New Plymouth Camera Club (Incorporated 1968) Operating As The. HANDBOOK. NPPC 2019

Transcription

1 New Plymouth Camera Club (Incorporated 1968) Operating As The HANDBOOK NPPC 2019 Page 1 of 18

2 1.1 Introduction Club Committee and Officers Subscriptions Newsletter Resources Library Mat Cutter Slide Scanner Advice Meetings Venue Club Outings th Wednesday Programme (Forums) PSNZ (Photographic Society Of New Zealand) C O M P E TI T I O N S Competitions Explained APC Competition Evaluations Competition Entry Details Entry Details Explained Manual DPI Entries Images That Don t Meet The Prescribed Subject Criteria Annual Points Competition (APC) APC Explained APC Presentation Types APC Entry Rules Derek s Competition S P E CI AL COMPETI TI O N S People and Their Stories New Zealand s Natural Environment - Including Flora And Fauna Versatility Competition Champion Image Competition E N T E RI NG COMPETI T I O N I M AG E S Print Image Sizes Digitally Projected Image (DPI) Sizes Naming Of DPI and Print Images APC Competitions: Champion Competition People and New Zealand s Natural Environment Special Competitions: Versatility Special Competition: NPPC 2019 Page 2 of 18

3 4.3.5 Forum Evenings: Glossary Of Naming String Terms C O M P E TI T I O N L EVELS Levels In APC Moving Between Levels I N T E RCLUB COMPETI T I O NS Taranaki Interclub Central Regional Special PSNZ Competitions Bowron Trophy Bledisloe Cup Wiltshire Memorial Cup Other Competitions NPPC 2019 Page 3 of 18

4 GENE R AL I NFORM AT I O N 1.1 Introduction The New Plymouth Camera Club was first formed in On the 12 th May 1969 the club registered to become The New Plymouth Camera Club Incorporated. A copy of the registered club rules (plus a change to Rule 16 on 24 th April 1983) can be downloaded from - our Organisation Number is In recent times the club informally changed its name to become The New Plymouth Photography Club to reflect a change in emphasis to become photography focused (i.e., not camera focused as possibly implied by the club s incorporated name). The aims of the club (as stated in the Rules) are: To promote the enjoyment, mastery and advancement of the photographic science and art in all its applications and in particular by organising lectures, demonstrations and tuition. To encourage and facilitate friendship, co-operation and the exchange of information and ideas on photography amongst the members of the club and elsewhere. To hold and/or promote competitions, exhibitions and salons of photographs in colour and monochrome whether within the club or otherwise. We endeavour to do this in a friendly, social and enjoyable environment. Additional information can be found on our webpage Over the course of a year the club offers members a range of activities, including monthly competitions, teaching/education tutorials, outings and guest presenters. 1.2 Club Committee and Officers Harry Cast President president@nppc.co.nz Ron Coleman Vice President (also Handbook editor) Judy Coleman Secretary secretary@nppc.co.nz Graeme Henry Treasurer Heather Shuker Print Steward John Shuker Print Steward David Fitness DPI Steward Grant Squire Newsletter Editor editor@nppc.co.nz David Sinclair Webmaster images@nppc.co.nz Steve Cox Markham Mail NPPC 2019 Page 4 of 18

5 1.3 Subscriptions The club subscriptions are kept to a minimum, with provision for those who only wish to attend socially (i.e., don t enter in the monthly competitions) Subscriptions are due annually and be paid before the 1 st April if you wish your entries to be eligible for any of the club competitions. You may pay by either cheque to New Plymouth Camera Club (Inc) or by direct credit to the club s TSB Bank account number If a member joins during the year the subscription amount is adjusted to half of the annual rate from 1 st July onwards subscriptions: Full Member Associate Member Student Member Single $45 Single $25 Associate $15 Family / Double $80 Family $40 Full $ Newsletter A monthly newsletter (The Flash) is ed to members in PDF format or posted to those without . This keeps everyone up to date with what is happening within the club in terms of programme, outings etc. It also gives the club an opportunity to acknowledge club members success, both in internal and external competitions. Copies are also uploaded onto the club s website. 1.5 Resources The club has a range of resources which club members are welcome to use. Most of these are provided at no cost and include: Library A small library of magazines is available. Donations of recent magazines are always welcome to increase the stock Mat Cutter A Mat cutter is available for photographers who want to mat their own prints Slide Scanner A QPix Multi-Function Combo Scanner that converts slides to DPI is available for member use Advice This is freely available from both the committee and other club members. Additional information is also available on the Club website. While advice is always free it is always worth a lot. NPPC 2019 Page 5 of 18

6 1.6 Meetings Venue The club meets in the West Baptist Church, 144 South Road, Spotswood (near the Challenge service station and on the same side of the street). Meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of the month; the first meeting being in February and the final being in December which is our prize-giving. Our meetings commence at 7:45pm Club Outings During the year several club outings are held. These provide an opportunity to work alongside other club members and share knowledge. It also provides teaching opportunities where more experienced club members can assist new members with tuition on photographic techniques or advice on how to use their cameras. If a club member has a suggestion for an outing, please let a committee member know or speak to the President th Wednesday Programme (Forums) When a 5th Wednesday occurs in a month the club runs an alternative programme, usually a forum evening, where Club members can bring in DPI images for discussion. These evenings are a good opportunity for all photographers to learn about the technical and artistic aspects of photography. Images presented at Forum evenings are not saved by the club i.e., they will be deleted from the club Laptop after they have been shown on the Forum night. Note: Images must be sized as prescribed in section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPIs) Sizes. The DPI file naming string used is as follows (refer to section Glossary Of Naming String Terms for a full explanation of these terms): Image Title_Code (e.g., Awesome Picture_123) 1.7 PSNZ (Photographic Society Of New Zealand) The PSNZ is the national body to which our club is affiliated. Part of our subscription fee goes towards the running of PSNZ. This entitles the club and its members to enter PSNZ events and receive the monthly newsletter Camera Talk. The PSNZ runs regional conventions (Northern, Central and Southern) as well as the National Convention. More detail on this subject is discussed in section 6.3 Special Competitions. If you are interested in being involved in photography beyond the club level, membership of PSNZ has some advantages. More information on the PSNZ is available on their website NPPC 2019 Page 6 of 18

7 2 C O M P E T I T I O N S 2.1 Competitions Explained Over the course of the year there are ten Club Competitions. To be eligible for entry into any Club Competition the requirements of section Entry Details Explained shall apply. 2.2 APC Competition Evaluations All APC (Annual Points Competition) entries are evaluated and given Grades by an Evaluator who has been invited by the committee to perform this task. It is also possible to get a Plus (+) allocated to your Grade - e.g., a Merit Plus (Merit +) is almost an Excellence. This applies to all grades except Honours. The grades (and APC points) on offer are: Grade Criteria Points APC Points Plus Accepted The image meets the criteria for entry 1 2 Commended Merit Excellence Honours Showing a good level of composition and improved technical understanding An image with a very good level of composition (design) and good technical understanding An image which has a very high standard of composition and technical excellence An outstanding image that clearly has something special that makes it stand out from the rest of the images N/A 2.3 Competition Entry Details Entry Details Explained To be eligible for entry into any Club Competition the following requirements apply: a) All ed Digital Projected Images (i.e., DPI) entries must be received by the DPI Entry Steward at images@nppc.co.nz by 23:59 hours (11:59pm) on the date listed in the Club Calendar. Details on how to your Competition Entries are provided in a tutorial that can be downloaded from the Members section of the clubs website ( - note that a password is needed to gain access to that site ask the President or the Secretary for this). b) All manually entered DPI and Print competition images must be handed to the respective entry stewards before 7:30pm on the date stated in the Club Calendar NPPC 2019 Page 7 of 18

8 which generally ties in with the 3 rd Wednesday of each month. Also note the additional DPI manual entry requirements of section Manual DPI Entries. c) Late DPI and Print entries can be arranged only in advance with the prior permission of the President which shall only be granted on a case-by-case basis. This applies for all Annual Points Competitions (i.e., APC - see section APC Explained) and Special competitions The purpose of having prescribed closing times is to: Ensure fairness in each competition, allow the entry stewards time to check and assemble the entries Compile the documentation on which the evaluator will record their comments and marks Ensure that the evaluator is given adequate time to look at the images before awarding their evaluation results. d) All DPI Competition entries shall be named as prescribed in section 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images. e) All Print Competition entries shall be named as prescribed in section 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images. A condition of entry into any Club Competition is that the club can take and store a low resolution image of your Print entries for record purposes. This image will be deleted after three (3) years if requested to do so by image owner. Print workers are also required to provide the club with a digital copy of their Print image by ing it to the DPI steward (images@nppc.co.nz). If no digital copy is provided then our Print Stewards will take a photo of your image. The digital copy must meet the 1600 x 1200 dpi dimensions stated in section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPI) Sizes Manual DPI Entries If manually submitting DPI entries, they must be loaded onto a USB 2.0 / USB 3.0 compatible flash drive and handed into the DPI Stewards. The DPI stewards will then transfer entries from your flash drive onto the club s laptop Images That Don t Meet The Prescribed Subject Criteria The DPI and Print Entry Stewards will check that each Subject entry reasonably meets the expected requirements i.e., the image must feature or hero the subject as the dominant element(s) within the image. If the Stewards feel that the image does not adequately meet those requirements, then the President and the respective DPI or Print Steward shall decide to Accept the image by changing it to become an Open entry (with the approval of the image owner). NPPC 2019 Page 8 of 18

9 2.4 Annual Points Competition (APC) APC Explained The APC is an on-going competition which runs throughout the year. There are six (6) APC nights where the images are evaluated. Images can be submitted as: Images that meet the monthly APC set Subject which represent a task determined by the Committee (these are issued by December and published in the Clubs website. The Subjects are carefully chosen by the Committee to offer a challenge to Club members that encourages them to improve on their image shooting skills and editing techniques. Images that are Open where the club member is free to follow their own subject criteria APC Presentation Types There are two main types of image presentation: 1) Digitally Projected Images (DPIs) which are shown through the club s Data Show Projector. DPIs sizes are prescribed in section 4.2 Digitally Projected Images (DPIs). All DPI images must be saved using a JPEG file format. Note: The clubs data projector displays images using the srgb colour space see Wikipedia definition 2) Prints - which are Matted for display. Print sizes are prescribed in section 4.1 Print Sizes. Please also note that a 1600 x 1200 dpi image must be sent to the DPI Steward as stated in section Entry Details Explained as part of your entry APC Entry Rules If your image is being entered as a Subject image (refer to the comments in section APC Explained) then you must meet the Subject Competition entry criteria as set by the Committee and published in the Club Calendar. Images that don t meet the prescribed Subject criteria might not be accepted as prescribed in section Images That Don t Meet The Prescribed Subject Criteria. You can only enter up to a total of two (2) images into each monthly APC competition. These images shall be submitted as one (1) colour and one (1) monochrome i.e., you are not allowed to enter two colours or two monochromes because this unfavourably biases the competition points summary scoring system. The following combinations are permitted: All DPIs (1 colour plus 1 monochrome). All Prints (1 colour plus 1 monochrome). NPPC 2019 Page 9 of 18

10 Or a combination of one DPI and one Print. The following entry examples will help you understand this last rule: o o 1 colour DPI and 1 monochrome Print 1 monochrome DPI and 1 colour Print You are not restricted to always entering the same presentation type for each APC night (i.e., all DPI or all prints). Notes to APC Entry Rules: a) Competition Levels are explained in greater detail in section 5 Competition Levels. b) To be eligible to win an APC award at the end of the year in their respective Competition Level a member must: Be a full financial member for the current year Have entered into at least three separate APC during the current financial year c) APC Images can also be used in any of the Special Competitions during the year (i.e., People, NZ Natural Environment and Versatility) and in the Champions Competition. d) Please note that: DPI images must be sized in accordance with the requirements of section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPIs) Sizes. Section 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images contains specific details on labelling. 2.5 Derek s Competition At the end of the year we also run a Special Challenge print competition that is sponsored by Derek Hughes. He sets the Subject, evaluates the images and awards a prize for the winning image(s). NPPC 2019 Page 10 of 18

11 3 S P E C I A L C O M P E T I T I O N S 3.1 People and Their Stories This competition focuses on images taken of people and their endeavours. Formal portraits can be entered, but less formal images that capture everyday events, or tell stories about the people in the image also have a place such as journalistic and sporting moments. A maximum of two (2) images can be entered. The images can be any combination of colour or monochrome but must be either all DPIs or all Prints. Images are evaluated individually, not as a set or collection and Competition Levels are not considered (for information regarding levels refer to section 5 Competition Levels). People images can also be entered in the APC (but only once), Versatility and Champions Competitions. Please also note the requirements of: Section 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images contains specific details on labelling DPI images must be sized in accordance with the requirements of section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPIs) Sizes. 3.2 New Zealand s Natural Environment - Including Flora And Fauna The emphasis is on the New Zealand natural environment which also includes flora and fauna as well as landscapes, seascapes, birds, insects and animals. Images that do not qualify include: Domestic pets and zoo animals Images captured outside New Zealand. If the hand of man is in evidence, then it must only have a minimal impact. For example, a fantail on a fence wire would be acceptable provided that the wire makes up only a small part of the image. If a road, fence line or building is present, and it is very noticeable in the image then that is not acceptable. Note that identification bands on a bird s leg are acceptable. A maximum of two (2) images can be entered. The images can be any combination of colour or monochrome but must be either all DPIs or all Prints. The images are evaluated individually, not as a set or collection and Competition levels are not considered (for information regarding Levels refer to section 5 Competition Levels). It is recommended that your image Title provides some direct link to the subject - not a cryptic clue! For example, Fantail on Barbed Wire Fence as opposed to A Prickly Situation. New Zealand s Natural Environment images can also be entered into the APC (but only once), Versatility and Champions Competitions. Please also note the requirements of: NPPC 2019 Page 11 of 18

12 Section 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images contains specific details on labelling. DPI images must be sized in accordance with the requirements of section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPIs) Sizes. 3.3 Versatility Competition This competition is aimed at challenging a photographer s versatility in both subject and technical variation. Your Versatility entry must comprise a total of five (5) images. The images can be any combination of colour or monochrome but must be either all DPIs or all Prints. Part of the evaluator s decision will be based on how you show versatility in techniques, such as lighting, texture, tone, design and presentation. As well as versatility in technique you should also show versatility in subject. Five different pictures of trucks despite showing a variety of techniques would not fit the versatility criteria. Two (2) of your image subjects must be chosen from the following: A Landscape/Seascape image A People image A Natural Environment image (but not necessarily New Zealand based). The other three (3) images are subjects of your own choice. Versatility images can also be entered once separately into the APC, People, New Zealand s Natural Environment and Champions Competitions. Versatility images are evaluated individually, not as a set or collection and Competition levels are not considered (for information regarding Levels refer to section 5 Competition Levels). Please also note the requirements of: Section 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images contains specific details on labelling. DPI images must be sized in accordance with the requirements of section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPIs) Sizes. 3.4 Champion Image Competition This Special Competition is held at the end of year. This is an Open competition and a top image in each individual Competition Level is selected e.g., Competition Level 1 colour, Competition Level 1 monochrome etc. For more information regarding Levels refer to section 5 Competition Levels. An overall Champion colour and Champion monochrome image for both the DPI and Print sections is also selected from each Competition Level s winning images. Images are evaluated individually, not as a set or collection and Competition levels are not considered. NPPC 2019 Page 12 of 18

13 In the Champions Competition you can only enter a maximum of two (2) images. You are not allowed to enter two colours or two monochromes because this unfavourably biases the Champion Image results. Images shall be submitted following the APC entry rules that are prescribed in section APC Entry Rules - i.e., one (1) colour and one (1) monochrome image. To be eligible to win the Champions Competition a member must: a) Be a full financial member for the current year b) Have entered in at least three (3) other Club Competitions during the year which includes APC, People, NZ Natural Environment and/or Versatility. The only exception to this requirement would be if a new member to the club wished to enter but had not been in the club long enough to qualify under this requirement. In this case the situation must be discussed with the President and a waiver could be granted at their discretion on a case-by-case basis Notes: Images entered in the Champions Competition may have also have been entered in the APC or any of the Special Competitions for the current financial year. Images that have not been entered before in any Competition can also be entered. These images may also be used in next year s APC and Special competitions but cannot be used again in another Champions Competition. Please also note the requirements of: Section 4.3 Naming Of DPI Images contains specific details on labelling DPI images must be sized in accordance with the requirements of section 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPIs) Sizes. NPPC 2019 Page 13 of 18

14 1200 pixels 2019 HANDBOOK 4 E N T E R I N G C O M P E T I T I O N I M A G E S 4.1 Print Image Sizes The image and the mat must fit inside the club s standard print box which is 20 inches by 16 inches (500mm x 400mm). The size limitation is in line with major competitions run nationally and matted images which exceed this size are not accepted. There is flexibility in the size of your prints and the size of your mats, so long as they are less than the previously stated overall size. It is recommended that prints be no smaller than 7 inches by 5 inches (180 mm x 130 mm). Prints must always be matted however this could be as simple as attaching printed images to a stiff card. Your mat is not evaluated as part of the image however a good mat can enhance an image in some evaluators minds. Please also note that a 1600 x 1200 dpi image must be sent to the DPI Steward as stated in section Entry Details Explained as part of your entry. 4.2 Digitally Projected Image (DPI) Sizes Our preference is that all DPI competition entries are ed to the club s webmaster at images@nppc.co.nz. Details on this process are explained in section 2 Competitions. All images entered into the club s monthly competitions must fit into a frame whose maximum dimensions are 1600 pixels wide by 1200 pixels high. If you have a landscape style of image then its maximum width can only be 1600 pixels and a portrait style of image can only be 1200 pixels high. The following examples portray this graphically: Landscape Frame 1600 pixels Portrait Frame Note that the club does not impose any restrictions on resolution sizes that you can use however we recommend that you use a resolution of at least 300 dpi or higher. NPPC 2019 Page 14 of 18

15 These images are projected through the club s Data Projector (using srgb) and the images are also stored on the club s computer (section Entry Details Explained provides more information on this subject). 4.3 Naming Of DPI and Print Images Each DPI image file must be uniquely named using the following format APC Competitions: All APC competition entries use the following naming string examples: Type_Subject_C/M Level_Image Title_Code_Yes/No Type_Open_C/M Level_Image Title_Code_Yes/No Details of the APC strings are published with the Club Calendar which is available on the club s website Champion Competition The file naming string that is used for this competition is the same as used for APC (because Club Levels and Colour/Monochrome images are used to determine the awards available): Type_Champion_C/M Level_Image Title_Code_Yes/No Details of the Champions strings are published with the Club Calendar which is available on the club s website People and New Zealand s Natural Environment Special Competitions: The file naming convention for these special competitions use the following naming string (note that no distinction is made for Club Level, nor does it matter if the image is a Colour or Monochrome): Type_Nature_Image Title_Code_Yes/No Type_People_Image Title_Code_Yes/No Details of the People and New Zealand s Natural Environment strings are published with the Club Calendar which is available on the club s website Versatility Special Competition: This competition uses a different naming string so that all of the images submitted by each photographer are grouped together as a collection by the computer (note no distinction is made for Club Level): Type_Code_Versatility_Image Title_Yes/No Details of the Versatility strings are published with the Club Calendar which is available on the club s website Forum Evenings: The naming string for these (non-competition) evenings is listed in section th Wednesday Programme (Forums). NPPC 2019 Page 15 of 18

16 4.3.6 Glossary Of Naming String Terms Type means either DPI (digitally projected image) or PRT (a printed image Subject can be: o Either a specific task set by the Club Committee that is specific to the monthly APC competition (this is discussed in section 2.4 Annual Points Competition (APC)). Where images are being entered using this criteria then use the Subject name as set by the Committee in the naming string o Or images where the club member is following their own criteria. Where images are being entered using this criteria then use Open in the naming string. C/M means that the image is either Colour or Monochrome Level represents the club level of the photographer (e.g., L1, L2, L3, L4) Image Title is your image name (a unique name is required for each image) using no more than twenty-five letters (including spaces) in your title (e.g., Awesome Picture). Please do not include underscores in Title names. Code is the photographer s unique club code (this code is issued by the DPI Steward when a photographer first joins the club (e.g., 123). Yes/No. A Yes means that you agree for the club to possibly displaying your image on its web site and also possibly using it in external PSNZ competitions as part of a Club Set of images (but you will be asked before this happens). A No means that you do not agree to the club to displaying your image on its web site. Note: An underscore _ is always needed between each of the above-mentioned string name elements. All DPI entries will be shown in Levels and by alphabetical order (A to Z) of the image title (with colour images shown before monochrome). All Print entries will be displayed in Levels and by alphabetical order (A to Z) of the image title (with colour images shown before monochrome). NPPC 2019 Page 16 of 18

17 5 C O M P E T I T I O N L E V E L S 5.1 Levels In APC The club has four levels in the APC competition structure: Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 is for beginners to photography, or those with limited experience. is for beginners who are becoming more experienced. is for photographers who are experienced but are still learning the many skills associated with being a very experienced photographer. is for experienced photographers who are consistently producing work of a very high standard. 5.2 Moving Between Le vels Initial placement of a new member within a Competition Level is done by a club office holder (usually the President) and movement through the Levels is usually decided by the club committee as a member s skill level increases. Changes usually become effective from the beginning of each competition year or if the President feels that an earlier movement is beneficial. At the beginning of each Competition year, a member can also move down a level if they feel that their work is not currently up to the standard expected for the current level. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the club committee. Applications should be directed through the club President. 6 I N T E R C L U B C O M P E T I T I O NS 6.1 Taranaki Interclub This is a one-day competition held between Taranaki Photography Clubs, usually in June or July. It includes all four Taranaki clubs which are Hawera, Stratford, Inglewood (IPAG) and New Plymouth. The entry of images is free but there will be a registration fee payable to the host club. It is up to the host club to set the Salon entry rules. 6.2 Central Regional The Central region includes PSNZ affiliated clubs from as far north as Gisborne and Taupo, across to New Plymouth, then down to Wellington. The Clubs within this region take turns in hosting this weekend long event and determine the programme, Salon subjects and entry conditions. It is usually held sometime between September and November. NPPC 2019 Page 17 of 18

18 6.3 Special PSNZ Competitions The PSNZ offers a number of national competitions open to all photography clubs and societies which are members of the PSNZ. Note that DPI images must be saved as a JPEG with a maximum of 1620 pixels on the horizontal and 1080 pixels on the vertical side and in the srgb colour space The conditions of entry for all national competitions are prescribed in individual By-Laws available for download from Bowron Trophy This is a national DPI landscape competition. A club can enter a set of four DPI s. The conditions of entry are prescribed in PSNZ By-Law Bledisloe Cup This is a national interclub print competition. A club can enter a set of four Prints. The conditions of entry are prescribed in PSNZ By-Law Wiltshire Memorial Cup This is a national interclub DPI competition. A club can enter a set of four DPI images. The conditions of entry are prescribed in PSNZ By-Law Other Competitions There are a number of outside competitions that club members can enter with the North Shore Salon probably being the biggest. The National Convention gives members an opportunity to exhibit at national level. At this level all competitions are Open (except for the under 23 age group section). A range of awards are given, and top images gain special recognition. End Of 2019 Handbook NPPC 2019 Page 18 of 18