Promotions from Novice to Advanced Class

The Competition Team would like to congratulate all of the fine photographers who were promoted from Novice to Advanced class in the '07 - '08 camera club year:

Monochrome Prints

• Oleg Volons
• Jeff Suhanick

Color Prints

• Oleg Volons
• Melanie Marts
• Timber Gooding

Digital Projection 

• Vivian Luu
• Oleg Volons

Rule Changes

Rule changes were made in the following 3 areas:
"The total number of images each member may enter in any one monthly competition is limited to three (3); no more than two (2) of these entries may be submitted in any single Class/Category in which they are eligible."

"Any member who submits more than the maximum allowed total entries in any one monthly competition will forfeit ALL points for that month."

"Subject matter, theme, and artistic presentation are the choice of the photographer.  However three of the monthly competitions will have an assigned topic or theme and all competitions will have a time constraint.  All elements of competition entries must have been captured within two years of the monthly competition date."

PLEASE NOTE: the most important changes from previous years are:

1. Number of total entries changed from four (4) to three (3); number of entries per category; and consequences for submitting improperly (see above);
2. Two year time limit for capture of all elements for ALL competitions.

For complete competition rules, please see the Rules of Competition on the NVPS website.  Copies will also be available at club meetings.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Matthew Schmidt at mgs "at" loreleistudios.com or Sandi Croan at pashli "at" aol.com.

Common Competition Errors
There are several errors in competition submissions that seem to occur every year, so the Competition Team thought they would provide some quick reminders of the more common errors.

Print Size
Prints can be up to 40" wide, but cannot be taller than 20".  This means that a 16" x 24" mat cannot be used in a portrait format, only in landscape format.  This restriction is because the light box that we use for competitions only has 20" of clearance between the print shelf and the upper light box.

Digital Image Size
Digital images must be no wider than 1024 pixels and not taller than 768 pixels.  This size restriction exists because it is the largest native resolution of the club's digital projector and larger (or smaller) images will be scaled either by the projection software (PowerPoint) or by the projector itself.  In both cases the scaling algorithm will cause significant errors in the display of the image.
The images must also be less than 1 MB in size on the disk and in JPEG format so that they can easily be downloaded and imported into PowerPoint.

Print Mounting
Prints must be securely mounted with a mat and backing.  Prints also need an arrow that can be read in the dark of the stage that indicates which side is the top of the print.  Prints also need to have the image maker's name and the image name on the back. No names or writing can be on the front of the mat.
In past years the competition teams have had significant trouble displaying prints that are not well mounted and separate during the process of being moved.  The purpose of mounting is protect the prints from damage and to display them in a professional manner.
Although you can use any color mat or even double or triple mats, typically judges prefer plain white mats for prints.  Fortunately there are twenty-one (21) shades of white so there is a good deal of flexibility in choosing a "white" mat for your print.

Photographer Classes and Categories
We have two (2) classes and five (5) categories for the purpose of competitions.  The two (2) classes are Novice and Advanced.  The five (5) categories are Color Prints, Monochrome Prints, Enhanced Prints, Slides and Digital Projection.
A single photographer cannot be in both classes of any one category simultaneously.  We had a couple of instances last year where photographers attempted to enter four (4) images in the digital competition by calling two (2) Novice and two (2) Advanced.

Membership Dues
To enter images in competition the competitor must be a member in good standing, meaning that membership dues must be paid prior to the start of the competition.