Southport Photographic Society, 76th National Open Exhibition

Please note that we have changed and added new Conditions and Rules this year. Please read and understand all of the conditions of entry, particularly if you are entering images in the Nature class. If you have any query, for clarification please contact exhibcoord@southportphotographic.co.uk The SPS Exhibition has patronage from the British Photographic Exhibitions (abbreviated to BPE) and The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (abbreviated to PAGB). Any reference to the ‘Society’ or ‘SPS’ refers to the Southport Photographic Society.

• The utmost care will be taken of all work, but the Society cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage.
• Entries are accepted from UK residents only.
• All accepted entries will be exhibited, except for images considered not suitable for public display.  Please enter name using upper and lower case letters, ensure honours are in capital letters as this will be how it is displayed in catalogue.           
• You may enter up to FOUR images in each class.  Digital images can be either landscape or portrait and image size: Maximum 1600 pixels horizontal and/or 1200 pixels vertical. Images must be in JPEG format with the preferred Colour Space sRGB and should not exceed 2MB.
• Images must not have been accepted by the Society for a previous SPS Exhibition.
• An image, or similar image, may not be entered in more than one class.
• For the purpose of these rules the Society reserves the right to consider the image to be the same as one already used if, regardless of title or medium, it is so similar to the other as to be almost identical.
• The original image/images must have been made by the entrant using the photographic process, who must also own the copyright of all elements used in the work.
• Images must not display any visible identification of the entrant, club or photographic association or federation.
• You must enter under your own name, aliases are not permitted.
• In the Monochrome Class, a black & white image modified by the addition of a single tone over the entire image is eligible. An image modified by toning part of the image or adding a colour to part of the image should be entered in the colour section.
• Except in the Nature Class any process may be used to produce the final image.
• Nature images should have a factual descriptive title.
• Entrants submitting images in the Nature class must be able to supply, if requested, the original native camera RAW file, transparency or negative to authenticate the image.  We may request a RAW file at any time before, during or after the exhibition.  DNG files are not suitable unless they are the only native RAW file format available from the camera.  EXIF data should be kept intact.
• It is the responsibility of the entrant to comply with these Terms & Conditions.  Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.
• An image found not to comply with these Terms & Conditions, either before, during or after this Exhibition, may be disqualified. Any award that may have been given to a subsequently disqualified image shall be revoked. No refund will be made.
• The Society reserves the right to exclude an entrant from future exhibitions who has submitted an image that is disqualified.
• The Society reserves the right to refuse an entry in its entirety, in which case the entry fee will be refunded.
• In the event that an image is rejected or disqualified then the BPE and the PAGB will be informed as appropriate.
• The exhibition is under the patronage of the PAGB and their 2018 definition of Nature and Monochrome is used by the Society as follows:

Nature – The PAGB 2018 Definition Applies

DEFINITION OF NATURE TO BE USED IN PAGB COMPETITIONS

(Note that images already meeting the separate FIAP Definition of Nature will satisfy this less restrictive definition.)

Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation. 

The story telling value of a Nature photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality.

Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.

Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and sharpening, is allowed. Cloning of image defects and minor distractions, including overlapping elements, are permitted when these do not distort the truth of the photographic statement.

Images entered as Nature can have landscape, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.

Access to biological subjects may be restricted. By entering a PAGB event, Photographers warrant that they have followed relevant codes of practices and hold any necessary licences.

Monochrome – PAGB Definition 

Monochrome images include:

• An image in tones of neutral grey ranging from transparent/white to opaque/black.
• An image in a single colour:   A digitally produced image ‘colourised’ in a single hue.

Scapes – Southport Photographic Definition

This is a broad interpretation of ‘Scapes”

• Any image depicting our physical environment – land, sea, sky, urban, rural – is acceptable.  Images may range from scenic views of wild country to inner city.   

• People and animals may be included in the scene as long as they are ancillary to and/or supportive of the main subject.

• Entries to this class are required to be from a ‘single image’.  This means the entered image should be from a single exposure, or from multiple exposures taken at the same time and merged to work round camera limitations.  Specifically, HDR, focus stacking and stitched panorama techniques are allowed.  In-camera multiple exposures are also allowed.
  
  

PROJECTED DIGITAL IMAGES (PDI)

Open Exhibition and Members’ Exhibition

• Entries may be submitted online via the exhibition website. 
• Images may be of digital origin or scanned from film or slides.
• Digital images can be either landscape or portrait and image size: Maximum 1600 pixels horizontal and/or 1200 pixels vertical. Images must be in JPEG format with the preferred Colour Space sRGB and should not exceed 2MB.
• Image Title: is as entered on the entry form. Please use titles as you wish them to appear on your image during selection and as you wish it to appear in the catalogue; also avoid titles in all upper case letters, avoid symbols, hyphens and underlining since our software PhotEx may reject them.
• File sizes should not be greater than 2 MB otherwise they will be rejected by our PhotEx software
• Any entries not complying with the above may be automatically changed by our viewing software to comply with these image specifications.  If this is not possible the image may be rejected from the competition.