2018 FINE ART
We have received two email messages seeking clarification about the new Scope of Competition for the 2018 Fine Art competition. The points raised and the clarification provided is outlined below.
The key elements of the Scope of Competition are state:
Fine art photography has no universally agreed upon meaning or definition. However, fine art photography does go beyond just capturing an image and cropping. Therefore, an image must not be submitted into this competition if it would have qualified for a CAPA competition with a Restricted Editing Criteria such as: Nature, Photo Journalism or Wildlife.
The goal of fine art photography is in creating a fine art image is to use subjects and techniques as vehicles in the process of conveying a strong message, idea, vision and/or emotion.
So the question has been raised – “can a nature or wildlife image be submitted into the Fine Art competition with the above noted key elements?” Yes – however the image must go beyond mere capturing of an image, cropping and making minor changes to the image.
Another question raised was “can I submit a ‘once-in-a-lifetime amazing nature photo’ in the 2018 Fine Art Competition? “ No. However, this photo can be submitted in the 2018 Nature and/or the 2019 Open Theme competitions.
Why were these changes made? Over the past year, we have received many complaints that nature and wildlife images have dominated the Fine Art Competition while others felt that these images did not meet the Scope of Competition.
The emphasis in our CAPA competitions is to provide an equal opportunity for all photographers and encourage them to enter competitions when their images meet the Scope of Competition.
In reviewing the past three years of CAPA Fine Art competitions, it was discovered that:
- It appears that the competition hosts did not pre-screen the submitted images to ensure only images that met the Scope of Competition were presented on the ‘day-of-judging’
- Selected judges had a strong background in nature/wildlife photography
To correct this situation and ensure an equal opportunity for all photographers, the following steps have been implemented:
- refinement of the 2018 Fine Art Competition Scope of Competition
- three judges have been selected who are all Certified CAPA Judges and have extensive experience with the topic of Fine Art
- updated the CAPA Competition Standards to include support for the Competition Host:
A Review Committee of two or more Certified CAPA Judges may be appointed by the Director of Competitions or the Competition Chair Person to preview images/presentations submitted to a CAPA competition to ensure all the images/presentations comply with the competition details webpage and will advise the Director or the Competition Chair Person of their findings.
- all CAPA competition detail webpages contain a Special Note at the bottom which states: Questions about the scope of the competition and/or the editing criteria should be directed to the Competition Coordinator prior to the closing day of the competition. For the Fine Art Competition – the Competition Coordinator is Derek Hayes (Certified CAPA Judge & recognized fine art photographer and author) – derek@derekhayes.ca
A post-competition review will be undertaken to determine if further refinements are necessary for our Fine Art competitions.
Opening Competitions for Uploading of Images
We have only opened up the three competitions for this fall because we are expecting to receive then upload the new enhancements to our online competition system.
To minimize any disruptions and the risk of loosing submitted images, we will be opening up the competitions in stages as follows:
- November 1, 2018 – Altered Reality Competition and Monochrome Competition
- January 1, 2018 – 2019 Open Theme Competition and 2019 A Series of 4 Photos Competition
- February 1, 2019 – Portrait Competition
- March 1, 2019 – 2019 Canada: My Country Competition
- April 1, 2019 – 2019 Annual Photo Challenge Competition.
Noted open dates are 1 to 2 months prior to the closing date of the competition.
2019 Audio Visual Presentation Competition
The previous Special Note – For a club submission for this competition – at least two people must be involved in creating the audio visual presentation” has been revoked and replaced with:
CAPA individual members and camera clubs are limited to one AV submission. For a club submission for this competition, the audio visual presentation can be from 1 or 2 club members.
Monochrome Competition
- Question: Is a sepia image admissible into the Monochrome Competition?
Response: The definition for Monochrome is what is defined by FIAP and is included below:
A black and white work fitting from the very dark grey (black) to the very clear grey (white) is a monochrome work with the various shades of grey. A black and white work toned entirely in a single colour will remain a monochrome work able to stand in the black and white category. On the other hand a black and white work modified by a partial toning or by the addition of one colour becomes a colour work (polychrome) to stand in the colour category.
Sepia is defined as “a tone added to a black and white photograph in the darkroom to “warm” up the tones (though since it is still a monochromatic image it is still considered black and white).”
Therefore, a sepia image is permitted because it is a single colour which remains a monochrome work able to stand in the black and white category.
- Question: Is there a limit on the age of photos submitted?
Response: Based on the recent rule changes for the 2019 Four Nations Competition, we have revised our CAPA Eligibility Criteria to include:
#10 – “I will endeavour to submit a current image for CAPA competitions”
We will NOT be strictly policing this point by verifying the data contained in the image’s metadata details. However, we encourage photographers to consider this new revision.
