Competitions are generally held on the first Monday club meeting of the month, October through May. Please arrive early for competition nights as the lines for entry are long and entries will not be accepted after 7:25 PM. Members are encouraged to enter the 8 monthly intra-club competitions, competing with peers at their own skill level (Novice or Advanced) in one or more of their chosen media (digital, slide, monochrome print, or color print). Digital entries must be filed on the club website no later than midnight of the Tuesday prior to competition. Login and password is required for digital entry submission.
Each competition provides expert, constructive criticism of each picture by outside judges, thus becoming a teaching tool for improving photographic results and personal satisfaction. We are also affiliated with regional organizations through which B-CCC members are eligible to participate in several competitions outside of the club.
| October 1 | Open | Any Subject, any time |
| November 12 | Simplify, Simplify, Simplify | Zoom, or crop, or change your vantage point, or use graduated tonalities, etc., in order to de-clutter your image by eliminating anything that unnecessarily distracts from your subject, perhaps even to the extreme of being simplistic or minimalistic. Suggestions: Try using a larger aperture (e.g., f/4) or a telephoto lens (e.g., 200 mm) to blur backgrounds (or put a Lens Baby on your wish list!); or take steps sideways, or get closer, or climb a ladder, or get down low to take your shot to avoid background clutter; or use dodge and burn, blur and sharpen selectively in post-processing, etc. Suggestions: a back-lit sea oats stalk at sunrise; a bowl of fruit on an otherwise empty table; a single flower against a blurred background; a bird in flight in open sky; a full-body portrait leaning against a plain brick wall, etc. |
| December 3 | I Was Framed! | Subject(s) may be framed by shooting them through a doorway, window, arch, or an alleyway, etc., or by flanking the scene with trees, an overhanging bough, etc. At least one edge of the image should have a framing device. Use your artistic judgment in determining whether the framing device should be sharp or blurred (e.g., a flower shot through a garden of flowers using a shallow depth of field could be framed in blurred colors.) Tips for both subject and framing device to be sharp: Stand back far enough, use a small enough aperture (e.g., f/16), and a wide-angle lens (e.g., 18 mm) so that both the framing device and the scene beyond are in focus, or take a series of focal point shots and use focus stacking in post-processing. Tip for blurred framing device: small depth of field or blur in post- processing, etc. |
| January 7 | At Peace | Images that evoke a sense of calm, stillness, serenity, tranquility or solitude. Ideas: a candle flame in a darkened room, a sparkling lake vista on a foggy morning, a white calla lily against a dark background, an empty Adirondack chair on a deserted shore, a night shot with a light in one window, a dreamy gaze, etc. |
| February 4 | Travel | Fifty miles from Bowie makes a Travel photo. A stronger picture would be one that suggests a different culture or geography. The Ernie Nagy Memorial Travel Trophy will be awarded to the entry judged Best in Show. |
| March 4 | Get the Skinny (Panoramas) | The panoramas can be long and skinny (horizontal) or tall and skinny (vertical). They can be a series of images stitched together in-camera or in post-processing, or they can be one image that has simply been cropped to be “skinny”.. |
| April 1 | You Can’t Fool Mother Nature! | (Or the judge!) Animal, vegetable or mineral, there must be no showing of the hand of man or domestication. The Novice Nature Trophy will be awarded during this competition for the best in show Novice nature image. |
| May 6 | Open | Any subject, anytime, anywhere. |
| May 16 | End of Year Competition | All 2012-2013 club year award (1st, 2nd, 3rd, HM) winning photos are eligible for this End of Year Competition. Actual submission deadline to be announced. |