2024 Definitions
COMPETITION DEFINITIONS
Preamble to Definitions
In ALL categories, the photographer MUST have exposed or created all elements of the final image. Judges are looking for good composition, creativity and clear photographs.
OPEN / Colour
Subject matter is free, as is use of colour, or lack of colour, or partial colour. Experimental techniques are fine as this category is not genre specific. Good design, composition and the personal interpretation is the key.
OPEN / Mono
Identical to Open except ALL images must be Black and White which means it contains variations of the grey ranging from absolute black to absolute white. No tints, no colour.
Hint: in B&W aim to have really white whites and black blacks somewhere in your image to avoid it looking muddy grey.
Water
Water photography refers to any photo that emphasizes water as the main visual element. Can include landscape photography of the sea, river, stream waterfalls, drops and puddles. The goal of water photography is to capture the way water moves and how it interacts with light.
Still Life
A photograph of an inanimate object or a group of objects arranged as the subject for a picture. It can serve as an exercise in skill and creativity, to show a photographer’s understanding of composition, ability to depict colour harmony, form, texture, and the effects of light upon the objects.
Shadows
Any photo that uses shadows as a prominent part of the composition — to enhance the contrast of a subject or as the subject itself.
Trees
Tree photography is all about capturing the majesty of nature’s beauty. It can include a single tree, part of a tree or a forest. It can be in an urban area or rural but the tree or trees must be the main feature of the image. Bare, fallen logs are not included.
Scapes - Landscapes/Seascapes/Cityscapes
A landscape/seascape is a photograph of natural scenery with land and/or sea and sky based elements displayed in a pictorial fashion. Evidence of man, people or animals may be included but must be incidental to (and not dominate) the image eg. a jetty cannot be the main feature. A close-up view of a single natural feature such as a rock or tree must not be the primary subject but it can be part of the broader landscape. An Urbanscape is a wide image of primary manmade objects including buildings, statutes, bridges, jetties. Trees and plants can be included but cannot be the main focus of the scape. Minor adjustments are acceptable.
Creative
Creative or experimental photographs display a novel effect because of an unusual combination of objects and /or unusual viewpoint. Photographs in which the images have been modified during or after exposure by using an experimental technique. The photograph must always have a basic photographic image. Digital manipulation processes may be employed provided the original photograph is evident.
Empty Roads
Photograph of a road devoid of any object on its surface. (lane lines are acceptable). The road can be in an urban or rural setting but the road must stand out as the main focus with all other parts being secondary.
Nature
Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process. Human elements shall not be present. Scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed. Allowed adjustments must appear natural. Colour images can be converted to grey-scale monochrome. Nature Photography can have landscapes, geologic formations and weather phenomena. Images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any other enclosures are allowed but no hand of man must be present..
Photojournalism
Story-telling photographs such as are seen in the news media and periodicals, which may include documentary, contemporary life, illustrative, sport news or human interest with informative content or emotional impact and photography conducted for art or inquiry featuring chance encounters and random incidents within public places are acceptable. The story telling value of the photograph shall be weighed more than the pictorial quality
Techniques that add to, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the image, without changing the photojournalism content, are permitted. All adjustments must appear natural. Colour images can be converted to greyscale monochrome