The FCC online Membership form asks you to –

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• Advanced (typically the people who often use manual settings on their cameras, or are able to produce high quality images).

• Intermediate (people with a bit more experience than a beginner, but still learning manual settings on their cameras).

• Beginner (people who are new to photography and using point and shoots, cell phone cameras, or still learning their camera settings on their cameras).

 

There are usually 11 per year (each contest always has a specific theme).

Of the 11 club contests, three provide individual awards at the end of the year:See website for more details

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(1) Series submission – different topic each year (Freeman Patterson Award);

(2) Landscape photography (Ken Dunphy award);

(3) Photos that show emotion and tell a story in one photo (Brian Townsend Illuminator award);

 

The themes of the remaining 8 club contests are announced at the year-end meeting in June which allows time for members to get out and shoot photos for these themes. The themes for competitions are found at https://www.focuscameraclub.com/competitions

 

Each member is allowed to per contests. The FCC website has an easy way to upload photos for each category but all submissions must follow a specific naming convention using a membership unique code given to each member on the back of the membership card.It is recommended to check the submission page a day after contest images have been uploaded to check to make sure your code name is listed as a successful upload. Please use the “Contact us” page if having you are having problems submitting photos.

 

All members are assigned a 6-character which must be used in each and every filename of all images you submit for presentation.This membership number is like a “code name”.The code name tries to keep anonymity for contest results, which are posted on the website after each of the first six contests.

 

All who have many years of photographic experience.Each photograph is rated on:

(1) Theme To ensure photos portray the intended theme,

(2) Technical aspects (composition, focus, exposure, etc.)

(3) “wow” factor or impact.

(4) Points will be taken off for flaws

 

It is recommended to always submit 3 photos per contest because … only the best score of your best submission for each contest.Scores are posted 1-2 weeks after each contest which enables you to determine where your photos are ranking among your peers, as well as strengths and weaknesses each photo may have (for example technical aspect might be good, but wow factor could be better).The contests are for friendly competitions and to motivate you to learn more about your camera and various techniques and genres.Contest results are not posted after the 7th or 8th contest to keep you guessing as to who will be the winners and runners-up on awards night in June. It must be noted that the same image cannot be submitted in more than one contest.

 

No matter what you feel your level of photography skills are, all because it helps you to learn new techniques and it gets you out to do some photographic “shooting”. Nobody will negatively criticize your submissions, and it is a great opportunity to ask for comments from the people sitting next to you if you want some feedback about your photograph. Deadlines for club are listed on the club calendar https://www.focuscameraclub.com/calendar .

 

Contest scoring: 

For Advanced members, their best 18 scores out of a maximum 24 photos (3 photos per 8 contests) are used for calculating rankings.

For Intermediate, their best 15 scores out of a maximum 24 photos are used for calculating rankings.

For Beginners, their best 9 scores out of 24 are used for calculating rankings.

 

This method allows you to miss a contest without penalty, or to not have to worry about a few low scores if there is a contest theme you find difficult to get good photos.All members will always have a chance for placing in the Top 6 for the year (if that is your goal). It also allows members who join in late fall to also still have a chance for placement in the Top 6.