Slides, prints or e-photography submitted to the club or open competition MUST be the original work of the author (photographer). Copies of other people’s work are NOT permitted. Disciplinary action will be taken against any author disregarding the principle. If an image is originally entered under ‘e’ (for example) it cannot be re-submitted under any other medium.

Members’ images can be submitted ONLY ONCE.

If a member is not happy with the award given for an image it may be re-submitted at the next meeting but the member forfeits the award already given.

It must be emphasised that the same or similar image may not be renamed as a new entry.

The same or similar image cannot be re-submitted under a new title using cropping, monochrome, or any manipulation tools to change the original appearance. The image will be disqualified.

HOW TO

• Put image into Photoshop
• Crop the image
• Tweak the colour

Enhance

• Adjust Lighting
• Levels
• Use the histogram

Frame Image (OPTIONAL)

• Resize Canvas Size1-2 pixels
• choose colour of frame (white or light grey)

Resize Image 

• Resize Image Size
• Not greater than 1080 pixels height and 1920 pixels width (do the height first and the width will generally conform)
• At bottom choose Bicubic Sharper (Best for Reduction)

To Save

• File
• Save as
• Type in the title

FOR JUDGING
Submit only 2 images for judging per month, and 1 for Set Subject.
Each image must be prepared and resized for submission…

CHOOSING A CATEGORY
  na     –   Nature and Wildlife (no digital manipulation allowed)
  ls      –   Landscape
  ar     –   Altered Reality
  po    –   Portrait
  op    –   Open
  pi     –   Pictorial
  sl     –   Still Life
  pj     –   Photo Journalism and Travel (no digital manipulation allowed)

how to submit to photo vault online

• Register as a user on Photo Vault –  www.photovaultonline.com
• Login
• My photo vault
• Upload new photo
• Images must be sized with either the height exactly 1080px or the width exactly 1920px (2mb) format
• Browse for your photo on your computer
• Enter the title (remember max 5 words)
• Photo Medium : Digital General
• Submit
• Repeat the  process

to submit

• My Clubs
• My Club Entries
• My Photo Vault
• Upload new photo
• Update photo detail
• A confirmation from Photo vault will be sent to you.

What is the difference between RGB and sRGB?

 What is the difference between RGB and sRGB?

Firstly, the colour gamut (spectrum) that we are able to see with our eyes is much wider than the gamut that a screen or projector can display.
In computer terms we have Adobe RGB and sRGB. The gamut of Adobe RGB is wider than sRGB.
The camera should always be set on Adobe RGB as you want to capture as wide a range of colours as possible when you take the picture.
The minimum processing then takes place in camera.
The picture is processed in Photoshop in Adobe RGB.
I save my pictures in the original large format and in Adobe RGB as a PSD (Photoshop format).
PSD is a “lossless” system.
Jpeg is a “lossy” system which does its own compression. This is not ideal as you have less control.
You can return to the PSD file and rework it if needed.
You then resize the image for printing or projection purposes, and then change it to a Jpeg and convert to sRGB profile Photoshop

 Francois Roux, PSSA

What is the difference between NATURE and WILDLIFE photography?

NATURE photography depicts observations of natural elements from all branches of natural history.
Falling within the Nature category is WILDLIFE which is defined as one or more organisms living free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat.
All Wildlife can therefore be entered in the NATURE category but all Nature cannot be entered in the WILDLIFE category.
Wildlife subjects are not limited to birds and mammals. Insects, reptiles, amphibians, sea creatures and botany are also eligible wildlife subjects as long as they are not captive subjects.
The main subjects must be living organisms therefore Nature landscapes are not eligible wildlife subjects.
While photographs of zoo or any other animals in captivity, insects or other creatures photographed in the studio or other controlled locations are NATURE subjects they are not WILDLIFE and could not be entered in a WILDLIFE category.
Animals living free and unrestrained on game farms, private game reserves and National Parks are considered to be WILDLIFE.

Is it really necessary to calibrate a computer screen or projector?

This is very important. Clubs ought to buy a Spyder and make it available to the club members to calibrate their equipment.

The calibration takes place in two steps:

Firstly the “brightness” and “contrast” must be selected manually.
The “PSSA Test Images” can be downloaded from the PSSA website. Look on the home page of the website for the relevant tab right at the bottom of the page. There is a version for Windows and for Mac; the first page is the brightness and contrast chart.
The 2% black on the brightness side, and the 98% white on the contrast side must be visible. This is adjusted manually on the screen or projector.

Secondly the calibration of colours is done with the Spyder. The Spyder’s software is loaded onto the computer. The Spyder unit is then placed in position for calibration. It can be attached to the monitor or placed next to it depending on the type of calibration you have selected.The Spyder then reads the colours reflected from the screen and compares that to the software profile. The software then creates a colour profile on the graphics card of the computer.
We thus ensure that the colours one sees at home will be the same as the colours seen on any other calibrated system.
The ambient light in the room where we work will influence the calibration.  REMEMBER: Photographers do it in the dark.
If you change your computer screen/ monitor you must recalibrate. If another screen /projector is used with a computer, a new profile has to be created.
The test image with the PSSA in the corners is for use on a projector only, to see if all 4 corners are sharp and if all the outer borders even.
The other images on the test images page is to see if the colours display naturally, and if there is sufficient detail.
It is important to understand that it is not the screen or projector that is calibrated, a colour profile for that specific combination of computer and screen/projector is created

Francois Roux, PSSA