Rules & Documents

COMPETITION RULES

The Twin City Camera Club holds Print and Digital Slide competitions each month of the year with the exception of July and August. The competition year begins in September and ends in June. Any member in good standing may compete in all competitions.

Files you may need?

16:9 Aspect Ratio Black Background Canvas

Digital Slide 3840 x 2160 Background Canvas

CLASSES

Members may compete in four (4) divisions: (1) Color Prints, (2) Black and White Prints, (3) Black and White Digital Slides and (4) Color Digital Slides. Within these four divisions there are three classes:

Competition Class requirements.

All members compete in their assigned Class (B) (A) (AA) until reaching the Class requirement (any of the four divisions) for advancement.

• Class B until reaching sixty-five (65) points in a competition season.
• Class A until reaching one hundred twenty-five (125) points in a competition season.
• Class AA after reaching one hundred twenty-five (125) points in a competition season.

All Class advancements occur at the start of the competition year in September.

Exception.
Members have the option to submit a request to the TCCC Board for a change in Class placement.

MONTHLY SUBJECTS

Entries may be made in either the Select Subjects for 2022 – 23 or Open category. Each category is judged separately. The select subject must be prominently displayed and the PRIMARY focus of the image, so that an ordinary person would recognize it as such. Be sure to read the Descriptions so that your entries comply with the requirements of the Select Subjects. The Open category, is exactly as the word implies – photographic images on any subject, with the exception that photos containing nudity or graphic violence are not eligible for competition. The Board reserves the right to restrict specific subject matter, and since our meetings are open to the public and we occasionally have the younger generations as our guests, it has determined that nude or graphic violence photographs are inappropriate.

ENTRIES

Any member in good standing may enter a total of up to four (4) Color digital slides, and/or four (4) Black and White digital slides and/or four (4) Color prints, and/or four (4) Black and White prints per monthly competition. Members must submit a separate entry e-mail for the Black & White digital slide entries and a separate entry e-mail for the Color digital slide entries. Members may not enter the same image both as a Color print and as a Black and White print, or as a print and a digital slide, or as a Black and White digital slide and a Color digital slide in the same TCCC monthly competition. Our competitions are open to photographic images captured and produced by all methods (including digital) by the member and can be from any source: negatives, transparencies, digital camera, cell phone or scanner.

Entries may be in Open and/or Select Subjects categories in any ratio. Prints may be toned and spotted, if desired. Digital Slides may be Color or Black and White. Photo enhancement, sandwiching, montage and other derivations are acceptable. Any photo can be disqualified from the competition by the competition chairpersons for not meeting any rule or requirement and images can be moved from select to open if it is deemed that they do not fit the select subject and should be in the open category. Questionable images should be permitted to stay in select and left for the judges to determine.

Black and White images must be Black and White, or Black and White plus a fully-toned color or combination of colors as a tint. Fully-toned means that a tint or tints, is applied across the entire image such as sepia or cyan (or any combination of colors).

If a photograph is Black and White and one or more elements in it are in color, the photograph would then be considered a Color image for competition purposes. Examples could be a portrait of a face that is Black and White and only the lips are Red or a beach scene with everything Black and White with an umbrella a single color.

Prints or Digital Slides which are photographic copies of paintings, drawings, or another photographer’s work are ineligible; these items may, however, be included in composite of the maker’s own creation.

Members must complete a separate Entry Card for each of the four divisions that they will compete in for the month. (Black and White Prints, Color Prints, Black and White Digital Slides, Color Digital Slides) The completed entry cards should be left at the scoring table prior to the competition. Competition Entry Cards can be seen and/or printed here. (Examples/Print Cards) and are also available at the clubhouse.

The Club discourages submitting entries similar to previously entered entries in any TCCC monthly competition division. Example: (same subject at slightly different angle).

DIGITAL SLIDES- how to prepare them

Digital computer photographic images can be from any source: negatives, transparencies, digital camera, cell phone or scanner. The new aspect ratio is 16:9 to fit the 75″ 4K UHD TV used for displaying images. The maximum image size for all Digital Slide entries is 3840 pixels Wide by 2160 pixels High, saved in JPEG format, not to exceed 2 Mb file size. The color profile should be sRGB. In other words, the image and/or the background (canvas) of the digital slide MUST not exceed 3840 pixels Wide by 2160 pixels High. Within that 3840 x 2160 format, you can use any or all of the space for your image. You can enter a Vertical, Horizontal, Square, Circle, Diamond or any other shape image into the competition, as long as it fits within the 3840 x 2160 format. The background (canvas) can be any color or composition of your choice but it MUST not exceed 3840 x 2160 pixels. Digital Slide entries that are submitted that exceed 3840 x 2160 format and/or the 2 Mb file size will NOT be allowed in the competition. The images need to be e-mailed to the Digital Competition Chairperson, using this e-mail link, digital@twincitycameraclub.com, no later than Monday at midnight, one week prior to the competition. However, digital entries can be submitted weeks or even months before the competitions so that any sizing issues or other problems can be resolved before the due date. The maker’s name, copyrights or titles should not be visible on the photograph or background canvas during judging. Don’t forget that the entry card(s) must be filled out and placed on the scoring table prior to the competition. For members unable to attend the competition meeting, please request (in the body of your e-mail) that an Entry Card be filled out for you.

DIGITAL SLIDES – Identification and naming

Digital Slides: Save the image with the maker’s name and image title as its name: Makers Name (space) dash (space) title of image.jpg (Example: Henry Ford – Model T.jpg). Anything extra like, extra dashes -, dots . or underscoring _ , incorrect and missing capitalization or incorrect spacing means extra work for someone else. Do not include a Number before your Name – Title or the # symbol as part of it.

Prepare your entry e-mail, (See Example), include your name, open or select, class and titles of all images in the body of the e-mail. This is so the digital competition chairperson can copy and paste your entry information into the programs used in competition. So type it correctly and capitalize the words that should be capitalized.

It is very important that your Entry Card, Entry E-mail and Image Titles, contain the exact same information because we refer to them if we have questions.

The body (message part) of the entry e-mail should look like this:

Example: When all Entries are in Select (or Open):

All in Class (B) (A) (AA) Select (or Open). Color (or Black and White)

1. Henry Ford – Big Storm
2. Henry Ford – Warm Weather
3. Henry Ford – Morning Sunshine
4. Henry Ford – Red Sky

Example: When Entries are in both Select and Open:

Class (B) (A) (AA) Color (or Black and White) Select

1. Henry Ford – Big Storm
2. Henry Ford – Warm Weather
3. Henry Ford – Morning Sunshine
   Open
4. Henry Ford – Red Sky

PRINTS – Mounting

Prints must be mounted. Prints should be on mount and/or mat board or matted with a sturdy or rigid backing, which is fastened securely together and provides ease in display for judging. The minimum mount size is 8″ X 10″. Flush mounted prints are allowed, i.e., the print and the mount are the same size and there is no matting. Prints may be matted. Multiple mats are allowed. No frames or glass are allowed. The maximum size allowed for the print, mount, or matting is 16″ X 20″ (horizontal or vertical). If the print is 16″ X 20″, then it must be flush mounted. The maker’s name, copyrights or titles should not be visible on the front of the photograph, mats or mounts during judging.

PRINTS – Labeling

Clearly mark the maker’s name and print title on reverse side of the mount in the upper left corner. This is so the print is displayed correctly, horizontally or vertically, and the maker’s name and title can be easily read. Cross out or cover up any additional labels, titles or markings that are visible. Prints with shrink wrap or clear plastic sleeves are permitted but must also have a paper label affixed outside on the reverse for reading and marking.

RE-ENTERING

Members may re-enter any digital slide or print in competition providing it has not received an Acceptance or Honor in any previous TCCC competition. Any photograph that receives an Acceptance or Honor in any competition, be it Digital Slides or Prints, may not be entered in another TCCC monthly competition division. (i.e., you may not enter an image both as a color print and as a monochrome print, or as a print and a digital slide once it has received an Acceptance or Honor in any TCCC monthly competition).

ABSENTEE ENTRIES

Members unable to attend a competition may enter Prints by making arrangements with any member to bring the entries and completed entry card to the meeting or by leaving them at the Club prior to judging. For members competing in Digital Slides and unable to attend the competition meeting please request in the body of your entry e-mail that you need the Entry Card filled out for you.

PROCESSING AND FINISHING

Prints may be processed by the maker or by a commercial lab. Computer generated prints of photographic images are also allowed.

JUDGING

Take a seat and enjoy and learn from the judging. Please do not comment upon entries during the competition. A panel of three (3) judges will each vote by assigning a point value of 2-5 for each entry. For all Classes AA, A, B, a total score of 10-12 points earns an Acceptance and 13-15 points earns an Honor. Decision of the Judges is final.

Please leave all Honor prints at the clubhouse after the judging for copying unless you can provide a digital file of the image. Prints can normally be picked up at the next competition meeting. This is done so that copies of the prints can be placed on the TCCC website or used in the club’s annual slide show.

AWARDS

During the monthly competition, points are earned and accumulated until the end of the competition year when awards are given to the top three point winners in each category. A minimum of 45 points must be earned to be eligible for a top three point award. The Competition Stats will list the current point standings after each month’s competition and are included with the mailed ViewFinder and posted on the TCCC website.

Points are earned as follows:

Two points are given in each division for entering any monthly competition.

ANNUAL COMPETITION

Any Digital Slide or Print that receives an Acceptance or Honor in any monthly competition is eligible to be entered into the Annual Competition. Print makers should safeguard winning prints so they can be returned to the clubhouse for the Annual Competition. Digital Slides are maintained by the Digital Chairperson.

All prints judged at the annual competition will be judged individually in the viewing box.

Each year a Black and White print of the year, color print of the year, Black and White digital slide and color digital slide of the year, and first and second runners up will be selected from the preceding competition year’s acceptance and honor awards.

CLUB LIABILITY

All possible care will be taken to safeguard all prints under the care, custody and control of the Twin City Camera Club. The club assumes no responsibility for loss and/or damage.

PRINT AND DIGITAL SLIDE DISPLAY

The club requests that all eligible print entries from the annual judging be left with the club for the purpose of display at the clubhouse and traveling exhibitions. An Annual Show is prepared with Digital Slides and the Top Three award winners from each division.

AUTHORITY

The Board of Directors has the power to make any changes to these competition rules when they deem necessary.