Club Competitions
The Club holds monthly competition for its members. The second Monday of each month is the competition night.
Our competitions are intended to be a means to improve one's photography. We hope that members will use them as a motivational tool to better their own work.
The second Monday of each month is competition night. This meeting is always keenly attended: it’s where we get to share our images, see each other’s work, and hear feedback from independent judges on our own images as well as everyone else’s. It’s a great learning experience, and an inspiration to better our photography and challenge ourselves to try new things. A measure of the success of this is the number of members who progress up the grades each year, from Beginners to Advanced to Masters. We encourage you to participate!
The monthly competitions run from March to December, with images for each month’s competition due on competition night the previous month. Points from the March to November competitions accumulate to decide the winner for the year in each grade, and progression from one grade to the next.
Images can be submitted as either print or digital, and entered as either Set Subject or Open. The monthly topics for the Set Subject category are listed below; images submitted as Set Subject must meet the brief for the month’s topic. Any image may be entered as Open. The set subjects often challenge us to try something new, so are worth more points towards your total for the year.
Each club member may submit a maximum of TWO images each month, except for the December competition, which runs a little differently. These can be your choice of two Set Subject, two Open, or one Set Subject and one Open.
See the “Competition Rules” link below for detailed rules and submission instructions, and use the links below when you’re ready to submit. Any questions? Just ask a member at a meeting!
Image sizes for competition entry
By pixel dimensions:
Maximum width 3840 pixels, and maximum height 2160 pixels
Recommended minimum: width at least 1920 pixels, or height at least 1080 pixels
By file size:
Recommended size 2-5MB; maximum size 10MB
Files larger than 10MB will be rejected by the competition entry form
The maximum and minimum pixel dimensions are based on the display resolutions of a 4K Ultra HD television (3820 x 2160 pixels) and a typical laptop screen (1920 x 1080 pixels). An image smaller than the recommend minimum pixel dimensions given above is likely to be too small for the judge to assess.
Some help for resizing images on a Mac or Windows computer can be found below. Remember however that you should only reduce the size of a image. Enlarging an image cannot add detail that wasn’t present in the original, so start with your full size original and create a smaller copy that meets the size requirements. Take care not to overwrite your original.
Set subjects for 2024
The set subjects and briefs for 2024 are as follows. You can also download them as a PDF below, which you can save to your phone or print and keep in your camera bag.
Collecting in February for judging in March: Essence of the Manawatū and Open
Essence of the Manawatū: New images taken in the previous 12 months at the submission deadline of people, places or things that capture the essence of the Manawatū. Your images can include such things as buildings, cityscapes, landscapes, art, culture, heritage, how people work and play, and locally held activities. Images that you feel capture the essence of the Manawatū.
Collecting in March for judging in April: Decay and Open
Decay: Decay photography has been strongly associated with derelict buildings (sometimes called “ruin porn”!) but its appeal ranges more widely than that.
Rusting metal, abandoned buildings, wilting flowers, rotting fruit … it’s easy to find physical decay all around us. Or use decay as a metaphor, a commentary on how you see our society or civilization. Embrace decay as a natural stage in the cycle of life, or as a precursor to new beginnings.
Whatever the logic, whatever the concept, whatever the technique you employ, reveal the beauty or the message you have found in decay.
Collecting in April for judging in May: Macro/close up and Open
Macro/close up: Unmagnified to as magnified as you want. This topic doesn't need a special macro lens but we want you to get up close to your subject. Still remember the use of story in your image.
Collecting May for judging in June: Portrait of a Building and Open
Portrait of a Building: Show the face of a buildingi n the best possible light - just as you would a portrait of a person. Old or new buildings, houses or sheds, industrial or architectural you choose.
Note: “Portrait of a building” replaces the original set subject “In the style of”, which it was felt would be very difficult to assess.
Collecting in June for judging in July: Texture or pattern and Open
Texture or pattern: Pick one or both. Look for textures and patterns around you in everyday life and showcase these in your image. There is no need to use editing tools but if you do these textures can also be creatively used as layers in your image.
Collecting in July for judging in August: Food photography and Open
Food photography: An image where food is the predominant component. Concentrate on angle, lighting, white balance etc and the small details to make the food look as appealing as possible.
Collecting in August for judging in September: A season and Open
A season: An image that clearly represents one of the four seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter. Let your creativity go wild - for example it doesn't have to be summer to create a summer scene. Indoors or outside.
Collecting in September for judging in October: Water and Open
Water: An image that has water somewhere in it. Rivers, waterfalls, droplets, rain, running taps, bubbles, splashes, the sea… Macro or landscape, moving or still, coloured or clear, the choice is yours, let’s see what you can do.
Collecting in October for judging in November: Light in the dark and Open
Light in the dark: Capture light in the dark. The light can be still or moving. Headlights, torches, candles, moonlight, lamps, flashes etc. Strive for creativity and originality.
Collecting in November for judging in December: Photographer’s choice - Triptych (ONE PRINT ONLY, NO DPI)
Photographer’s choice - Triptych: Three images in one print. Concentrate on finding three images that flow well together using colour, subject, lighting, shape, texture etc. Look carefully at the order of the images to create a triptych pleasing to the eye
In the December competition we also have entries for up to two x Club Outings and up to two x Best Images from the year (both DPI and Print will be accepted for both categories).
Please also refer to this printable PDF guide for full details of December's competitions (the 2023 instructions will be replaced with the 2024 instructions closer to the time):
Some important notes
Entrants always retain ownership of their submitted images. Images may be used to promote the Manawatū Camera Club or displayed at club evenings unless expressly specified by the entrant in writing - for example “Not for publicity use.”
The submission of an entry in any assignment or competition is deemed to be acceptance and understanding of the rules of the Club.
The image entry deadline is on the second Monday of each month for evaluation on the following month's competition night.
All possible care will be taken to safeguard the entries but the Manawatū Camera Club, its officers or the judge or evaluator cannot be held responsible for any damage to or loss of entries during processing, transit, evaluation or exhibition. The entrant carries the sole risk.
A full copy of the “Manawatū Camera Club Assignment & Competition Rules” can be found at the links above and below.