Photosub Competitions
The club organises 3 underwater photographic competitions each year.
- The Annual Splash-in Competition takes place early in the summer diving season with images eligible from the waters of UK and Ireland. It is judged by an experienced photographer but who has no experience of underwater photography. Results are announced at the club BBQ.
- The Annual Dinner Competition takes place during the annual club dinner and is judged by an experienced underwater photographer. It covers 4 categories 1) Green Water Macro 2) Green Water Wide 3) Blue Water Macro and 4) Blue Water Wide.
- The Autumn (Open) Competition takes place in November and is judged by an experienced underwater photographer. Images can be taken anywhere in the world.
Annual Splash-in Rules
The Rules
- You may take images from 1st January to the competition closing date defined by the Photosub Committee. Note that images can be taken anywhere in UK or Ireland.
- All images must have been taken underwater. This includes images taken in inland dive sites, rivers and ponds. Swimming pool and aquarium shots are not eligible.
- Only Photosub members are eligible to take part in the competition.
- If you are using film, you are responsible for having it processed and converted for digital projection as slides are no longer accepted.
- There is no restriction whatsoever in how you create the final images, although all images must be taken during the period of the competition. Photoshop or any other manipulation software can be used, without restriction. The entrant must be responsible for all manipulation, although guidance by club members and use of other member’s equipment can be sought.
- Compliance with the above rules, including when the images are taken and how they are prepared for presentation, is based on trust.
Image Preparation
- Up to three images can be entered into the competition.
- Entries will be accepted by email to the Competition Secretary no later than the published closing date.
- Images must be in JPEG format, no wider than 1400 pixels and no higher than 1050 pixels
- Filenames should include the name of the photographer e.g. DavidDoubilet-01.jpg, DavidDoubilet-02.jpg, DavidDoubilet-03.jpg.
Judging
- The competition results will be announced at the club BBQ.
- A guest of honour will be chosen, who will be an experienced photographer but not an underwater photographer.
- The judge will select his choice for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place plus Highly Commended and Commended images.
- As well as the winner of the 1st prize receiving the Photosub Splash In trophy, which they can hold for one year, each of the three winners receives a trophy to keep.
- The guest judge’s decision is final.
- The winner of the Photosub Splash In Trophy should return the trophy prior to the next competition, with their name engraved (engraving costs will be reimbursed by the club).
Annual Dinner Competition Rules
The Categories
- (BWW) Blue Water Wide Angle Projected Images
- (GWW) Green Water Wide Angle Projected Images
- (BWM) Blue Water Macro/Close Up Projected Images
- (GWM) Green Water Macro/Close Up Projected Images
The Rules
- There is no time restriction for images. This will open the competition to club members who are no longer diving.
- All images must have been taken underwater. Swimming pool and aquarium shots are not eligible.
- The entrant must be the photographer.
- Only Photosub members are eligible to take part in the competition.
- Images will only be digital images. Transparencies are no longer accepted, for practical reasons, although they can be converted to digital for projection.
- There is no restriction whatsoever in how you create the final images. Photoshop or any other manipulation software can be used, without restriction. The entrant must be responsible for all manipulation, although guidance by club members and use of other member’s equipment can be sought.
- Macro or Close-up – images taken at close range either with a macro lens or a primary lens with a supplementary close-up lens – typically small subjects life size or larger.
- Wide Angle – images taken with a wide-angle lens (whose focal length is substantially smaller than the focal length of a normal lens) – main subject usually smaller than life size. Close focus wide angle images are categorised as Wide Angle.
- Exclusions: Photos that have previously come first, second, or third in any national or international competition CANNOT be used. Photos that have achieved first, second, or third in any national or international portfolio competition can be used. Entries that have come first, second or third in any Photosub competitions are NOT eligible.
Image Preparation
- Up to three images may be entered into each category.
- Entries will be accepted by email to the Competition Secretary no later than the published closing date.
- Images be in JPEG format, no wider than 1400 pixels and no higher than 1050 pixels.
- Filenames should include both the photographer name and the category e.g. DavidDoubilet_BWW_1.jpg for Blue Water Wide, DavidDoubilet_GWM_3.jpg for Green Water Macro etc.
Judging
- A guest judge who is an underwater photographer will pre-judge the projected images prior to the event.
- The judge will select his choice for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place plus Highly Commended and Commended images.
- The guest judge’s decision is final.
- The winners of 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each category receive a trophy which they keep, as well as the Photosub Annual Trophy for 1st place in each category, which they hold for one year and should be returned prior to the next competition, with their name engraved (engraving costs will be reimbursed by the club).
Autumn (Open) Competition Rules
The Rules
- There is no time restriction for images. This will open the competition to club members who are no longer diving.
- There is no restriction on where images are taken; they can be blue water, green water, inland dives sites, rivers, ponds or even in a swimming pool.
- The entrant must be the photographer.
- Only Photosub members are eligible to take part in the competition.
- Images can be produced either digitally or from film. If you are still using film, you are responsible for having it processed and converted for digital projection. There is no restriction on the use of digital imaging software.
- Exclusions: Photos that have previously come first, second, or third in any national or international competition CANNOT be used. Photos that have achieved first, second, or third in any national or international portfolio competition can be used. Entries that have come first, second or third in any Photosub competitions are NOT eligible.
Image Preparation
- Up to three images can be entered into the competition.
- Entries will be accepted by email to the Competition Secretary no later than the published closing date.
- These must be in JPEG format, no wider than 1400 pixels and no higher than 1050 pixels
- Filenames should include the name of the photographer e.g. DavidDoubilet-01.jpg, DavidDoubilet-02.jpg, DavidDoubilet-03.jpg.
Judging
- A guest judge who is an underwater photographer will pre-judge the projected images.
- The competition results will be announced at the club autumn meeting (typically November).
- The judge will select his choice for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place plus Highly Commended and Commended images.
- The overall winner receives a trophy which he keeps as well as the Autumn Trophy which they hold for one year. The winner should return the trophy prior to the next competition, with their name engraved (engraving costs will be reimbursed by the club).
- The guest judge’s decision is final.
- The winner of the Autumn/Open Trophy should return the trophy prior to the next competition, with their name engraved (engraving costs will be reimbursed by the club).
Competition Notification
The Competition Secretary will send out a reminder email with the closing date for entries for each competition. Entrants must provide appropriate images by the publicised date.
All entries will be projected at the appropriate Photosub meeting followed by the announcement of the results of the competition. Winning images for all competitions will be notified by email and results published on the Photosub website
