Sandhills Photography Club

Our Animals on the Move competition was held at the meeting of August 14. Congratulations to the winners! Julie Countryman of Grey Bird Designs from Surprise, Arizona was our judge. This was our first competition which allowed only one entry per person instead of the usual two entries. We had forty entries and all who wanted to compete were able to enter. Be sure to go to the website and view the winners if you were unable to attend the meeting.

 

Steve Long won second place in Tier 1 and he has now moved up to Tier 2. Hooray for Steve-great work on all your wins!

 

The voting for the 2025 competition topics was extended and we had 55 voters. The topics selected are: Reflections Old Barns/Buildings M is for …… Churches/Graveyards Color Red We will add an “Open” category to round out the 2025 topics. This list of topics is not listed in monthly order yet-these represent the top five topics as chosen by the members and will be ordered accordingly by month in the near future.

 

The next competition will be held in October and the topic is Something Involving Water.

 

The definition is: This challenge involves water--bodies of water found in nature or photograph any use of water in daily life. A river or a glass of water-your choice. (3 year time limit, 1 entry per member) The galleries will be open September 9-16, so get your entry ready! Our final competition will be held in December and the topic is Sports. There will be member voting and no judge will be hired for writing comments or choosing winners.

 

Stay cool and happy shooting!

 

Bonny & Jerry

Sandhills Photography Club

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Creating signatures in LR and PS and creating export presets in LR

(Click here for word document) (Click here for PDF)

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TIER 1: Members with little or no experience in photography and/or who are new to competitions. Tier 1 members will be moved into tier 2 when they have accumulated 15 award points in competitions.

 

TIER 2: Members who have advanced through tier 1 or for new members who have already had prior photography experience and elect to be in tier 2. Tier 2 members will advance to Tier 3 when they have accumulated 40 award points in competitions.

 

TIER 3: Members who have accumulated 40 points in competitions.

 

Editing to all photographs is unrestricted. However, the original image must be an image taken by the member and meet the time and topic criteria for each competition. Members can use specialized cameras. (Infrared, ultraviolet, microscope, telescope, x-ray, electron beam, or any electro-optical device.) To enhance the original image the use of the following are allowed but not required: textures, frames, and borders created by the member, part of editing software, purchased, or acquired with permission. All images used in a composite must belong to the club member. The committee has the authority to request additional information if they feel it to be necessary.

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POINTS GUIDELINE IMPACT: 1 to 4 points Does the image illicit a strong emotional response as a first impression with a feeling of mood and does it hold your eye and interest? Does the title add to the image?

 

COMPOSITION: 1 to 3 points Is there design and balance in the image, bringing all of the visual elements together? Does it draw the viewer to look where the creator intended? Is the subject emphasized by the placement, contrast and framing with no distracting elements? Does the image have a strong point of interest?

 

TECHNICAL: 1 to 3 points Proper exposure, color balance, image focus, and good tonality should exist in the image as appropriate to the subject.

 

Keep this in mind when thinking about a title for your images. There are some who argue that a good or clever title should not be necessary, that the image should stand on its own and not necessarily need a title to “explain” the story or the picture. We, as the Competition Committee, feel that a title is important and can add to the overall impact of the photo. Any short title will work, but a creative, humorous, or inspired title is an addition to the photo. If the title is used to explain the image, we feel the judge will recognize that and perhaps lower the impact score realizing the image alone doesn’t tell the complete story. Some judges place importance on titles, others do not.

 

There is a discrepancy between the judging guidelines and the Competition Manual (which does not mention titles). We will update the manual, but in the meantime, we wanted you to be aware that the judge may consider your title as part of the judging.

 

Also, if you have not paid your 2023 dues, you will not be allowed to participate in the February competition. The galleries will open on January 14, so make sure your dues are paid before that date

 

As always, if you have questions or any difficulties entering, feel free to contact us at: Competitions@sandhillsphotoclub.org.

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Happy shooting!
Bonny & Jerry