Enter Your Best Photos in the Best In Show Competition
The Best in Show 2015 Photographic Print Competition offers non-professional photographers the opportunity to have their prints publicly exhibited and professionally judged. The purpose of this exhibit is to encourage local amateur photographers’ pursuit of artistic pastimes. The show is not intended as a forum for promoting sales. For more information, call the Urbana Park District at 217-367-1544.
How to Enter
Individual eligible photographers may enter up to three pieces in the exhibit by completing the attached entry form. The print(s) and entry form, accompanied by a check payable to the Champaign County Camera Club, must be received at the Urbana Park District no later than Jan. 28, 2015 at noon. The fees are: (Early bird deadline) Through Jan. 21, 2015 at noon, $5 for the first print plus $3 for each additional print. After Jan. 21, 2015 at noon, $10 for the first print plus $3 for each additional print. Entries may be hand-delivered or mailed to: Urbana Park District, Phillips Recreation Center, 505 W. Stoughton, Urbana, IL 61801.
Eligible Entries
Entries must be new, original prints created by an amateur photographer residing in Champaign, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt or Vermilion counties. Work not meeting these criteria will not be exhibited or judged. To qualify as new work, the original photographic image on which the work is based must have been taken on or after Jan. 1, 2014. Original prints are those created from the photographic work (film or digital) of the exhibitor. Amateur photographers are broadly defined as those who do the exhibited form of art for pastime, not vocation. In addition, amateur photographers are those who do not do photography as a livelihood or teach arts or crafts as a profession or compete in professional art exhibits. Members of the Champaign County Camera Club are ineligible for this contest.
Categories
1. Animals (photo-realistic category) – Main point of interest must be wild or domesticated animals.
2. Architecture (photo-realistic category) – Images may show complete buildings or minute details of buildings. “Building” includes such things as bridges and other man-made structures.
3. Black and White (photo-realistic category) – This category is for prints that are entirely in the gray scale (typically thought of as black and white). In addition to grey-scale images, prints done in sepia tones, colored monotone or infrared are acceptable.
4. General (photo-realistic category) – Any image may be entered in this category, with the exception of those that would fit in the Manipulated category.
5.Manipulated – Images that are not photo-realistic should be entered in this category. This applies to all ages, including youth submissions that are manipulated. This category covers images that have been significantly modified or created via photo-editing programs (such as Photoshop, Paint-Pro, etc) as well as photos that combine elements from more than one scene, montages, images with text, abstracts, etc. Photo-realistic images (see definition above) may not be entered in this category.
6. Nature (photo-realistic category) – Image must be shot in a natural environment. The hand of man, such as buildings, fences, roads, etc., must not be present. Domesticated animals must not be present. Images containing a plant/animal found in nature must have been photographed in its natural environment. A beautiful plant found in nature but brought into a studio to be photographed would not fit in the Nature category.
7. People (photo-realistic category) – Main point of interest must be an individual person or a group of people.
8. Youth Division – All youth entries (with the exception of strongly manipulated images which will be judged in the Manipulated category) will be judged in a single general category. Youth wishing to have their entries judged in the other categories may do so by paying the appropriate entry fees and entering their images in those categories. All youth entrants will be awarded a Certificate of Participation at the end of the competition. The youth category is open to children ages 17 and younger and 18-year-olds currently enrolled in high school. Submissions from youth under 10 years of age will be exhibited but not judged.
Exhibition Guidelines
Not all entries will necessarily be placed on public display; the Best in Show Committee will exercise sole discretion in determining which prints to exhibit. Special requests by exhibitors regarding placement of their work will not be accepted. The committee reserves the right to change the category in which a print has been entered if it believes the print has been entered in an incorrect category. All decisions by the committee are final.
Exhibit dates: Saturday Feb. 14 at 12:00 noon through Sunday, February 22
at 12:00 noon
Exhibit hours: Monday through Friday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m.
Public Critique by Judges: Sunday, February 22, 2014, 1:00-2:00 pm, Lincoln Square Village
Check-out: Sunday, Feb. 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. No submitted print may be removed by the person entering it prior to check-out time. Prints not picked up by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 22 will be disposed of unless special arrangements have been made. To make special arrangements, call 217-367-1544, ext. 277 prior to Feb. 21, 2015.