Competition Rules

CPS COMPETITION RULES

1. FORMAL COMPETITIONS

The following formal competitions will be staged annually. Competition dates and dates for handing in entries are published in the syllabus for the season.

1.1 THE THREE PART COMPETITIONS (A and B workers judged separately)

This is a series of three separate open print and slide competitions held at various dates during the season.
There are no separate trophies for these competitions but all points awarded count towards the Slide and Print Photographer of the Year trophies and the equivalent Class B awards. Entry limited to 4 slides and 3 prints per author.

1.2 PRESIDENT'S THEME COMPETITION (A and B workers judged as one class)

As the name implies all prints and slides entered for this annual competition must conform to a set subject chosen by the outgoing President and announced at the Annual General Meeting.

1.3 CLUB THEME COMPETITION (A and B workers judged as one class)

Each year members are encouraged to suggest a suitable topic for this competition. The final choice being made by the committee and announced at the A.G.M.

1.4 ANNUAL COMPETITION (A and B workers judged separately)

Photographs entered for previous competitions, including the Three Part Competitions may be submitted as well as new material. However, previous Annual Competition entries are not acceptable. There are three subject categories for both prints and slides.

i) NATURAL HISTORY

Any living creatures or geological, meteorological, climatological or ecological phenomena.
Images must be an accurate representation of the species or subject matter.
Titles must be specific and correct.
Creatures are expected to be alive and free in the wild, not domesticated or in zoological collections. Similarly plants should be in the wild and not cultivated.
If controlled conditions are used this should be declared with the exception of micro and macro detail.
Geology, weather, climatology and ecology are permissible but should be accurately titled to show their significance to the natural world.
Derivations or any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement are ineligible.
Digital treatment is permissible only if this is equivalent to normal darkroom practice such as cropping, spotting, dodging, burning in etc.

ii) PORTRAITURE

Portraits may be formal or informal posed or candid, single or in groups and show something of the character, personality or occupation of the subject.
Animal or pet 'portraits' are not acceptable in this category but may be entered in the open category.

iii) OPEN

Any subject matter other than Natural History or Portraiture as defined earlier.

2. GENERAL RULES

The following rules are applicable to all competitions. Note that all photographs chosen to represent the Society in external competitions under the auspices of the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union (L&CPU) and the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) should comply with the rules of those bodies.

2.1 ELIGIBLE MATERIAL

Slides and prints may be colour or monochrome and may be home or trade processed and/or mounted.

2.2 TECHNOLOGY

There is no restriction on the technology used to transfer the image onto the transparency or print medium.

2.3 IMAGE MANIPULATION

Except in the case of the Natural History category of the Annual Competition there is no restriction on the manipulation of the image using either traditional darkroom, digital or any kind of technique provided that the manipulation is performed by the author. There are, however, restrictions on the original source of the image. Any photographic image must be the work of the author. Supplementary images which are clearly not photographic in nature (e.g. clip art) may be obtained from other sources subject to the copyright applying to those sources.

2.4 PRESENTATION OF ENTRIES

SLIDES : Must be mounted in 50mm(2"x 2") glass mounts and clearly labelled on the reverse side of the mount with the author's membership number and class (A or B), the title and in respect of the Annual Competition the category (Open Natural History or Portraiture). The front of the slide to be spotted in the bottom left hand corner as viewed in the hand.

PRINTS : Mounts must be a maximum of 20 x 16 inches, with no minimum. When a mount overlay is used it should be mounted on top of the print mount and be the same size. No sticky tape will be allowed on the back of the mounts.
The author's membership number and class (A or B), the title and in respect of the Annual Competition the category (Open, Natural History or Portraiture) must appear on the back of the print in the top right hand corner.

2.5 NUMBER OF ENTRIES - Updated November 2006

The number of entries which may be submitted by each author will be decided for each competition by the Competition Secretary/Committee but unless an announcement is made to the contrary the following will apply:-

Annual Competition - Entry limited to 9 slides and 6 prints per author with the additional proviso that no more than 4 slides or 3 prints may be entered in any one category (Open, Natural History or Portraiture).

All other Competitions - Entry limited to 4 slides and 3 prints per author.

2.6 POINTS AWARDED

In all competitions the judge will make the following awards in each medium (prints and slides) and each class (A or B). Points for all formal competitions are totalled for the Slide and Print Photographer of the Year trophies and the equivalent Class B awards. The winner of the highest overall number of points in Class A will be awarded the Photographer of the Year Trophy. Winners of all awards will be presented with certificates.

AWARD POINTS

First Place 8
Second Place 7
Third Place 6
Very Highly Commended (one only) 5
Highly Commended (a maximum of two) 4
Commended (at the judge's discretion) 3

Judges are requested to issue awards in respect of no more than approximately 25% of the slide entry and no more than approximately 25% of the print entry in any competition.

2.7 RETENTION OF ANNUAL ENTRIES

Entries for the Annual Competition may be retained by the Society for one year for external competition purposes, including L&CPU competitions.

2.8 TROPHIES

The following trophies are awarded at the Annual Dinner or Annual General Meeting and are held by the recipients for the period of one year.

SLIDES

Festival Cup - Annual Open

Reg Harper Memorial Cup - Annual Natural History

A. L. Law Cup - Annual Originality

The Morton Trophy - Annual Set Subject

Freda Best Memorial Cup - Annual Summer Outing

W.J. George Trophy - Beginner of the Year

Williams Cup - Slide Photographer of the Year

Portrait Trophy - Annual Portraiture

PRINTS

L.W. Hobson Memorial Cup - Annual Open

Geoff Steel Memorial Cup - Annual Natural History

Peele Cup - Annual Originality

Miller Cup - Annual Set Subject

Miln Cup - Annual Summer Outing

E.G.Williams Cup - Beginner of the Year

Millennium Cup Print - Photographer of the Year

Portrait Trophy - Annual Portraiture

Will R Rose Memorial Trophy - 1st Place Photographer of the Year

H.J. Harper Roberts Cup - 2nd Place Photographer of the Year

Gwynedd Williams Cup - 3rd Place Photographer of the Year

President's Cup Held by the President in Office

3. CLASSES

3.1 DEFINITION OF CLASSES

Members will compete in one of two classes (A or B) for the Three-Part and Annual Competitions.
Class B is intended to encourage participation by novices in photography, particularly those who have never previously taken part in club competitions.
All other entrants should compete in Class A.
New members unsure of which class to enter should seek guidance from the Competition Secretary. Should any dispute arise concerning eligibility for Class B, the Committee will be asked to make a ruling.

3.2 PROMOTION TO CLASS A

Any member may elect to compete in Class A if they wish to do so, fully aware that it could be self defeating to compete at a too high a level.
A Class B worker considered to be of a sufficiently high standard will be invited to move up to Class A for the start of the new season.
At the commencement of the new competition season, any Class A worker may apply to the Competition Secretary to move down to Class B if they have submitted little or no work or been unsuccessful in the previous seasons competitions.

CHESTER PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY - ANNUAL COMPETITION RULES

(A and B workers judged separately)

i) NATURAL HISTORY

Any living creatures or geological, meteorological, climatological or ecological phenomena.
Images must be an accurate representation of the species or subject matter.
Titles must be specific and correct.
Creatures are expected to be alive and free in the wild, not domesticated or in zoological collections. Similarly plants should be in the wild and not cultivated.
If controlled conditions are used this should be declared with the exception of micro and macro detail.
Geology, weather, climatology and ecology are permissible but should be accurately titled to show their significance in the natural world.
Derivations or any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement are ineligible.
Digital treatment is permissible only if this is equivalent to normal darkroom practice such as cropping, spotting, dodging, burning in etc.

ii) PORTRAITURE

Portraits may be formal or informal posed or candid, single or in groups and show something of the character, personality or occupation of the subject.
Animal or pet 'portraits' are not acceptable in this category but may be entered in the open category.

iii) OPEN
Any subject matter other than Natural History or Portraiture as defined earlier.

Entry is limited to six prints and nine slides per author with the additional proviso that no more than three prints or four slides may be entered in any one category (Open, Natural History or Portraiture)

If the full allocation of six prints/nine slides is submitted, one slide and one print must be clearly identified as reserve entries by being marked with the letter 'R'. Should the total entry prove excessive the Competition Secretary may at his discretion limit the overall number by withholding the reserve prints and or slides. These will be returned by the author and may be re-submitted for further competitions. In addition to titles and membership numbers entries should also be marked NH for (Natural History) P for (Portraiture) and O for (Open).

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