13th Annual Exhibit and Photo Competition

CALL TO PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sun City Photography Club’s Annual Exhibit & Photo Competition will take place in November. This event will be a great opportunity for all photo club members, no matter their level of experience, to present their work and enjoy the work of others. Member photographs will hang in the Texas Drive Activity Center from November 7 through December 30, 2021.  A special reception and award ceremony will take place 2:00pm Sunday November 14 in the Atrium at the Activity Center.

Participants will submit both digital and printed versions of each of their photo entries.  The digital versions will be used for judging (as was done in our Annual Exhibit in 2020).  The printed/mounted photos will be hung at the Activity Center (as done in 2019 and previous Annual Exhibits).

An experienced photography judge, provided by the Photographic Society of America (PSA)/Club Judging Services will determine first, second and third-place awardees in each of 10 categories along with a single Best-in-Show award.    

In addition to the exhibit of printed images at the Activity Center, the digital versions of the photos will be exhibited in a special digital gallery, accessible by photo club members, Sun City residents and the public.  Recognition of the exhibit, competition and the award winners will be done through digital and print media.

Entry Guidelines

  1. Competition is open to Sun City Photography Club members only.
  2. A photograph that has been entered in a previous Sun City Photography Club Annual Exhibit may not be submitted.
  3. Photos must have been taken in the last five years.
  4. The competition will recognize two participant experience levels: Novice and Experienced.
    Novice: Has not previously exhibited a photo in any organized competition and chooses to participate as a Novice.
    Experienced: A participant who does not participate as a Novice.
  5. A Novice may enter a single photo in the Novice category and no photos in other categories.
  6. An Experienced photographer may submit up to three entries total, one each in three different categories.
  7. Experienced photographers may not submit in the Novice category.
  8. Entry is limited to the first 120 registered photos.
  9. Please keep titles short (1 line).

Registration

Registration opens 8AM October 8 and closes 12PM October 29.  Registration is a two-step process.  Both steps must be completed during the registration period for an entry to be registered.  Once registration is complete, no changes are permitted.

  1. Provide basic information.  Go to the Photo Club Calendar, November 2021.  Go to November 7.  You will provide the information requested for each of your entries - Category #, Title, Price, and Phone #.  All information must be provided.
  2. Submit the digital version of your photo.  The submittal link will be available on the the Calendar event page. Follow the file naming conventions included below in Photo Requirements/Digital Image Requirements.  Our Dropbox-based submittal system will automatically append the submitter’s name to the file name.

Photo Requirements

No photograph may contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable content.  Signatures, watermarks or titles must not be visible on the digital or printed submissions.  Pictures not meeting these requirements will not be exhibited or judged and will not be eligible for award.

Digital Image Requirements
  1. Digital images must be in jpeg format. 
  2. Digital image file names must be in the format Category#-Photo Title.jpg.  For example:
    a.    6-Rare Books.jpg
    b.    5-Street Singer.jpg
  3. Members needing assistance with file formatting, sizing or submittal can get help from Bob Bearden, Walt Grabowski, Bob Maher, or Sherry McRae.
Printed Photo Requirements
  1. Printed photographs, ready-to-hang, must be delivered to the Activity Center between 8 AM and 12 PM Sunday November 7. Photos will not be accepted after 12 PM.
  2. Your print must match the digital image you submitted.
  3. Printed photographs must be labeled with category #, photographer name, phone number, photo title. This label must be on the back side of the print/frame in the upper-left corner.
  4. Your framed image must be no smaller than 11x14in. including frame and no larger than 26 x 26 in. including frame.
  5. All frames must have wire on the back (no saw-tooths).
  6. D-rings are recommended to secure the wire.
  7. Attach D-rings approx. two inches from the top of the frame.
  8. Hanging wire should be taut.
  9. At delivery, participants must pay a $5 for each photograph submitted.  Payment must be by check payable to “SCTXCA”. Participants must also submit a signed waiver of liability. You will receive the waiver form via email after you register.  The waiver must be presented with payment at delivery.

Categories

First, second and third-place ribbons will be awarded in each category. Please check the definitions carefully to be sure you enter your photo in the correct category.

  1. Landscape/Waterscape/Seascape - an expanse of scenery and the various objects it may normally contain such as people, fences, buildings, boats, bridges, etc.
  2. Cityscapes/Architecture - Cityscape images are outdoors in a city setting.  Architecture includes design and style of man-made structures or objects (indoors or outdoors, buildings, ruins).
  3. All Things Mechanical – Machinery (including Cars, Boats, Trains, Planes, etc.) as the primary element of the photo.
  4. Animals –living things that are neither human nor plant. They may be wild or domestic.
  5. People - single or group, including portraiture and street photography.
  6. Still Life – representation of inanimate objects and the ability to put those objects together to create an engaging image.  Found Still Life – images of objects that are found naturally or already arranged in their natural setting
  7. Macro/Close-up – a tightly-photographed shot that shows a subject up close with significantly more detail than the human eye typically perceives.
  8. Open/Creative – images that do not fit any of the above categories or if the alteration of a scene or subject is obviously unrealistic.
  9. Monochrome – This category can be of any subject rendered in monochrome or black and white.
  10. Novice – My best photo of any subject.  This category is limited to Novice photographers.

Judging Criteria

Our judge will be looking for the total impact of the photograph with the chief elements of his judging being technical excellence, composition, creativity and story-telling.