CLUB COMPETITION INFORMATION
For the internal competitions, the crucial thing is to READ THE RULES !Even long-standing members could benefit from reading the rules - there are changes from time to time.
The club runs three main "internal" competitions for still images during the year:
- First Exposure Competition
- Theme Competition (2 separate parts, Open Theme and Set Theme)
- Annual Competition
Competitions give you feedback on your work, and help you develop your photography. ALL members are encouraged to take part in these events! The Syllabus provides information on the entry dates for each competition and the Competition Secretary will be happy to provide any further guidance as required.
The requirements for each competition are different, but the general idea for the internal competitions is that you enter images, handing them to the Competition Secretary about two weeks before the competition night, dates marked H in the Syllabus. The club invites a respected judge to come along on the night of the competition, to display and talk about the images, and to give each image a mark out of 20. The winner is the person with the highest score out of 60! See the Competition Rules for further details.
There are cups to be won:
- Tyne Cup First Exposure Competition winner
- League Cup Theme Competition overall winner
- Colour Trophy Best slide in the Annual Competition
- John Apps Trophy Best print (colour or monochrome) in the Annual Competition
- Lothian Cup Most promising beginner
- Tully-Jackson Cup Short Story (audio visual) Competition
- Carlyle Cup Greatest number of points over the entire season. This is the most prestigious trophy!
Certificates of merit will also be awarded to winners of the projected image and print categories in each competition.
There are also local inter-club competitions, and national or international competitions are available through our affiliation with the Scottish Photographic Federation. You will be invited to submit photographs for possible inclusion in the club's entry to inter-club competitions. You may submit as many prints or slides (or both) as you wish, but normally a maximum of 2 slides and/or prints will be selected from any one member.
Judges are volunteers who are experienced amateur or professional photographers and are often members of other camera clubs in the area. They are familiar with the rules for entries, undergo training as judges and do their best to provide an informative and constructive assessment of the pros and cons of each entry. Like all of us, their assessments are to a certain extent subjective, and this may explain why good entries that meet all the rules may receive different assessments and awards. Some judges are more adept at discussing the artistic merits and weaknesses of an image than others, while others are fussy about seemingly minor technical 'flaws'. It is important to remember that the opinion presented by the judge is a single opinion. Different judges can and do have varying opinions on the same image. We are very fortunate that these individuals take the time to travel here and spend an evening at the club, helping us all improve our photographic skills.
All text and the Haddington Camera Club logo are ©2008 Haddington Camera Club. All photographs are ©2007-2008 the respective photographers.