Bird Photography Contest- Spring 2018 Sponsored by Monticello Bird Club and Charlottesville Camera Club
The Monticello Bird Club (MBC) and Charlottesville Camera Club (CCC) invite their members to submit photographs to the Spring 2018 Bird Photography Contest.
There will be four categories for submission.
Backyard Birds— Photographs of a bird or birds taken in a backyard or similar urban or suburban setting. Birds could be using a feeder, nest box, birdbath or other water feature; feeding on berries, seeds, fruits, or other foods grown or provided in a backyard or similar setting. Entries should portray the use of food, water, shelter, nesting sites , or other amenities provided by people.
Birds Up Close—Close-up photographs of a bird or a part of a bird. Entries must show a high level of detail in the bird’s eyes, feathers, or other features.
Birds in Their Habitat—Photographs that highlight the beauty of the habitat in which a bird is photographed in. A bird or birds must be obvious in the scene and be well photographed, but entries will be judged on how well the habitat around the bird is captured, as in a dramatically lit seashore at sunrise, a colorful wildflower meadow, a deep and moody forest, a foggy cliff face, and so on.
Birds in Motion—Photographs that show birds in motion. Try to capture a tack-sharp photo with a fast shutter speed, freezing a bird in action. Or go for a more artistic effect, showing just the right amount of motion blur with the use of a slow shutter speed.
Sample photographs are provided, as follows:
• Backyard Birds – Proud Bluebird Father, by Nancy Newman (Category B)
• Birds Up Close – Turkey Feathers, by Gerry Bishop (Category A)
• Birds in Their Habitat – White Ibis, by Maynard Davis (Category B)
• Birds in Motion – Osprey, by Doug Rogers (Category A)
Example: Backyard Birds
Example: Birds Up Close
Example: Birds in their Habitat
Example: Birds in Motion
There are no geographic restrictions on where the photograph is taken. However, all photographs must be taken within the calendar year May 2017 through April 2018.
Each member will be asked to enter the competition at a skill level of either beginner/intermediate (B) or advanced (A). Members self-select their skill level
Rules:
1. All submissions must be the entrant’s own work and submitted by a member in good standing of MBC or CCC. Photographs remain the property of the photographer, but the MBC and CCC retain rights to post the photos on the clubs’ websites, exhibit the photos, and use the photos in the clubs’ promotional materials, with attribution. Photographs may be released to the press for publicity for the clubs. No remuneration will be made, although credit to the photographer will be given whenever possible.
2. All photographs must be taken within the calendar year May 2017 through April 2018.
3. Any member may enter only one photo per category, up to a total of four photos for the entire competition. The choice of entering either as beginner/intermediate (B) or advanced (A) is left up to the entrant.
4. Photographs can be taken with any type of equipment, including smart phones and tablets.
5. All photographs should be photo-realistic, i.e. they should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Only minimal processing of photographs is allowed, such as spot removal, adjustments to exposure, color balance, contrast, and cropping. No major changes to the image are allowed.
Submission:
All submissions must be made electronically. However, if you are unfamiliar with the upload procedure, you can submit your photo to Maynard Davis. Maynard will work with Gerry Bishop to accomplish the electronic upload.
For Electronic Submission:
1. All entries must be uploaded to the PhotoContest Pro (PCP) website (http://photocontestpro.com).
2. To upload, you must first be registered with PCP. To be registered, notify Gerry Bishop at [email protected]. Full instructions for preparing and uploading your images will be provided at that time.
3. You must be registered by April 1, 2018, and you may upload your entries at that time.
The deadline for submission is April 27, 2018. No entries will be allowed after midnight of that date.
If you would like to submit your entry to Maynard Davis rather than go through the upload process, the deadline is Monday, April 23. Send your photograph as a jpg file to Maynard ([email protected]) as an attachment to an email. Note that the size of your photograph may be reduced in the electronic upload process.
Judging:
Judging will be held on May 2, beginning at 7 PM at the Education Building at Ivy Creek Natural Area. The judge will be an independent expert photographer who is not a member of CCC or MBC. All photos will be rated on a 5-point scale:
5 – exceptional
4 – very good
3 – good to average
2 – room for improvement
1 – needing substantial improvement.
The best of each category for each skill level will be chosen so that there will be eight top photos selected, one in each category for each skill level (advanced or beginner/intermediate).
Recognition:
MBC and CCC intend to have all winning photographs mounted for display. The set of eight winning photographs will be exhibited in various venues in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area, e.g. Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, coffee houses, etc.
