good image. The judge will choose a first, second and third place and one honorable mention in each category and class based on the scores given. Certificates are awarded to the winners. There is only one award for each place; however, it is possible that an honorable mention, a third or even a second place may not be awarded.

Judge's Choice

!NEW

Each month, the judge may select a single image from each category to receive the Judge’s Choice award. The winner of the Judge’s Choice award will receive a certificate and the image will be eligible for the yearend Image of the Year competition. The score originally awarded will not be altered. UPDATED FOR 2013: Images receiving a Judge’s Choice award MAY be entered in future monthly competitions so long as they have not otherwise placed 1st through 3rd.

High Points Awards

High Point Awards are presented to those photographers who have the highest total scores in each class and category. The high point total is the sum of their 9 highest scores from the 10 monthly competitions for the competition year. If a member fails to turn in an image in any monthly competition, he or she will receive no (zero) points for that month. First, second and third place High Point Awards are presented at the Annual Awards Banquet in April.

If a tie occurs, it will be broken by listing the 9 highest scores for each maker in order from highest to lowest. The first time there is a difference, the tie will be broken in favor of the maker with the higher score. If there is still a tie, duplicate awards will be given. No more than three awards will be given unless there is an unbroken tie for third place.

Image of the year Competition

Images placing first, second or third in any category and class, or winning the Judge’s Choice award in any category, in a monthly competition are eligible for Print or Projected Image of the Year awards. Images winning the Judge’s Choice award will be entered in the same category and class as originally entered in the monthly competition. Members with winning images are encouraged to make them available to the Print or Projected Image Chairpersons for the Image of the Year competition. Any photographer not wishing his or her images to be entered should discuss those wishes with the Print and/or Projected Image Chairpersons. Eligible prints and projected images are submitted for judging at the first meeting in March. First, second and third place awards for Image of the Year in each class and category are presented at the Annual Awards Banquet in April.

Nude Photo Policy

Photographs of nudes are not accepted in any competition or contest held by the Dallas Camera Club. The Print or Projected Image Chairs may also disqualify other photos on the grounds of distastefulness.

Digital Imaging Policy

Digital imaging is defined as any manner of creating images directly with a digital camera, scanning images and/or digitally processing images with or without additional digital manipulation to produce a single image. All elements of the final image and any digital manipulation performed on such images must be totally of the submitter’s own creative efforts and may not embody, in any form, digital imagery derived from other sources.

Projected images and prints generated using digital techniques shall be judged based on the content of the image, not the process by which it was created. Digital images may be submitted in all categories and classes of competition.

Acceptance of Rules

Submission of prints or projected images in a club competition implies acceptance of all of the following conditions.

Establishment and Change of Rules

These rules were established and approved by the Executive Committee and are subject to change by the Executive Committee as warranted. Any changes to these rules during the year will be announced at club meetings, in the newsletter and posted on the web site. The club web site will always have the most current rules and definitions and should be used in lieu of information in this yearbook when they differ.

This Years Competition Topics

Due Date	DescriptionUpdated: 4-5-2013	Example (click image to enlarge)
Jun 11, 2013	Peeling: Capture peeling paint, wallpaper, bark or other surface as it shows the effects of time and the elements.  The image may include a recognizable part of the whole or just focus on the details of the peeling surface.
Aug 13, 2013	Candid Photo - A photograph where the subjects are acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed and seem unaware of the photographer.
Oct 8, 2013	Abstract - An image captured in-camera that communicates primarily through form, color, texture, patterns, lines, etc. with no attempt at pictorial representation of the subject. Post processing is limited to exposure and color adjustments, and cropping.
Dec 10, 2014	Look to the Sky -An images that captures the sky, or some aspect of it, as it's primary focus. This includes day or night photography depicting clouds, sunrises, sunsets, heavenly bodies, etc. Showing the horizon, or some other object in the foreground, is allowed so long as the main focus of the image is the sky above.
Feb 11, 2013	Reflections - A reflection captured in water, glass, chrome, etc. is central to the image. The reflection may be captured in camera or produced in post processing.
The months not mentioned here are OPEN topics, meaning that your image can be of anything except nudes.