Guidelines for Judges

In addition to the formal rules for competitions, we provide the following general guidelines to help make the judging process more efficient.  This is important because there are usually approximately 100 images spread throughout the six groups (three print categories and three digital image categories), and because we need to be out of the building by 10 pm.

Members are supposed to have all prints labeled and placed for viewing before the meeting starts at 7:30, which will provide the opportunity for the judge to view all prints before competition begins.

Assigned Topics

Competitions for the months of January, March and June have assigned topics. It is the responsibility of the judge to assure that the entries follow the assigned topic. If an entry does not follow the assigned topic then that entry should be eliminated during the competition process as per club rules.

The assigned topics for this competition year are:

January 2011

Sunrise/Sunset - Images depicting the rise or descent of the sun just above or below the horizon. Images must be taken within a half-hour of the sunrise or sunset.

March 2011

Backlit/Silhouettes - Images with a light source behind an opaque object creating a silhouette of the object rendering the interior of the object blacked-out and featureless.

June 2011

Fall/Autumn - Images depicting the holidays and the transition from summer into winter typically starting in September to the end of November. Holidays include Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Once competition begins, we prefer the following process for viewing and judging the images.

Competition Process for each image format and class:

1. Presentation phase: A run through of each image with no comments.

2. Comment phase: A second run through of each image commenting the pros/cons/etc. The judge is asked to mentally note the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and HM (award) candidates.

3. In/Out phase: The third run through where the judge must select if the image is in or out of the competition. The judge is asked to silently refine their choice for the award candidates during this phase.

4. Award phase: The remaining images will be presented together (except for slides) and the judge must determine the award winners. Award announcement must be in order, either HM(s) 3-2-1 or 1-2-3 HM(s). Additional comments on the winners welcomed.