The Club supports a number of Special Interest Groups (SIG's) to address varied photographic interests of the members. Currently the club recognizes SIGs for Wildlife Photography, Landscape Photography, Travel Photography and Post Processing.
Club members are welcome to "join" any SIG and meet for photo outings, reviewing prints and whatever else supports their common photographic interests. Scheduled SIG activity is published on the club calendar. Interested TCC members may contact the SIG leader for more information.
Image time limit for the 2021-2022 club year is: June 21, 2021. That is, images should have been taken on or after that date to be within time limit. There are several 'special themes' like 'Open without time limit", "President's Choice" and "V Presidents Choice" that come with a different time limit. Each such theme will have its special limit listed.
ABANDONED
Hearing the word “abandoned,” we might think of a house, or a boat, an old factory or a truck sitting in a field behind a barn - something unwanted and left behind, left to fall into a state of disuse. But abandoned can also be a state of mind - abandoned hopes and dreams, forsaken, deserted. Left without needed protection, care, or support. Animals can be abandoned. So, unfortunately, can children.
For this assignment, a successful image will express “abandoned”, literally, metaphorically or conceptually, and consider that your title may provide context for the viewer.
(POWERFUL) BLACK AND WHITE
Shapes, Line, Texture and Color are the main elements in a photo with impact. When Color is removed one or more of the other elements will need to be strong to hold the viewer’s attention. So, by creating an impactful B&W you’ll improve your abilities to emphasize these other elements of a photograph, and to identify ways to grab attention and create mood without color. And perhaps you’ll learn how different B&W conversion methods can affect tonal relationships. For this month’s challenge, choose your own subject and composition emphasizing shapes, lines and/or textures to create up to two Powerful Black and White images.
Remember: NO COLOR – NO Selective Color, such as a red colored rose in a BW background; NO Monochromatic tints such as sepia; NO Duotones, or other forms of Color grading
Examples/Resources
Here are links to two of Eileen Rafferty’s information rich presentations on B&W:
The Built Environment is the human-made environment that provides the setting for human activity, including homes, buildings, zoning, streets, sidewalks, open spaces, transportation options, and more. In other words "the human-made space in which people live, work and recreate on a day-to-day basis." The objective of this theme is to depict an aspect of the human-made environment. Examples of a built environment include, but are not limited to, architecture, transportation infrastructure, parks and green spaces. The links below discuss tips for photographing urban landscapes but are applicable to suburban and rural locales as well.
Long-exposure photography captures one element that conventional photography does not: an extended period of time. Long-exposure photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. When a scene includes both stationary and moving subjects (for example, a fixed street and moving cars or a camera within a car showing a fixed dashboard and moving scenery), a slow shutter speed can cause interesting effects, such as light trails. For this assignment, while there is no fixed definition of what constitutes "long", the intent is to create a photo that somehow shows the effect of passing time, be it smoother waters or light trails or motion.
Night photography has the ability to take a scene and cast it in an unusual light. For this theme, the image will be shot outdoors after the sun has set, between dusk and dawn, using only natural light from the moon or stars, or artificial light from building or streetlights or cars. NO intentionally added light such as flash or light painting may be used.
We photographers, who are fortunate to live near the Chesapeake Bay and other bodies of water, see water in its many forms. From reflections, silky waterfalls, rippling waves, abstracts, to seeing to the bottom of the pond, water serves as a picture-perfect subject, stage, and backdrop. Water has no inherent color but can convey a mood and define the atmosphere. You can see into it, across its surface and what it reflects around it all at the same time. Water moves and changes shape. It can behave as a destructive force or as a calm, meandering, gentle presence. Water can be deep or shallow.
A strong image of Water will complement its mood, movement, and behavior. For this theme, please submit a maximum of two images with Water as the predominant element.
Digital and print photo competitions may be held at Tidewater Camera Club (TCC) meetings throughout the club calendar year. Digital competitions are held at the business meeting, which takes place on the third Monday of each month. Photo of the Year competitions for print and digital formats are held during May and the winners announced during the annual dinner meeting in June.
A member may display one or more prints at club competition meetings for evaluation, critique and comment on the print quality only. A digital image may be submitted for the competition and also be displayed in print form so as to benefit from the print quality discussion. Prints need not be subject to the theme requirement and are reviewed to provide opportunity for print quality education. In keeping with the goal of evaluating print quality, photo size can be no smaller than 8×10 and the print should be matted, not framed. Members who wish to submit print(s) for discussion are strongly encouraged to contact the Chief Judge in advance of the meeting.
Skill Sections
There are three skill sections in each digital competition: “A”, “B” and “C.” The “C” Section is intended for members who are new to the art and practice of photography, or who have not yet developed their photographic abilities. The “A” Section is intended for members who have attained advanced photographic knowledge and ability. The “B” Section is for intermediate photographers who fall in between and whose skills go beyond basic, entry or rudimentary levels. A Youth Section may be added, if needed, for TCC members under the age of 18.
Each member selects a section when s/he first joins the TCC. Changes from one section to another are made only at the beginning of the year (effective for the September meeting), and members must remain in the selected/assigned section throughout the club year. The Membership Coordinator shall keep a list of members and their respective sections.
After the initial selection, a member will advance to the next section if her/his accumulated score over the club year is in the top 10 percent of the accumulated scores of all the members in her/his current skill section.
Entry Requirements
Digital submissions are sized to a maximum of 1024 pixels on the longer side at 72dpi resolution, and sRGB color space, and saved in the jpeg (.jpg) format. File size should be 1MB or less.
Image files should be named as follows:
Image Title (with each word separated by a underscore) Member ID Number (underscore) Section (dot) jpg
For Example: wye_oak_123_b.jpg
This nomenclature facilitates sorting images by title so that those of one photographer do not appear together during the judging, and is necessary so that the compilers do not have to retype each file name. All entries must have distinct titles. Please avoid using similar titles such as dog 1 and dog 2. The name must consist of only lower case letters, numerals, underscores and the “.jpg” filename extension. The name should not begin with a numeral (0-9). Any other characters (upper case letters, symbols like ?, !, -, &, and so on) can cause serious problems when putting together the slideshow and spreadsheet for the judge.
Digital photos must be submitted by 11:45 PM WEDNESDAY after the Speaker Meeting date. Digital images should be sent to the club using the
e-mail address. Photos are required to be submitted as attachments to the email. Digital photos not submitted via the TCC e-mail address by the deadline may be disqualified by the Chief Judge. Entries with incomplete or incorrect files names, or those saved in inappropriate sizes, will be forwarded to the member for correction if time permits. Items returned to the TCC with corrected file names must also meet the submission deadline. No changes will be permitted after the competition materials have been provided to the judge for that competition.
Members without Internet access must provide their submissions to an officer by the deadline, who will register the digital image for them, or they may mail the image on a CD or DVD directly to the Compiler. These submissions are also subject to the deadline.
The Compiler/Score Tabulator will send periodic reminders to the membership advising of upcoming competition deadlines.
Judging
The TCC adopts the “Judging Guidelines for Members” as a guide for the evaluation of photographs entered in its competitions.
In order to judge each competition, the Competition Team will recruit a non-club photographer or artist, a graduate of the Maryland Photography Alliance’s Judge Certification Program, a professional photographer, or a panel of TCC members with appropriate experience.
Images are rated on a 15 point scale by the judge, with a maximum of 5 in each of the three main factors: Composition; Technical Merit; Impact of the photo. Scoring guidance for the composition and technical merit categories is:
Suffers, in your opinion, from serious flaws that severely damage its overall appeal
Has moderate flaws that reduce its potential appeal, to you, average
Good: only minor flaws that if eliminated, would improve the image’s overall impact
Fine: very minor flaws that minimally affect the impact of the image
Excellent: no flaws that detract from the image at all.
We have not provided any guidance for the “Impact” category since that is a more personal and subjective area.
Images are reviewed in one group and then ranked within their section. The ratings and comments of the judge will be shared with the membership.
Digital images are displayed on a projection screen or computer monitor in an order determined by the Compiler, and will be judged prior to the competition meeting to allow more time for discussion. A tabulation sheet is prepared corresponding to the order of the images and used to document the scores. No identifying data is displayed during the competition.
The Score Tabulators shall carefully check the sum of the judge’s scores. They will use a computer based system to tabulate the scores and announce the winners and their scores at the end of each competition. Places of 1st, 2nd and 3rd are awarded, and ties are permitted. Winners will be announced by name. The Judge may be asked to select the top 3 images from those entered, and those images will be announced to the members.
The club places high value on education. Images will be discussed after each competition. The discussion will include time for the photographer to comment on his/her own image(s).
Digital Photo of the Year
Each club year, two photos are selected as Photos of the Year (POTY), one from the digital group and one print.
Members may submit their choice of any 2 images previously entered into monthly competitions that club year. The deadline for these entries will be announced to the membership after the April competition. Digital entries are submitted in accordance with the “Entry Requirements Section” above, except that the images, which are already on file with the compiler, need not be attached.
Print of the Year
Each club year, two photos are selected as Photos of the Year (POTY), one from the digital group and one print.
A Print of the Year will be selected from member prints displayed at TCC exhibits. Each displaying member may select up to two (2) qualifying prints for Print of the Year consideration. Eligible prints must have been on display in any club sponsored exhibit during the current club year and not previously submitted for the print or digital POTY. Prints entered must be the same size as displayed at the TCC exhibit and must be framed and wired for hanging. If a print sells during an exhibit, an identical copy may be entered in the print POTY.
POTY print submissions must be registered by 11:45 PM on a date determined by the Competition Team. Prints should be registered by submitting the print titles to the club via the e-mail address.
For each entry, members will provide their name, Member ID number, image title and section (“A”, “B”, or “C”) in the body of the e-mail. All entries must have distinct titles. Titles must also be identical to those used to register for an exhibit, since qualifying images must be listed in the exhibit database. The Compiler/Score Tabulator will disqualify prints not properly or incorrectly registered by the deadline.
Attach a “Print Registration” label to the back of your print(s). Any label can be used but must include member name, ID number, section and image title. A label template will be available for download on the TCC website in the “members only” section. Remember to include all of the required information on the label. Names that appear on the print or mat will be temporarily covered during the judging process.
The Competition Team shall arrange for one to three judges for these annual competitions. Every effort shall be made to obtain the services of qualified outside judges, including artists or professional photographers of merit. Prints and digital entries shall be judged separately. First, second and third place winners, and an appropriate number of honorable mentions, shall be selected for each competition.
Awards
Gift certificates, checks, or photography-related items may be used as awards for the Photo of the Year competitions. First place, second place, third place, honorable mention, People’s Choice, and high point ribbons may also be given. Other types of awards may be given at the discretion of the Advisory Committee. These awards are usually presented at the annual dinner meeting in June. In memory of Frederick A. Curtis, the club may also give an award to a 1st year member who has shown the most progress in photography or has made significant service contributions to the club. A President’s Award to a member for distinguished service during the year may also be given. Nominations for this award will come from the membership, but the President will select the winner.
At the discretion of the Advisory Committee, other competitions may be conducted and awards given for photographic excellence.
Revising the Rules
These rules will become effective on the day they are approved by the membership and may be revised in accordance with the “Bylaws.”
Prepared 21 December 2007
Approved by the Advisory Committee and the membership on 7 January 2008
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee on 22 August 2008
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – June 2009
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – July 2009
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – July 2010
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – July 5, 2011
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – January 18, 2016
Revised and approved by the Advisory Committee – May 1, 2019
Tidewater Camera Club exhibits member prints in a variety of local venues throughout the year. Many believe that the print is the ultimate expression of a photograph.
A local club exhibit is a great place for the photographer to express a vision and connect with others.
Each venue will come with unique opportunity, whether a juried collection of prints chosen to work together, a themed exhibit or a ‘member’s choice’ opportunity to examine what members believe represents their best work. Often, the prints will be available for sale.
Speakers
The Club Speaker Program is open to the public to give a wider audience access to get to know club members and an opportunity for inspiration.
Larger than life accomplished photographers present their images and share their experience and expertise in an intimate environment where no question goes unanswered.
* Dues are half price for members signing up after January 1
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