Competitions overview 2025-26

Competitions Overview

Competitions are held on the 4th Thursday of the month throughout the club year.

Note: The club meetings are being held in hybrid format for 2024-25 season which means both digital and print entries are accepted for competition nights. However, only members attending the meeting in person can vote for the print entries.

The digital Competitive Categories will be judged by certified external judges. The Exhibition Categories are for viewing only.

"When you enter a photograph into a competition you are contributing to the well-being of the Club: you provide the other members with pleasure, with a new idea, and with a forum for discussion, thus contributing to their growth as photographers. Winning is a bonus." (Sheila Holzer, IACC Honorary Member)

Competitions references

Monthly Competitions manual (2025-26)

annual competition manual 2025-26

Exporting Files From Adobe Lightroom for competitions

Petroleum Plaza Exhibit: "Beautiful Canada" selection

Enchanted Rainforest @ Brenda JACKSON

Changes to how we vote in 2025-26

CAPA Judges and members' choice awards

The Exhibition categories (600 and 700)
1. These will be shown in advance of the competition meeting on the club website, via the monthly competition page. Scroll down to View All and click the appropriate button.
2. Exhibition images will not be voted on or scored. They will be shown at the competition meeting as a slideshow (with music).
3. We encourage members to talk about these images with each other, and especially with the creator. In addition, some of these images will be critiqued each month. The point of these categories is not competition, but showcasing and learning. Since the entry rules are broader than the competitive categories, they allow more room for experimentation (including use of AI) and greater use of non-traditional approaches.
The Print category (300)
1. Digital versions of the print entries will be shown on the club website after the competition meeting. It is impossible to evaluate prints from a digital image, because it can't show important matters such as print quality, choice of materials, etc. Therefore the digital versions will not be available until after voting.
2. Prints will be voted on by those members who attend the competition meeting (paper ballots), and placing will be determined by those votes. This is exactly the same as in previous years.
The Digital Competitive categories (100 Them and 200 Open)
1. All entries will be available for viewing on the club website after the competition meeting, on the monthly competition page, in the View All section.
2. These images are being scored by certified CAPA judges, who are also providing a short critique of each image. The winners and placing will be announced at the competition meeting, and a slideshow of winning images will be on the club website after the competition meeting. The scores and critiques for all images will be available for viewing by all members on the club website after the competition meeting. These scores will be used to determine the overall placing for the year.
3. These images will also be voted on by members at the competition meeting. All voting will be in-person only (paper ballots). This procedure is similar to the procedure for prints. The top three images from this voting will be awarded "members choice" status, and included as such in the winners slide show. This does not contribute to the year-end scoring, but we may do some sort of award for the member(s) with the most members choice images during the year.
4. To facilitate voting, all members will receive a paper ballot before the start of the meeting. Each digital competitive category slideshow will be played twice. The first time through, the slide will be up long enough for viewers to examine the image closely. The second time through, the images will be up for a shorter time, but will allow voters to double check image numbers, compare images, and so on, and make their final choice.

Monthly competitions themes (2025-26)

100 Theme: It should reflect the monthly theme (see below). This category will be judged by qualified CAPA judges. An entry in this category comprises a single digital image.
200 Open: This category will be judged by qualified CAPA judges. An entry in this category comprises a single digital image
300 Print: An entry in this category comprises a single print.
600 Exhibition Theme: An entry in this category comprises a single digital image.
700 Exhibition Open: An entry in this category comprises a single digital image.

Sep
100 - Contradiction Diptychs
600 - Two

Oct
100 - Sports
600 - Pun(s)

Nov
100 - Eyeglasses
600 - Aldons

Jan
100 - Family(ies)
600 - Seen/Scene through a window or door.

Feb
100 - From an Event
600 - Books (must have some sort of book in the image)

Mar
100 - Anything “S”
600 - Zig Zag(s)

* PRINT PRESENTATION *

Max size is 20 inches but smaller sizes are still an option.
The size of the matte/mount is NOT included in the print size.
Physical frames, glass, and metal prints are NOT allowed due to their weight.

Annual competition themes (2025-26)

100 President's Challenge: Strong and Free (Digital Single Image)
200 Photographic Technique: Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) (Digital Single Image)
300 People: Classic Portrait (Digital Single Image):
400 Outings and Workshops (Digital Single Image)
500 Plantlife (Digital Single Image)
600 Wildlife (Digital Single Image)
700 ‘Scapes (Digital Single Image)
800 Photo Essay (Digital Composite Image)
900Clive Mathewson. Humour/Lighthearted (scored by member votes) ( Digital Single Image)
1000 Video Composition. Open. (scored by member votes) (MP4 or similar video file, 3 minutes maximum)
1100 Print Open. (scored by member votes) (Printed Single Image, Max 20 inches)