At meetings members are encouraged to share their favorite printed photos or digital images for a monthly competition. You must be a dues paying member to enter the competitions.
There are three member divisions:
- Beginner (A)
- Intermediate (AA)
- Advanced (AAA)
New club members start out in Class A. Exceptions may be determined in the case of experienced photographers. Division advancement is determined by members scores at the end of the competition year.
For each meeting members submit up to (4) four photos total for judging:
- (3) three in the Open category
and - (1) one in the Special Subject category
The Special Subject changes each month and might be: Trees, Portraits, Transportation, Pets, Flowers, etc.
The four total images may be submitted in any combination of digital and/or print format. See Enter Digital Image Competition and Enter Print Competition for requirements and procedure.
- four digital
or - four prints
or - three digital and one print
or - two digital and two prints
or - one digital and three prints
Images receiving top scores will be added the the Club’s newsletter, The Shutter Tripper, and posted here on the Club’s website. The Members with the highest total scores for the year in their division are recognized at the Annual Banquet.
Judging
There is a different guest judge for each competition month. Judges critique what they like and what they feel can be improved upon in each of the images submitted. The judge then gives each image a score from 6 to 10. This kind of feedback is immensely helpful in the growth of an artist. The makers of each image are unknown during judging. The maker of an image receiving a score of 9 is announced to the group after receiving the score. Images receiving a score of 10 are set aside and at the end of the night the judge picks 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Images of the Month for both Digital and Print.
Judges generally hail from the Central California region and may be photojournalists, editors, professors, professional photographers, or long-standing members of the camera club community with years of expertise with both photography and judging. Judges often also share presentations of their photographic work with the club during the meeting.