HCC Competition Rules & Regulations (Rev. 2 wd: October 2001)

Preamble: We hold several competitions each year for color and nature slides, color prints and B&W prints. Our intention is to increase each member’s enjoyment of, and improvement at, photography through comparison, study and evaluation. This process also enables us to locate slides and prints to submit to the NECCC competitions.

1. Any member of the club may submit up to two entries in each of the categories of slides and prints. These should be submitted to our representative to the NECCC at least 15 minutes before the start of the meeting. A member need not be present to have slides considered in the competition. All negatives or slides must be the work of the entrant only. However, prints from these negatives or slides may be prepared commercially.

2. Color Category means slides of any subject matter at all.

3. Nature Category is (according to the Photographic Society of America) restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict observations from all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify as to its honest presentation. The story-telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality. Human elements shall not be present, except on the rare occasion where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands on wild animals is acceptable. Photographs of artificially produced hybrid plants or animals, mounted specimens, or obviously set arrangements, are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.

4. Print Categories (B&W/Color), unless otherwise noted, may be of any subject at all.

5. Slides must be in 2” x 2” mounts and spotted correctly for projection. View the slide in an upright position so the image appears the way it will on the screen when projected. Make a distinct black spot in the lower left-hand corner of the mount. The maker’s name should be printed at the top of the slide and the title at the bottom, to the right of the spot. Our club name should appear in the left margin and the category (color or nature) in the right margin. The dot will appear in the upper right hand corner away from the screen when projected.

6. Prints and Mounts. Any size print or mount up to 16” x 20” is acceptable. Prints must be mounted. Cardboard frames and matting are not required but may enhance the presentation. Prints must have a title. The title, together with the maker’s name, address and camera club must appear on the back of the mount. It would be prudent to include this same information on the back of the print as well with the use of a label (never write directly onto the back of any photo) just in case the print should separate from the mounting board.

7. Judging. The clubs regular competitions are judged by a rotating panel of three judges selected from a pool of appointed club members. This pool of judges will be added to annually from the top scoring members in the previous year’s regular competitions. Any member serving as a judge in a particular competition shall be awarded, for each of his or her own spouse’s slides or prints, a score which is the average of the scores given by the other two judges in this instance, rounded up to the higher whole number. On occasion, qualified judges from outside the club may be asked to participate.

8. All entries are previewed briefly prior to the judging. Then, as each entry is displayed for scoring, each of the three judges awards a score of up to 10 points. A slide or print may receive a score up to 30 points. After all entries are judged, and some discussed, winning entries are shown again and the scores and makers’ names are announced. The winners may be asked to comment on technical and other useful information.

9. NECCC and Limitations. Only one slide per person in each category (color, nature) or one print in each category (color, b&w) may be submitted to the NECCC in any particular competition. If one person submits two entries in any one category that happen to receive the highest scores in our club's judging, only one of those entries may be submitted to the NECCC competition. The other entry/entries will be withdrawn without points, but may be entered in any other club competition.

· 9(a). Slides or prints winning awards in any of the clubs regular competitions will be ineligible for reentry in the clubs regular competitions, forever. This rule does not apply to inter club competitions or “fun” club competitions where no points are given.

10. Awards will be made at the last meeting of the year to members achieving the highest number of points in regular competitions and for the three highest scoring slides and prints from each of the NECCC categories.