Club Competition 

2024 ​Information & Rules

NOTE: Club Competition rules are under review and changes will be confirmed here soon.  In particular, the rules coloured purple below are new/different to previous years.
Picture
Roger Ball - Tui

Entering competitions is all part of the involvement and fun of being a camera club member!

The club has two regular competitions: the Club Competitions and the monthly Member's Choice competition.

Club Competitions
  • ­There are five competition rounds during the year (see competition calendar on right): two are ‘Open’ subject, one is 'Nature', one is 'Landscape' and one is  'Monochrome'
  • ‘Open’ means that the photograph may be of any subject. 
  • 'Nature' is as defined by PSNZ and includes the relevant 'Ethics & Code of Conduct'.
  • You may submit a maximum of 1 print and 1 projected image, up to 2 entries in total for each competition round (NB not 2 digital and 0 print).
  • Those entering prints must also supply a digital file of the print for viewing at Club Night.
  • You may not enter identical or almost identical images (at competition secretary’s discretion) in both the print section and the projected image section.
  • You may not enter images that have previously been awarded 'Accepted' or higher in any club, national or international salons or competitions.
  • ​The entries in the club competition are either sent away to judges who are recognized for their photographic or artistic ability, or judged by senior club members.
​
Competition Grades
  • A’ Grade – This is intended for experienced photographers. It is a full competition level with points and an overall year prize.
  • ‘B’ Grade – This is a good entry point for photographers who have no previous competition experience. This grade normally receives a more lenient judging with points and an overall year prize.
  • ‘B’ grade photographers may be required by the committee to move to the ‘A’ grade and at the discretion of the committee, points may be transferred. The yearly winner of the ‘B’ grade automatically moves to the ‘A’ grade.
  • A member with Honours distinctions (e.g. LPSNZ, APSNZ, FPSNZ) should compete in the ‘A’ grade.
  • A member who gains Honours or medals in external PSNZ competitions should also compete in the ‘A grade.​ ​
​Submitting entries
  • Submit your entries using the new myphotoclub  portal
  • Entries will only be accepted within a fortnight of the closing date.
  • Where possible print entries should be submitted on the closing date at the club meeting
  • Click here for a list of definitions including what “Nature” entails.​
  • You will receive confirmation of your entries when you submit them.
  • Entries must reach the Competition Secretary by club night.​​ ​They are then sent to the judge for critiquing and returned in time for the following month’s meeting. Here they are displayed and the judge’s comments on each entry are presented.
  • Entries are awarded either No award, Acceptance, Merit or Honours
  • Unless an entrant achieves a Merit or Honours, the name of the photographer is not announced.​

Points system
Entry in competitions gain:
  • No award       0 points
  • Acceptance   3 points
  • Merit               5 points
  • Honours         8 points
 
  • The points that are scored are accumulated over the year to decide the overall winner of the “most points” trophies. 
  • From 2020 the A grade points winner will be the combined total from both print and digital entries.
  •  If, at the end of the year, two or more members are tied with the same number of points, the winner is the member with the most Honours. Where there is still a tie, the number of Merits will decide.​
​
Prints
  • All prints must be mounted on either a stiff piece of card or a proprietary foam backing board. In addition, if you wish, you may add the protection of a cardboard mat around your print. (Mounting board and mat board can be obtained from picture framers.)
  • The mounting board (with mat if one is used) must not exceed 16”x 20” (40.5 x 51 cm.)
  •  The size of the mounting board (incl. mat) must not be smaller than 6” x 8” (15×20 cm.) There is no minimum size for the actual print.
  • The print itself should not be covered with anything – no glass or plastic.
  • Write the title of your image and the grade (‘A’ or ‘B’) on the back, at the top  of your print entry, but DO NOT put your name on entries. 
  • Remove any old labels, names and numbers that are not relevant to this competition. (A good way to label prints is to use magic or scotch tape.) ​

Competition 

Calendar 2025

Competition 1:    Open
  • Close: 10th March 
  • Results: 14th April
  • Judge: TBA

​Competition 2   Nature
  • Close: 14th April
  • Results: 12th May
  • Judge:  TBA

Competition 3   Landscape
  • Close: 12th May
  • Results: June 9th
  • Judge: TBA

Competition 4    Open
  • Close: June 9th
  • Results: July 14th
  • Judge: TBA

Competition 5    Portrait
  • Entries close: 14th July
  • Results: 11th August
  • Judge: TBA

Competition 6    Street
  • Close: 11th August
  • Results: 15th September
  • Judge: TBA

Competition 7    Creative
  • Close: 15th September
  • Results: 13th October
  • Judge: TBA

Competition 8    Open
  • Close: 13th October
  • Results: 10th November
  • Judge: TBA
​Submitting your print entries.
  • Complete the online entry and bring your prints along to club night and place them into the collection box.​
  • Place some form of protective wrapping around your prints to avoid damage, though this will be removed and entries repacked when they are sent to the judge.
  • You can retrieve your prints and packaging when you collect your entries after judging.
  • ​Your entries are handled by the competition secretary while they are being catalogued, then by the judge, and yet again by the competition secretary when they are displayed with the judge’s comments, so make sure your prints don’t fall apart.
  • Remember too that the entries are couriered in a purpose-built, hard-sided case.
  • Please note that the club cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss of competition entries.
  • The club has a policy on ownership of images which extends to the judge, which stipulates that your images may not be reproduced or distributed in any way, without your permission. The exceptions are our website, the club newsletter, and interclub competitions  
  • Read NCC's policy on ownership of images.​
Projected Images
  • Digitally Projected images should be no more than 3840 pixels x 2160pixels with a minimum size of 1620 pixels in width and 1080 pixels in height and must be in .jpg format. Files should be named but the name cannot exceed 35 characters (including spaces and punctuation.) ​​​
So.....now you’ve got your entries back and the judge loved them.  Congratulations! 
  • You may wish to enter them in inter-club competitions or external competitions, but sorry – once your entries have received ‘Merit’ or ‘Honours’ you cannot enter them again in a NCC club competition.
  • If your entry gets a ‘No award’ or when it’s ‘Accepted’, but you think it deserves better you are free to enter it again. This also allows you to make changes as suggested by the judge and see if that works.  Who knows, a different judge, a different point of view and you may get a much better result.

End of Year Awards
  • There are 11 trophies/awards made at the end of the year:-
    • Champion Image
    • Best Open                        All grades digital and print
    • Best Monochrome         All grades digital and print
    • Best Portrait                     All grades digital and print
    • Best Landscape               All grades digital and print
    • Best Natural history        All grades digital and print
    • Photographer of the year   ( club, local , national and international competitions)
    • Most points in club competitions :-
      • A Grade sum of digital and print
      • B Grade digital
      • B Grade print
    • Most improved photographer ( at discretion of committee)
  • Images receiving Honours and Merits in the clubs competitions, unless opted out on the entry form, will automatically be included into the relevant categories in the end of year competitions.

Note:
  1. Eligible prints will need to be resubmitted at the October meeting.
  2. Projected images will automatically be entered as the competition secretary will have these on file.
  3. Trophy winners will be announced at the AGM in November.

Rules updated  Feb 2020

Copyright 2016 Nelson Camera Club. All rights reserved.5
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”
— Marc Riboud
All images on this site are copyright of the owners and must not be copied or reproduced in any way without the owners express permission.