 Competitions are a major activity for members of the Toronto Camera Club. They provide an opportunity to improve technical skills and broaden the ability to see in a more sensitive and artistic manner. Competitions allow members to show their work to objective judges, to see the work of their peers and to exchange ideas, problems and information in an informal, friendly atmosphere. However, competitions do represent the subjective opinions only of the judges and should not be taken either personally nor overly-seriously. Competitions should be fun and these Rules should be interpreted liberally and fairly but also consistently. The Chairs of the respective competitions are responsible for applying these Rules in that spirit.
Most Monday nights are dedicated to competitions. This gives everyone a chance to show his/her best work, to have it evaluated by a panel of judges, and to compete for awards. Attending judging nights can be a valuable learning experience as well. Watching or assisting on these evenings provides inexperienced photographers with an opportunity to learn by hearing, more fully, a discussion of the images by the judges. Your name will be read out whenever your work is shown (but not for the judges!). You will be surprised how many people are interested in watching your progress and will congratulate you on a photo that may not have won an award. Beginning photographers start in "B" groups where you will compete with others at your own level of expertise. Having your work critiqued/commented upon in front of an audience of more experienced photographers may seem painful at first but it is a great way to find out how to improve your skills. In time you will earn the awards that will advance you to Group "A". It's a good idea to attend some of the judging sessions and listen to the judges debate the merits of the entries. Since you will not always agree with the verdict of the judges, it will help to know that they don't always agree with each other. Some of your questions about competitions are answered on the pages to follow, but check the "Rules Governing Club Competitions and Awards" for exact details. Only members who have paid their membership fees or honorary members may compete. Three judges evaluate all entries and their decisions are final. A panel of judges generally includes at least one experienced photographer from outside The Toronto Camera Club. It may also include club members. Judges and members of their families may not enter a competition on the night that they are judging. They are allowed additional entries in subsequent competitions. Judges evaluate work on technical competence (exposure, depth of field and composition) and impact. You may not enter the same image in more than one monthly competition or more than one year-end competition (even in a different medium). For example, you cannot enter the same image in both the print or projected images competitions in the same year until the year-end judging and then that image can only be entered in one year-end competition. However, if your image is not evaluated and if no points were awarded by the judges because it was considered 'out of category' and set aside, you may re-enter it in the appropriate category. For example, an image entered as Nature may be re-entered as a projected image if it was not accepted (or scored) as Nature. However, images included in essay or assigned competitions are exempt from this restriction and may be entered in another category if desired. On judging nights, all images are run through once for the judges to award points. The judges then take turns making comments to be read at the club. Special attention is paid to comments for the "B" group in order to give useful advice. Only a percentage of entries receive awards, so after the points have been assigned the judges review each high-scoring entry to decide which should be 'top', 'runner-up' and 'honourable mentions'. |
