Competitions and Exhibitions
9 General Rules (Competitions)
i) Only recognised members shall be allowed to participate in Club Competitions.
ii) Images must entirely be the work of the photographer. In composite images all component images must meet this requirement. For the avoidance of doubt, use of images from any other source, including, but not limited to Artificial Intelligence, remote shoots, royalty free image banks, clipart and any other format are not permitted.
iii) All competitions are open to all members except where otherwise stated.
iv) In the event of there being less than three entrants in any competition, except for the Warden Trophy Competition and The Projected Digital Image Trophy, the award will be withheld for that Competition.
v) Entries for Club competitions should have no information visible on them apart from a title if necessary.
vi) The Committee will appoint a Selection Panel for Interclub and Federation competitions.
vii) A monochrome print shall be defined as one exhibiting different tones of one colour.
viii) A colour print shall be defined as exhibiting more than one colour.
ix) Prints can be produced at home or trade processed.
x) All prints shall be mounted, and no mount shall exceed 50cm x 40cm except where otherwise stated.
xi) An image can be used in any competition, in 2 consecutive seasons so long as it complies with the rules of the relevant competition.
xii) If images have won an internal competition, it shall not be entered in the same competition the following season. A season's period starts from the date of the first meeting of the season and ends on the last meeting of the season.
xiii) After 2 consecutive seasons all images that have been entered into internal competitions will be retired from all internal competitions. For the avoidance of doubt, retired images will not be presented in any other format i.e. mono to colour, Print to PDI and vice versa, cropped images and name changes. If a retired image is submitted into a competition, it will be removed from that competition and the author informed. If the author objects to the withdrawal, the issue will be brought to the attention of the GCC Committee for a final decision.
xiv) Prints to be judged by an independent judge except where otherwise stated.
xv) All members will be allocated a membership number; this number will remain with the individual member for the duration of their membership of the Club.
a) It shall be a condition of entry into all Club competitions, that the membership number along with the competition entered and the title of the image be clearly shown on the rear of a print in the bottom right-hand corner. NB the competition name can be abbreviated e.g., 02 NTS A Leap in the Dark. (NTS = Norman Thompson Salver)
b) It shall be a condition of entry into Interclub competitions that the club number and the title of the image is clearly shown on the rear of the print in the bottom right-hand corner.
xvi) Les Rochester Trophy — Please see section 21.
Print Competitions
10 Rose Bowl Competition
Entries to consist of the maximum number of monochrome prints as decided by the Committee at the beginning of the season.
11 Ternent Trophy
Each member can submit one entry, which is to consist of THREE monochrome prints of THREE different types of subject. The entry should demonstrate the versatility of the photographer but is NOT intended to be judged as a panel.
12 John Taylor Trophy
i) Entries to consist of ONE or TWO pairs of prints (colour, monochrome or mixed).
ii) The Trophy is to be awarded to the pair of prints which most aptly typify two of the four subjects set by the Committee each year.
iii) The subject chosen by the author should be indicated on the print alongside the title.
iv) No one image to be re-used in the same competition.
v) Where two pairs of prints are submitted the prints should be marked by the author “pair A” and “pair B”.
13 Norman Thompson Salver
i) The object of this competition is to encourage the photography of people.
ii) Entries to consist of the maximum number of prints (colour, monochrome or mixed) as decided by the Committee at the beginning of the season.
iii). The subject of the Competition is to be a person or persons.
14 A4 Competitions - The Mavis Ord Trophy
i) Entries shall be limited to TWO monochrome or colour prints not exceeding 21.0 cm. x 29.7 cm. (A4), unmounted or on mounts not exceeding 42.0 cm. x 29.7 cm. (A3).
ii) Four competitions to be held during the season, the subjects being: Landscape, Any Subject, Natural History and People.
iii) Each competition to be judged by popular vote of the members. In addition to the point score as outlined in section 21, any print in fourth place will be considered as a highly commended entry.
iv) No member can award points to his/her own entry in the A4 competition.
v). The Mavis Ord Trophy will be awarded to the member achieving the highest number of points across all of the A4 competitions.
1st 12 points
2nd 8 points
3rd 5 points
HC 3 points
15 Saltwell Trophy
i) Entries to consist of colour prints of any subject.
ii) Each member may submit up to the maximum number of prints as decided by the Committee at the beginning of the season.
Projected Image Competitions
Please note: Colour Transparencies entered in Club Competitions will be scanned to create a digital file.
Digital images may be submitted with any amount of adjustment and manipulation. However, all images used, even if combined, must have begun life as photographic images and must have been taken and worked on solely by the member! No cut and paste stock images may be used.
All images will be judged within a pixel size of 1600 x 1200 to comply with the projector’s image size. In other words, the image should be no more than 1600 pixels horizontal or 1200 pixels vertical.
Images MUST be submitted in JPG (JPEG) format to ensure consistency and minimise the size for emailing and the time to display the image.
All image file titles must contain the following information: -
• Membership number
• Competition name
• Image title: keep it short
Use underscores between Section and Number and Title
Example: 042_Colour_Trophy_Cobbled_Street.jpg
Entries may be submitted on USB memory stick or by email to the Digital Image Competition Secretary at pdi@gatesheadcc.com. Alternatively, you can bring your camera or memory card to the club meeting on the entry date and a Committee Member will assist with transferring images.
If you have any questions about this competition, please speak to the PDI Competitions Secretary.
16 Colour Trophy Competition
Entries are limited to the maximum number of digital files (colour) as decided by the Committee at the beginning of the season.
17 Trueman Trophy
Entries shall consist of a set of THREE digital files (colour or mono), of three different types of subject, one set per member. The entry should demonstrate the versatility of the photographer. The winner being the member, who, in the opinion of the judge shall have submitted the best set of three digital images which satisfy the criteria above.
18 The Anniversary Trophy
i) Entries to consist of ONE or TWO pairs of digital files (colour, monochrome or mixed).
ii) The trophy is to be awarded to the pair of digital images which most aptly typify two of the four subjects set by the Committee each year.
iii) The subject chosen by the author should be indicated in parenthesis alongside the title of the image.
iv) No one image to be re-used in the same competition.
v) Where two pairs of images are submitted, they should be marked by the author “pair A and pair B”.
19 The Warden Trophy
This trophy is awarded to the beginner gaining the highest aggregate of points from all colour and black and white print competitions. One point is awarded for each print entered in the following competitions: Rose Bowl, Ternent Trophy, John Taylor Trophy, Norman Thompson Salver, Saltwell Trophy and the A4 Competitions.
Extra points will be awarded to successful entries as follows:
1st 12 points
2nd 8 points
3rd 5 points
HC 3 points
To qualify, a minimum score of 14 points must be gained to be eligible, and the member with the highest score will be awarded the Warden Trophy. The Warden Trophy cannot be awarded to any member who has held a photographic distinction or has previously been awarded the Warden Trophy, The Rose Bowl, The Ternent Trophy, The John Taylor Trophy, the Norman Thompson Salver or the Saltwell Trophy.
20 Projected Digital Image Trophy
This Trophy is awarded to the beginner with the highest aggregate of marks in the following Projected Digital Image Competitions; Colour Trophy, Trueman Trophy and Anniversary Trophy. One point will be awarded for each image entered.
Extra points will be awarded to successful entries as follows:
1st 12 points
2nd 8 points
3rd 5 points
HC 3 points
To qualify for the trophy a minimum of 11 points must be gained. The Projected Digital Image Trophy cannot be awarded to any member who has held a photographic distinction or has previously been awarded the Projected Digital Image Trophy, the Colour Trophy, the Trueman Trophy or the Anniversary Trophy.
21 Les Rochester Trophy
Points will be awarded in all Club Competitions as follows:
1st 12 points
2nd 8 points
3rd 5 points
HC 3 points
The Les Rochester Trophy will be awarded to the photographer gaining the highest point score in any season.
22 Centenary Trophy
All the projected digital images (PDI) submitted during the season will be sent to an external judge, selected by the Committee each season. The judge will be asked to choose his/her favourite image, and this will be awarded the Centenary Trophy.
23 Gateshead Trophy
i. The Trophy will be awarded to the image which in the opinion of the judge best reflects an aspect of one or more of:
· the lives of people and/ or
· the lived experiences of people and/or
· a location in Gateshead.
ii. The images entered into the competition will be those images held by the competition
secretaries which have, during the current season, been entered either into a competition in, or on behalf of, the club, or which have been submitted to the Club for its annual exhibition.
iii. Any member who has, during the relevant season, entered a print competition with an image which meets the above criteria will be requested to give a digital file of the image to the PDI Secretary in order that they be entered for the Trophy.
iv. Any question as to the validity of an entry shall be referred to the Committee for a decision to be made.
v. The competition will be judged by an external judge and the result announced at the Presentation Evening.
N.B. The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, in North East England. The borough forms the south west part of the county. It is named after its largest town, Gateshead, but also spans the towns of Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton; suburban areas include Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell.
24 Other Competitions
These shall be arranged as and when required by the Committee, who shall frame any additional conditions which may be necessary.
The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain
Guidance
‘Artificial Intelligence’ in Photography
Introduction
This guidance amplifies the General Conditions for PAGB Events. It applies directly to all images submitted to PAGB events.
This guidance may be adopted by others including Federations and Clubs or may be modified for their own use in any way at their discretion.
Principles
How an individual creates an image for their own use, and what source material is coopted for image creation, is entirely at the individual’s discretion. But, when an image is submitted alongside the images of others into a competition or exhibition, then each participant needs to be assured that the other participants are using only their own original work. The PAGB sets out to give that assurance within its General Conditions (box).
Images must be entirely the work of the Photographer. In composite images, all component images must meet this requirement. For the avoidance of doubt, use of images from any other source including, but not limited to, royalty free image banks and clipart are not permitted.
There is a distinction between the image content, which is controlled by the General Conditions, and image processing and presentation which is at the photographer’s discretion. Processing can utilise techniques such as selection, noise reduction, calculated textures, montage, HDR, focus stacking and many others. Presentation may include keylines, print paper types, print mounting and others.
Photographers who enter PAGB events with images which do not meet the General Conditions are liable to sanctions under the PAGB Breach of Rules Procedure. The Breach of Rules Procedure may also apply to other events such as those with PAGB Patronage.
Image Automation
There are now many image processing methods available in camera, or in processing software or in plug-ins for such software, which have been refined or trained by their developers using the characteristics of many images. The list of methods is extremely long with examples such as face-detection focussing, raw conversion, monochrome conversion, noise reduction, focus stacking, HDR, panorama stitching and many more.
To the extent that these processes are applied only to the photographer’s original image, or to all the photographer’s original images in a composite, then they comply with the PAGB General Condition.
Image Generation
Banks of individual textures and skies have been available for some time and there are software systems which will overlay an imported texture or substitute a sky.
Increasingly there are image generator systems which draw on, or have been developed or trained on, content from large image banks to create new images, via a user prompt or specification.
Any importation, whether manual or automated, of all or part of a single image or of a generated image which includes or has been developed from the work of others, means that the resulting image content is not entirely the work of the photographer. The resulting image then does not comply with the PAGB General Conditions and is not permitted where those conditions apply.
Compliance
It is appreciated that the individual photographer may not be fully aware of exactly how individual processing functions act, whether in-camera or in post-processing, However, the PAGB would expect photographers to be aware of when any significant addition has been made to an image which is not part of an original work by the photographer.