Bowie-Crofton Camera Club
Throughout Central and Southern Maryland.
Competition Themes
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, monochrome 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.
2019 - 2020 Competition Themes
| October 7 | Open | Anytime, anywhere, any topic |
| November 4 | Looking Up | Camera angle must be noticeably above the horizontal, up through a vertical shot. Lie on the ground or other low surface and look up at what’s around you for things that aren’t normally thought of as tall, such as a mailbox, car, or another person. Kneel or stand for subjects that are already high up, such as clouds, planes, kites, trees, tall buildings, up a flight of stairs. |
| December 2 | Still Life | Painters of still-life compositions included natural objects along with dead animals (“still life”) such as ducks or rabbits killed during the hunt. For this composition, dead animals, birds, bugs, and the like, are not required, but are permitted. Focus on a nicely composed image featuring natural objects such as plants, leaves, feathers, pine cones, vegetables, fruit, and the like. No people are permitted in the image. Keep human-made objects to a minimum. |
| January 6 | Eyes | Human, animal, insect; so-called (e.g., peacock’s tail feathers, potato); artificial, real; a created or manipulated impression of one or more eyes (whether meant to represent a real eye or to suggest the appearance of an eye). Other body parts may be shown (such as the entire head), but the eyes must be the primary focus of the image. |
| February 3 | Travel | Any object, anytime, anywhere, as long as it is obvious to the judge that the subject matter was photographed while traveling more than 50 miles from Bowie; an image that captures the feeling of a time and place, and portrays a land, a people, or a culture in its natural state. The judge will award the travel trophy to his/her favorite first place image, across categories. |
| March 3 | Get Outside | Activities taking place outdoors. Examples: sports, leisure, work, gardening, dog-walking, sunbathing. The activity must be done outdoors, at any season of the year. Images may include humans or humans with animals; no animal-only images. Any landscape or scenery is secondary to the activity. |
| April 6 | Nature | Focus on nature and natural things. The rules say the photograph cannot depict any evidence of the “hand of man”. Simply put—no fences, cans, man-made structures, etc. The Novice Nature Trophy will be awarded during this competition for the best in show Novice nature image. |
| May 4 | Open | Anytime, anywhere, any topic |
| May 16 | End of Year Competition | End of Year Competition - Digital Winners Only |
The End of Year entries will be collected following the May competition. These may include any image that won a ribbon of any kind during the past year.