Desert Viewfinders Competition Rules Effective February 01, 2024
In This Document:
1. General
2. Competition Categories
3. Manipulation of Images
4. Policies on Entries
5. Submission of Prints
6. Submission of Digital I mages
7. Best of Year Competition
8. Disclaimer
1. General
All entrants in club competitions must be members in good standing of Desert Viewfinders Camera Club (dues are current). All competitions are online via Zoom until further notice. Competitions are generally held on the 4th Wednesday of the month. Entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM on the Saturday before the competition.
2. Competition Categories [See below for restrictions]
a. Open This category is for color images of any subject.
b. Monochrome This category is for monochrome images of any subject. The image may have no more than one color (in
addition to white), and that may be any color. Although technically not monochrome, monochrome images may be tinted
(usually but not necessarily sepia) with any desired color.
c. Subject of the Month (SOM) This category is for color or monochrome images on a specified subject. Subjects are usually
announced at least a year in advance in the Club Newsletter and on the Club Website. Click the button above for SOM
Categories.
d. Creative This category is for any image(s) that a member creates as an artistic interpretation of his or her original
capture(s). Any type of manipulation or alteration of images is acceptable in this category – including no manipulation.
e. Outings This category is for photos taken on scheduled Desert Viewfinders Camera Club Outings by members who attend
the event. This Category is usually held on the first competition meeting following the Outing. The outings for each
competition are listed in the Club Newsletter and on the DVCC Meetup Group. Non-members are welcome to attend club
outings.
3. Policies on Manipulation of Images
All Categories:
AI generated images are NOT permitted; AI noise removal/sharpening tools are OK.
Creative Category:
Original photo(s) for the image must be created by the member. Any manipulation is allowed.
Open, Monochrome, SOM, and Outing Categories:
Images submitted for competition in these categories should look more or less like photographs. Obvious digital manipulations of
these images should not be their most prominent feature. These categories are intended to mimic classic photography competition
categories but allow substantial use of modern tools to arrive at the final images. Images submitted in these categories that do not
appear to meet the spirit of this policy may be removed from the competition, or moved to a more appropriate category, at the
discretion of the club and competition judges. Many photography software applications are in use, and post-processing may represent
more than half of the process of digital photography. We strive to create works of art. With that in mind, manipulate away! Just keep in
mind the goal of improving your photographs, vs. creating images on a computer. Deleting distracting elements is fine, and “content
aware” fill is ok, even if AI is used to generate the fill. Replacing the sky is fine, but only if you photographed the replacement sky.
Adding a frame or border that is either included in a photo app or that you create is fine. Merged images such as panoramas, HDR
(high dynamic range) images, and focus stacking are OK. Infrared images may be entered in any appropriate category.
4. Policies on Entries
•Entry fee: $2.00 per image. (Waived for Zoom competitions)
•Maximum of 3 images per category.
•Maximum of 8 images total per monthly competition (this includes images from outings).
•Images entered in Subject of the Month category must have been taken following the announcement of those subjects.
•Images entered in Outing category must have been taken during the event.
•For images entered in the Creative category, digital manipulations must have been performed no more that 5 years prior to
the date of the competition.
•All other images used in competition must have been taken no more than 5 years prior to the date of the competition, with
the following exception:
• Members may submit one image per year in each of the Open and Monochrome categories that was taken more
than 5 years prior.
•Re-entry: One time per calendar year, members may re-enter one image that was previously entered in a club competition.
The re-entered image may be updated as the photographer sees fit. There is no time constraint. However, once an image has
been re-entered, one time, it may not be re-entered again. (Create a new image instead!)
5. Submission of Prints (8/29/2020 – No print competitions until further notice)
•All prints must be mounted on a 16x20 mat board. Glass, foam core, plastic backboard or covering, and frames are NOT
acceptable
•An additional mat is acceptable but not required.
•No print or backboard may exceed 16x20 inches.
•No print shall be smaller than 10 inches in the longest dimension.
•No identification of the member may appear on the image side of the print.
•A Competition Label must be filled out and attached to the reverse side in the upper left corner.
•A Competition Entry Form for each category entered must be filled out with the titles of the images, and placed in the
corresponding box on the submission table.
•Entry forms and competition labels can be obtained from the submission table (taking enough home to prepare entries for
the next competition is recommended). Members can also request (or download below) a template for printing their own
labels in the club preferred format. Email requests to Paul McDermott, pmcdee@mac.com
•Please come early to fill out the labels and entry forms if needed.
6. Submission of Digital Images Format images as follows:
•Size: Maximum width = 1920 pixels
Maximum height = 1080 pixels
Resolution does not matter for jpegs (pixels/inch)
So for landscape-oriented images, resize to fit the long side = 1920 pixels,
And for portrait-oriented images, resize to fit the long side = 1080 pixels.
•Format: jpg Name image files as follows:
•YearMonth Category Title by Photographer.jpg
•Category abbreviations: open - open; m - monochrome; s - subject of the month; cr - creative; o – outing
•Examples:
MMYY Title by Photographer.jpg Use title case and punctuation (Windows allows most punctuation in file names) for
the Title and the Photographer as shown in the examples. Examples are date coded for the May 2022 competition.
2205 open Grassy Hill by Kevin Neubert.jpg
2205 m Wow! That's a Big Bird by Paul McDermott.jpg
2205 cr Is it Real? by Allen Haeger.jpg (note that Windows will not allow this file name so instead of the ? use something
strange that will be noticed so it can be fixed for the website i.e. cr 0522 Is it Real-- by Allen Haeger.jpg)
•Submit images via email with the following subject line:
DVCC year month (spelled out) member name
Example: DVCC 2021 January John Doe Zoom Competitions
•For Zoom Competitions:
The new file naming convention contains all the information needed to enter your photo so simply attach your
images to an email and send it to the address indicated in the competition invitation email. The deadline for entry is
usually 11:59 PM on the Saturday before the competition but the deadline included in the competition invitation email will
supercede this date. Online Galleries Images that place 1st, 2nd, 3rd or HM in competition will be displayed in the club's
online gallery unless a member specifically requests otherwise.
•For Print Competitions:
For images that place 1st, 2nd, 3rd or HM in print competitions, submit digital images to webmaster within 48 hours after
the competition if you want them to appear on the website. (send to DVCClub@outlook.com)
7. Best of Year Competition:
Every year, images that place 1st, 2nd, 3rd or HM in monthly competitions for the prior year are entered in a “Best of Year” competition in the Feb-Mar timeframe.
8. Disclaimer:
Members of the DVCC shall be honest and ethical in the making and presentation of images to be shown to the club. The club is not responsible for the unethical use of copyright by a member.