2024 Colour Competition

2024 Colour Competition

Scope of Competition

This completion and its themes are aimed at providing photographers with the opportunity to exercise their creative skills using colour to: capture outstanding and stunning images in areas that they may be out of their comfort zones.  Therefore, monochrome and infrared images cannot be submitted into this competition.

Following a period of 2 weeks after the competition’s closing date, you can access the final competition report by logging into the CAPA website and navigating to the ‘Competition Reports’ under the ‘Competitions’ dropdown menu.

Competition Details (click arrow for more details)

Definition

Themes:

  • Landscape – images can include natural landscape, urban landscape and seascapes. Hand of man is permitted.
  • Man-made Structures/Objects– images of any man-made object, buildings, transportation (air, land, sea or space), still life, rural and city landscapes.  Images may contain the hand of man.
  • Nature/Wildlife – image(s) of subjects such as amphibians, flowers, insects, marine-life, reptiles, wild or domesticated animals or birds, etc. This category also includes botanical, insect, subjects. Domesticated animals and birds are permitted in this theme. Hand-of-man elements contained within the image is also permitted.
  • Person(s) – image(s) can be traditional or casual portraits, and could incorporate the environment and/or workspaces of the individual(s).

In capturing colour images for this competition, all photographers must endeavour to comply with the principle of:

“Treating all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intruding on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see”.

Editing Criteria

You are encouraged to submit your images which exemplifies the unique beauty of one or more themes from your perspective as either a resident or a visitor.

  • Eligibility Criteria – Prior to submitting any photo in a CAPA competition, all entrants must first read the CAPA Eligibility Criteria relating to images submissions. – READ ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA HERE
  • Permitted Editing Techniques:

All In-Camera Techniques: Any adjustments made directly within the camera during image capture are permitted.

On-Camera Techniques: Utilizing on-camera features and settings for image enhancements is allowed.

Post-Processing Techniques: Editing the image using post-processing software is permitted.

Combining Multiple Images and Elements: Participants may combine multiple images and elements to create a final image.

  • Editing Techniques Not Permitted:

Use of Entrant’s Own Captured or Created Elements Only: Only textures, elements, or components of a photo that the entrant has captured or created may be used in the submitted image. Using elements captured or created by others is not allowed.

Exclusion of Specific Elements from Third-Party Presets: Third-party presets, filters, or actions cannot contain elements such as arrows, balloons, birds, butterflies, clouds, crosses, feathers, fog, flames, leaves, lightning, moon, patterns, plants, smoke, snowflakes, sun, symbols, textures, trees, etc., that the entrant has not captured or created.

Frames, Borders, Pin-lines, and Mats: Photograph must not contain any decorative elements like frames, borders, pin-lines, or mats.  This includes the edges and markings of scanned film.  When the frame is integral to the captured image, for instance a window frame or door frame that has been captured by the camera, these elements are permitted.

Artificial Intelligence Renderings: Images that have been created or modified using specific AI generative techniques: in-painting (where AI fills in generated elements not captured by the photographer or where AI removes elements from a photograph); or out-painting (where the AI extends beyond the original boundaries of the image captured by the photographer using generated elements). Whether with or without text prompts, these are not permitted for submission into a CAPA competitions.

The inclusion of Photoshop application features, such as Firefly’s AI Generative Fill and AI Expand cannot be contained in your image submitted into a CAPA competition. Similar positions will be taken with other AI systems with these features.

This updated provision will be in effect starting from November 30, 2023, and it will apply to all CAPA competitions.

  • Image Medata Required:

For all competitions: it is mandatory that your submitted image includes complete image file metadata. Alternatively, if your image is chosen as a potential winning entry, you will be required to provide the original images (e.g., un-retouched JPG or RAW files) used in developing the submitted images. Ensure that all requested files maintain the full image file metadata.

  • Accepted Image Types:

Colour Images

Image Specifications

,Specifications

Title of Image

When images are uploaded into a competition, you are required to enter the title of your image into the Title Field.  Title can be in either  English or French or both.

Do Not: enter your name, the name of the photographer or the club name in the Title Field (that is for the Title of the image)

A weak image title, such as ‘pretty flower,’ will fail to stimulate the judge’s interest in the image and may result in a lower score than expected.

Image File Name

The image file name that you create prior to uploading into this competition should also be simple, and could be the same as the Image Title. For example: John Snow-Sublime Nova Scotia Sunset

Image Size – Dimensions

You must ensure your image is re-sized to meet the following two parameters:

  1. Saved as a jpg image with a maximum file size of 1.8 MB.
  2. Dimensions: Maximum horizontal size: 1400 pixels and maximum vertical size: 1050 pixels.

Example of Image Sizing – Check details here

Note: Images smaller than the maximum dimensions will ONLY be accepted when one of the image edges has a horizontal size is 1400 pixels or the vertical size is 1050 pixels.  For example: square image – 1050 x 1050 pixels; landscape 1400 x 800 pixels; or portrait 700 x 1050 pixels.

Note: Images will NOT be rotated by the judges and will scored as submitted.

During the uploading process of your image, our online competition system will verify if the image is less than 1.8 MB and meets the two parameters.

If your image fails this verification process, you will receive an error message and it will appear below the upload image box.

Depending on the error message – you will need to either reduce the file size of the image to be 1.8 MB or less or re-size the dimensions of your image.  After doing so, please re-try uploading your image.

Suggestions – Use sRGB colour space for your image.  For colour accuracy: we strongly recommend that you calibrate your monitor to ensure colour accuracy from your monitor to the image projected to the judges.

Judging Criteria

    • An Image’s title may be used by the judges in evaluating a submission, so entrants should take care in selecting a title that complements or contributes to the vision or message being presented in the image.
    • The judges will assign scores primarily based on the ‘emotional’ components of the image, considering values such as creativity and emotional impact. Secondary emphasis will be place on the ‘technical’ aspects, followed by considerations of the ‘composition.
    • Technical and Organizational factors, such as exposure, sharpness, focus, space, and composition, will be taken into account solely to the degree they do or do not support or reinforce the creative vision and storytelling. Images will not be penalized in scoring for so-called technical rule infractions, such as focus, if that is immaterial to the creative vision and storytelling.

    Likewise, judges take into consideration in their scoring the degree to which the entrant’s use of techniques such as colour, monochrome, duo and multi-tone,  contributes to or supports the creative vision and the story telling value of the image.

Competition Process

Competition Coordinator –  Sheldon Boles – CAPA Director of Competitions – competitions@capacanada.ca

Questions about the scope of the competition and/or the editing criteria, please contact the Competition Coordinator  well in advance of the closing date of the closing day of the competition.

Closing Date of CompetitionMarch 1, 2024 at midnight Eastern Standard Time.

Open To – All paid-up CAPA members and camera clubs associated to CAPA. 

Two Parallel Competitions: ‘Individual’ Competition for only CAPA Individual members (limited to a maximum of three images) and CAPA ‘Club’ Competition for all camera clubs (limited to a maximum of six (6) images from six (6) different club members.

Awards – For both the Individual and Club components of this competition, CAPA medals and Honourable Mention electronic certificates will be awarded to entrants with the highest aggregate scores of each theme. Merit Award electronic certificates will be awarded to the top three individual images for each theme.

How To Enter Competition – check out our How To Upload Images To CAPA Competition here.