Saskatoon Camera Club
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What is a Clinic?

The clinics the Saskatoon Camera Club hold (six times a year) give the members a chance to select a couple slides/prints to be evaluated by a panel of three judges, rated, and given constructive comments. That is why the word "clinic" is used. The clinic provides a forum to have work evaluated and have constructive comments made.

Who are the judges?
Two club members and one external photographer.

Why select topics?
You need a common topic to aim at. So topics are selected to give you a goal to achieve in your photograph. Of the 6 clinics each year two major themes are there - General and Nature. This year (2007/2008) the topics are:

Photographer's Choice Sept. 18, 2007 This is an open category where the subject is the photographer's choice.
Open Nature Oct. 23, 2007 This is an open category where the subject is any photograph which meets the Nature criteria.
In The Garden Nov. 13, 2007 The subject can be anything found in a garden such as insects, plants, gardeners, harvest, preparation, etc. from any point of view (i.e. macro). Don’t forget about the summer fun garden tour being planned for the summer and Gardenscape.
Sky (Day Or Night) Dec. 4, 2007 This Nature category is for any day or night picture where the sky is the main subject, such as clouds, star trails, etc.
Rural Building(s) Jan. 22, 2008 Subjects for this category can be any old or new rural building(s). Examples would be grain elevators, unique construction, abandoned buildings, old homestead, etc.
Nature Up Close Feb. 19, 2008 This Nature category is to encourage photographers to get close to animals, plants, rocks, etc. A macro lens is not necessary – just imagination for a close interesting perspective on nature.

Treasure Hunt – Brought to you by the letter ‘O’

O – Letter

Orange – Colour

Owl – Bird

Old – Adjective

Ornament – Object


Nature photo's must not include signs of humans or their activities- no footprints, fences,power lines,jet trails, wagon tracks, cut trees, etc - if these elements are removed the photograph must be entered in the creative category.

How is your Photograph Judged?

The photographs are judges on three levels:

Technical Here you measure the skill the photographer has shown handling equipment. Depth of Field; Focus; Shutter Speed; Lighting; panning. For prints the following are included: Mounting, Spotting, Appropriate Paper (for contrast and tonal range)
A score of 10 points.

Interpretation Here you evaluate how well the photographer has interpreted the topic photographically. Consider "Is the subject matter appropriate?" Has it been chosen carefully? Has it been captured in an interesting and/or original way? Visual Communication is important. Does the subject communicate itself clearly without distractions? NOTE: Since each entry must be titled - does the title assist in this process?
A score of 10 points

Pictorial (Artistic) Merit This is a measure of the success of the composition. Factors include the "Rules of Composition", Lead-in Lines, Rule of Thirds, Balance, Quality of Lighting, Framing, Tonal Range and Texture, Pattern and Rhythm. Or, was a Rule of Composition broken to aid in the success of the photo. This is often called the "Wow Factor". How do these elements come together to create impact.
A score of 10 points.

Add them up and you get a score out of 30.

How do you enter a Clinic?

You have to be a member of the Saskatoon Camera Club to enter a clinic. The Camera Club has two classifications of photographer - intermediate and advanced. All members are intermediate until the member reaches a certain level of ability at which time you become advanced.

All prints must have a completed print tag attached to the back:

Categories:

Only 2 submissions are allowed in each of the categories. A maximum of 6 slides can be submitted and a maximum of 6 print and/or projected images can be submitted.

Submission Type
Categories
Slides Color Black & White / Monochrome Creative
Film/Digital Print or Projected Digital Image Color Black & White / Monochrome Creative

Classes:

Intermediate or Advanced

Slides
  • All slides must be the result of an original image shot directly onto traditional 35mm format slide film.
  • The image must represent a realistic representation of the original subject.
  • Slides must be clearly labeled indicating title, your name ON THE SIDE TO VIEW FROM. If they are labeled incorrectly, they are judged that way. How to view it is your decision.

Film & Digital Prints

  • All prints must be the result of an original image shot directly with a traditional or digital camera. The image must represent a realistic representation of the original subject.
  • These prints must result from either:
    a) a direct transfer of the film's negative through traditional darkroom techniques, or
    b) print shot with a film or digital camera
  • Minimum size for these prints (either color or black & white) is 4 3/4" x 6 3/4".
  • Maximum number of entries: 2 black & white and 2 colour.
  • All prints must have an information tag attached to the back.
Creative Print or Projected
  • Entries in this category may be either color prints, black & white prints, digital images or slides with a maximum of two entries in total.
  • Creative entries should express the photographer's ideas/feelings in a non­traditional style through the use of the camera, filters, lens, flash, slide layers, multiple exposures and other such techniques that are decided on before the final exposure is taken.
  • Digitally creative prints & projected images may incorporate the use of software to manipulate the entry.
  • Composition and appearance of photograph to reflect the visual and artistic intent of the subject matter of that particular clinic.
  • These entries must be accompanied by a brief description of the technique(s) used to make the entry 'creative'.
  • Minimum size for these prints (either color or black & white) is 4 3/4" x 6 3/4".
  • All prints must have an information tag attached to the back.
  • Digitally projected must have the proper formatting & file name.
Digital Projected
  • Images may be captured either using a digital camera or scanned from slides or negatives.
  • All images must be the work of the maker.
  • Entries must be NEW images, not previously entered in any format in any competition.
  • A maximum of two images per category may be submitted.
  • The digital projector will be calibrated to maintain consistent conditions for projection and judging. 
  • No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged or combined. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be applied. Any sharpening must appear natural.

Digital Image Submissions

Method of Submission

Image Preparation & Requirements

The Print and Slide/Digital Committees will interpret and apply these rules at each club competition and have the right to reject any entry not properly presented or labeled.

File Type

Images must be submitted as JPEGs. Mac users must add .jpg or .jpeg extension.

Image Quality

Use maximum/100 image quality when saving image using the Save for Web method, or use Maximum/12 when using the Image Save method. Use no more than 72-96 dots/inch resolution.

Color Space

Convert files to sRGB color space if required.  Images saved in other color spaces such as Adobe RGB will be accepted but may not display with the colors you expect.

Dimensions

The maximum image size is 1024 x 768, (height x width). Vertical images have a maximum height of 768 pixels tall. Images must be in the proper orientation for viewing when projected. Images do not have to have a 4:3 aspect ratio.

File Names

File name must include class, category, last name, first initial and name of image.
File name must be in the following format:

Class-category -Title_of_Image LastnameFirstinitial.jpg
Example:  A-CO -Pelican_In_Flight-DoeJ.jpg

Class:  A (Advanced) or I (Intermediate)
Category:  CO (Color), BW (B&W / Monochrome), CR (Creative)

File Size

File size should not exceed 1.2Mb per file.

Calibration of Images

Use this image to make sure your are getting a full range of tones from white to black. This chart includes several images which include memory colours, fleshtones and neutral greys. The memory colour and fleshtones should look realistic. The neutral greys should not have a colour cast.
Calibration.jpg


What does the scoring reflect?

This is just a generalized overview of marking

30/30
Unique; outstanding; stunning; flawless (rarely awarded)
27/20
 Outstanding; dramatic; beautiful; technically superb; very strong impact
24/30
 Excellent' worthy of Honorable Mention - minor flaws only. Demonstrates photography mastery; a memorable picture.
21/30
 Very good, but falls short of excellent rating.
18/30
Good. Competent: technically satisfactory, but lacking in impact, interest, strength of composition, etc.
15/30
Average, undistinguished; unmemorable. Shows minor faults. Lots of room for improvement in composition, interpretation, etc.
12/30
 below standard; lacking in some essential quality or definable way. One or more specific faults which really spoon the picture
etc.