• Any current financial and life-time member of the Manawatu Camera Club is entitled to enter into any Club Digital Projected Image (DPI) and/or Print competitions.The annual subscriptions of all members shall become due and payable in advance at the first scheduled club meeting of the year. 

• Images entered must be taken with a digital or film camera and exposed by the entrant.

• There are no restrictions on digital manipulation, however the image must be based on a photograph.

• Any image may only be entered twice - once only in “Set Subject” and once in “Open”. The second time may be in the same year or in any subsequent year.

• There are three entry grades, M, A and B. M- and A-Grade is for experienced photographers and B-Grade for novices.

• Each entry grade (M, A and B) has two sections: Set Subject and Open. The Set Subject changes every month and this is set by the club's committee prior to the commencement of the competition year (the following year's subjects are usually announced around November/December the year before).

• Each month, every exhibitor may submit up to a maximum of THREE images in their Grade (please note this change that is in effect from March 2018 onwards), either as matted/mounted Prints or as Digital Projected Images (DPI). Entries can be a combination of Prints and DPIs, but collectively, up to a maximum of three images per month overall.

• The three images per month can be either: 2 x Set Subject and 1 x Open, OR 1 x Set Subject and 2 x Open.

• DPI competition images must be registered and uploaded on this website's COMPETITION ONLINE ENTRY page and digital image files must be in the following format: jpg file type,  maximum file size 10MB.

• The competition image entry deadline is on the second Monday of each month for judging on the following month's competition night.

• The Digital Image filename must be named in the following format: [Grade]_[Set or Open]_[[ImageTitle].jpg e.g. if you were entering an image into set subject as an A grade member you would name it as follows: A_S_BlackSkyAtNight.jpg

• The photograper's name MUST NOT be included anywhere in the filename or metadata of a DPI or anywhere on a print submitted for judging.  The photographer’s name should appear in the relevant field on the web form for DPI images and on the entry form for print images.

• When over  60 images in any one month are submitted, a second judge will be used.  This second judge  will  comment on the B grade submissions (both set subject and open subject). The original judge will  judge the M and  A grades (both set subject and open subject).   This rule is to help ensure that judges are not overwhelmed with too many prints to judge

• The committee of the Manawatu Camera Club will appoint a judge and the judge's decision is final. There is no appeal process

• Closing dates for the monthly competitions are the previous month's Competition Night. Any change to a one-off closing date will be published in the club's newsletter.

• Points will be awarded concurrently with the print competition. Digital and print is one competition.

• Liability: All possible care will be taken to safeguard the entries but the Manawatu Camera Club, its officers or the judge can not be held responsible for any damage to or loss of entries during processing, transit, evaluation or exhibition. The competitor carries the sole risk.

• By entering in any Club competition the competitor acknowledges and accepts these conditions of entry. 

• The Points Table. Points are recorded when a member receives an award in a monthly competition.  These points are tallied throughout the year and go toward the points required for members to move up a grade and also toward trophies at the end of the year.

• Points are awarded as per the table

Accepted Commended Merit Honours

Set subject 1 3 5 7

Open 1 2 4 6

How the awards are graded

Accepted – An image that just fulfils the basic photographic criteria for a reasonable photograph

Commended – A good standard of work, the image fulfils the basic criteria with additional technical or design components evident.

Merit – A high standard of work, the image has extra dynamics that takes it out of the ‘ordinary category’

Honours -  An excellent standard of work, the image is exceptionally good and could be acceptable at a national exhibition level – it will have a ‘wow’ factor

The grades

B Grade

All new members start at this level unless the grading committee approves a higher grade. In this grade a member should be able to demonstrate basic camera skills and have a general knowledge of photography.  To progress from B grade to A grade requires the accumulation of 60 award points during the competition year, with 25% of these having attained Merit or Honours grade

A Grade

Members in this category have a good understanding of photography and are ready to expand their knowledge.  To advance from A grade to Masters requires the accumulation of 90 award points during the competition year. 

Masters Grade

 In this category  the photographer shows an excellent understanding of all photographic principles  and is encouraged to  help other club members  by giving one on one help, teaching at club meetings, and to challenge themselves further by participating in PSNZ  competitions.