Boeing Employees' Photographic Society Competition Rules

Throughout the history of the Boeing Employees' Photographic Society, the club's competition events have been recognized as being among the most effective methods of improving ones photography. Viewing another photographer's images and/or having your images critiqued cannot be matched in their ability to refine your photographic skills.

We encourage and look forward to your participation.

The Competition Chairperson always welcomes questions and suggestions.

General Rules (Prints & Projected Images)

Two meetings are set aside each month for competitions. Normally, the first Tuesday of the month is Projected Images Competition night and the third Tuesday of the month is Print Competition night. The rules for entry are as follows:

• The competitions are open to all members and on any subject.
• Slides or Prints may be processed by either the member or a lab. Digital Image processing shall be accomplished by the maker, with the exception of printing, which can be done by the maker or another person or lab.
• The image must have been taken by the member.
• Entries are limited to three images per member.

• The Competition Chairperson may restrict entries at any competition to two entries per member if time constraints mandate.

• Entries must be submitted no later than10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.

Projected Image Competition Rules

• A maximum of three images may be entered on each of the competition nights.
• One image can be entered in each of three categories:
• "Category 1" is for entries that are to be judged and critiqued.
• "Category 2" is for entries that are only to be judged, not critiqued.
• "Category 3" is for entries that are only to be judged, not critiqued.

• Note: Category 3 may be excluded if the Competition Chairperson determines that the quantity of entries in Categories 1 & 2 will require all of the time allowed for the meeting.

• Two images may be entered in Category 2 if one is not entered in Category 1.

Slides 

• If entering slides, they must be marked per the example below.

Place a dot in lower left corner of slide mount when viewed from the front and held right side up.

Digital Images

• All image submissions are to be in the form of a jpg image.
• Images shall not exceed 768 x 512 (horizontal or vertical) or a total of 393,216 pixels.
• File size is not a criterion for entry. Images may be submitted via email to the competition chair (preferred) no later than 24 hours prior to the competition. In addition, images may be brought to the slide competition on Compact Flash, SD, Media Stick, USB flash, 3.5 inch floppy, CD or DVD but must be received no later than 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
• Images will be put into one of three folders, much the same as the three trays for slides.
• Images in the first folder will be critiqued and those in folders two and three will be scored only.
• File naming convention for submittals is as follows:

• Folder_Title_ Member No._Date (month day year).Extension
  • Example: 1_Mt Rainier_188_020105.jpg

• Information for the Score Sheet Labels:

• Title, Name, Member #
  • Example: “Mt Rainier” John Meek #188

Additional information for digital images:

What “dpi” should I save my file as?

• For our purposes, dpi doesn't matter. Resize your image to 768 x 512 (or 512 x768) and you are done. Dpi only comes into play when you are trying to print to a specific size or want the image on the screen to be a specific size. Since we display the full image as "actual pixels", dpi doesn't matter.

• For example, 768x512 (which is the same aspect ratio as a standard 35mm frame) at 72 dpi with print and display on a screen as 10.6x7.1 inches. The same 768x512 image at 300 dpi will print as 2.56 x 1.71 inches but still display on the screen as 10.6x7.1, if both images are set to "display actual pixels".

• For the purpose of projection, just worry about the size of the image in pixels (768 by 512) and ignore the rest. The resulting file size will vary depending on the amount of compression selected (when you save the jpeg) and can also vary based on the individual image. 

What about non-standard image shapes? 

• Our goal is to keep the relative size of the projected image the same as traditional 35mm slides since both will be judged during the same competition. Let's face it, bigger can mean more impact which can translate to a higher score. 768 pixels (top to bottom) is a physical design limitation of the projector. People occasionally crop the standard 24x36mm slide frame using Erie (sp?) mounts or just mask off with electrical tape. Non-standard shapes will still be allowed digitally but we don't want to give an unfair advantage to digital folks by allowing a "bigger" image than what could be done with a slide. So, if you want to make a traditional slide square, you would mask it down to 24x24mm. This corresponds to a 512x512 pixel image on the digital side. A panoramic could be masked down to 36x18mm (for example) which corresponds to a 768x384 pixel image.

However...

We would like to allow a little flexibility/creativity on the digital side as well. What we are going to try is a maximum "area" of the digital image. The max area would be based on a"standard" 35mm frame of 768x512 pixels, or 393216. This means you could have a square image of 627x627 pixels or a horizontal panoramic of up to 1024x382. (627 times 627 is 393216 and 1024 times 382 is also 393216).

• Why do this??

Although it has not happened in any of our competitions, it would be possible to shoot a medium format transparency and trim it to fit a 2x2 inch slide mount which has an opening larger than the standard 24x36. I have seen this type of "slide" for sale at tourist shops and museums for example. Specifying a maximum area is a similar approach.

Don't let projection rules dictate how you shoot. Shoot at the highest resolution you camera supports, do your adjustments on the computer at this high res and finally resize to our specs as the last step (and save as a high quality jpg).

Are other file formats OK?

• No. jpeg only. No camera raw, No tiff, No pdf.

Is the Monitor-Projector Calibrated?

• The club uses a high-end laptop which is calibrated using a spider. The projector will then be adjusted to match the monitor as best that can be done by eye. 

Color Space

• We recommend sRGB color space as this is the best match to our projector

Print Competition Rules

• A maximum of three prints may be entered on each of the print competition nights.

• Prints can be produced either digitally or in the darkroom
• Printing can be done by the maker or a lab

• Entries will be submitted in either Color or Monochrome categories
• Prints must be mounted on mat board for viewing but must not be framed.

• It is not required that the mounting be done by the member.

• Each print must have the member's name and title on the back.

Judging

• Three judges, selected from qualified members by the Competition Chairperson, will evaluate the entries based on technical quality, composition, and impact.
• Each of the entries are judged and given a score that is recorded under the member's name toward the attainment of honors within the Society.

• The scoring is on a numeric scale of 1 to 5 from each judge, for a possible cumulative score of 3 to 15.
• A popular vote is also taken of the members present and added to the Judge's cumulative score, so a maximum of 17 points is attainable on any one image.

• An alternate judge will also score the entries.

• The alternate judge's score will replace the primary judge's score for each of the primary judge's entries.

• Judge’s guidelines for scoring:

• 1 point - Thank-you for entering (Don't give up)
• 2 points - Average
• 3 points - Good
• 4 points - Excellent
• 5 points – Outstanding

• A score of 5 points by a judge indicates that the entry is outstanding with regards to impact, composition and technique with no major weakness in any of the evaluation criteria as listed below 

Evaluation Criteria

• IMPACT (Subject Interest):

• The picture's ability to attract and hold the viewer's attention.
• Mood
• Emotion
• Sensory Stimulation
• A fresh, imaginative approach
• Subject matter made interesting by the photographer rather than the subject's inherent qualities.

• COMPOSITION (Artistic Quality):

• The selection and arrangement of photographic elements to enhance the meaning of the subject matter.
• Visual Elements
  • Do they support the area of interest?
• Balance and Proportion
• Simplicity

• TECHNICAL QUALITY (technique):

• The choice and effective application of the mechanical elements in order to strengthen the intended visual statement.
• Lighting
• Focus (Sharpness)
• Depth-of-Field
• Exposure
• Color or Tonal Contrast
• Presentation
  • Cleanliness of slide
  • Neatness of print
  • Quality of matting

Popular Voting

• During each of the competition nights the society members present also may vote for their favorite image. The entries with the highest popular vote(s) shall each receive additional point(s).
• Ties shall be broken when necessary by the Competition Chairperson so that no more than 20% of the slides/prints entered in competition receive additional points.
• The number of votes allowed per member and additional points received are determined by the number of slides/prints entered as shown below:

• All of the images entered during the monthly competitions that received 8 or more points are eligible for entry in the annual competition.
• Judging will be performed by three judges who are not BEPS members.
• Awards are given for the top entries in each of the three competition categories:

• Group 1 - Master Pictorialist with Distinction and above
• Group 2 - Master Pictorialist
• Group 3 - Apprentice and Fellow Pictorialist

Honors

• Honors and awards are given in each classification when 20 entries of the level the photographer is attaining has been satisfied.
• To be recognized at a next higher level an additional 20 qualifying acceptances are required.
• Classifications:

• Prints
• Projected Images

Resubmittals

Any entry may be resubmitted at a later competition if a member desires. If an entry is resubmitted, the higher score will stand in the records.

Disclaimer:
The views/comments expressed in this page are not necessarily those of The Boeing Company.
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