Masters cup rules

I. ELIGIBILITY

Section 1.01 Any member in good standing and not on leave-of-absence may enter the MONTHLY THEME and OTS competitions.

Section 1.02 A member must have no outstanding account and have paid his/her first fifty percent (50%) of the annual dues (membership dues and assessments) on or before the meeting of FEBRUARY, to be eligible to enter the competition from that month on. Likewise, he/she must have paid the balance of fifty percent (50%) of the annual dues on or before the meeting of JULY to be able to continue competing. Entries of members with arrears or with unpaid dues as defined in foregoing will be declined outright at the time of submission. Notwithstanding this, should the entry be inadvertently admitted, and it was later on found out that the dues have not been paid on the deadlines mentioned, the scores gained during the affected semester will be nullified. Subsequent payment will not restore the nullified scores.

II. ENTRIES

Section 2.01 MONTHLY Theme and OTS Competition Formats from January to October shall consist of the following 9 themed monthly competition and 3 OTS, unless otherwise officially modified and announced by the Board in the course of the year. Refer to Rule lV for post processing guidelines and requirements.

(a). ONE COLOR PRINT, WITH UNRESTRICTED PROCESSING, for DISPLAY (CPU).

(b). ONE “BLACK AND WHITE + 1 COLOR” PRINT , WITH GLOBAL PROCESSING, FOR DISPLAY (BWPG).

(c). FOUR COLOR PHOTOS WITH GLOBAL PROCESSING TO BE PROJECTED (CPrG)

(d) TWO BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS WITH UNRESTRICTED PROCESSING TO BE PROJECTED (BWPrU)

(e) ONE COLOR PHOTO TAKEN BY A MOBILE PHONE WITH UNRESTRICTED PROCESSING TO BE PR0JECTED (CPrU)

(d). Subject to the pandemic lock-down situation, THREE OTS COMPETITIONS, in Original JPG FILES to be projected. MUST SEE Rule Vll. However, there may be additional special OTS’s that could be added after these three, when special agreements with CCP corporate partners have been finalized.

Section 2.02 Print entries must be on photographic double-weight paper (from 180 GSM to 300 GSM) measuring 11” by 14”. Fine art paper and watercolor paper are not acceptable.

Section 2.03 Print entries may be with or without borders, and borders may be of any size but plain without any distinguishing designs. Nothing may be pasted on the surface of the photograph.

Section 2.04 All print entries must be labeled on the back with entrant’s full name, format theme, date, with an arrow pointing upwards to indicate the entrant’s intended orientation for his entry. Titles and other information, if any, may be placed on the back. The entrant’s name or any identifying mark should in no case appear on the surface of the photograph. All entries in monochromes and color for projection must be in JPEG format.

Section 2.05 A maximum of two (2) entries per member are allowed in each contest, unless otherwise specified by the Contest Committee.

III. IMAGES

Section 3.01 Any image, as well as all components of an image, must originate as a photograph (image-capture of objects via light sensitivity) captured with a camera by the entrant on photographic emulsion (i.e. film) or acquired digitally.

Section 3.02 An image or any component of an image, whether digital or otherwise, must not have originated other than from a photograph; for example, a digital file or image acquired by use of a scanner, a digital file or image created solely or in part by way of software or a downloaded digital file cannot be used as a component of an image.

Section 3.03 All images and components of an image must be entirely the work of the entrant. A component of an image that is the work of someone other than the entrant is permissible provided that it is obvious that such component is not being presented as the work of the entrant (e.g. a picture of a sculpture or a billboard). There should be no uncertainty as to what work is that of the entrant and what work might be that of someone else. For example, a photograph of an Ansel Adams photograph would not be permissible but a photograph of someone looking at an Ansel Adams photograph hanging on the wall would be permissible.

Section 3.04 Photographs that have previously been entered in any competition within and outside the CCP within the last 2 years or 48 months from the intended contest date, shall NOT be allowed to be entered in any Club contest in any format.

Section 3.05 Posting on the INTERNET of the participant’s photo entries, 30 days prior to submission until these are judged, is prohibited. Should the photo qualify for the finals, posting on the internet will still be prohibited until after qualified entries have been judged.

IV. POST-PROCESSING

Section 4.01 GLOBAL post-processing of images includes post-production manipulation, such as adjustment of exposure, sharpness, colors, contrast, white balance, spotting, cropping, burning, dodging, “clean-ups” by cloning, prior to printing.

HOWEVER, the following are PROHIBITED and DISALLOWED:

COMPOSITING or INCORPORATING of additional images in the photograph other than the original single shot/frame of the photographer;

Layering, cloning and a composite of multiple images taken by the photographer to arrive at a single image is not allowed. Reproduction of sandwiched slides or negatives previously captured to compose a single image will not be accepted, as well.

Section 4.02 Verification of global post-processed photographs will be done vis-à-vis the submitted original file of the entrant at the discretion of the Contest Committee.

Section 4.03 UNRESTRICTED post-processing of images means any type or manner of processing may be done, except as provided in Section III.

V. SUBMISSION

Section 5.01 Unless otherwise specified by the Contest Committee, printed entries for physical judging may be submitted to the club secretariat during office hours, on any day before the day of the competition judging, and not later than 5:00 P.M. of the day immediately preceding the scheduled day of competition, at the designated site of the meeting.

Digital entries will be emailed to entry@cameraclubph.com before the announced deadline for submission

Section 5.02 Digital Entries may be submitted through:

A USB drive or Email transmission, subject to limitations and regulations set below.
Email Transmission: As may be provided for by the Contest Committee Chairman, digital files of Themes and OTS entries may also be submitted through email transmissions, the deadline for which will not be later than the date and time specified in a written communication by the Contest Chairman.

Submission of COLOR PRINT entries: The original file, and the processed file used for printing, must be submitted together with the print. Resolution and size shall be 300 ppi/dpi,11×14 inches, respectively. Each file must be named in the following file nomenclature: LASTNAME (space) FIRSTNAME (space) ENTRY#ORIGINAL/PROCESSED, for checking and archival purposes of the club. Entries without the original and processed files will be rejected upon submission.

Submission of UNRESTRICTED BLACK AND WHITE PRINT and UNRESTRICTED COLOR FILE for projection entries: Only the processed JPEG file will be required to be submitted. Each file must be named in the following file nomenclature: LASTNAME (space) FIRSTNAME (space) ENTRY# PROCESSED for checking and archival purposes of the club.

Submission of OTS entries: The original and unedited JPEG file on CD or USB memory stick or through email transmission must be submitted. Each file must be named in the following file nomenclature LASTNAME (space) FIRSTNAME (space) ENTRY# (space) ORIGINAL, for checking and archival purposes of the club.

Example: Emil Davocol’s submitted entry:

DAVOCOL EMIL ENTRY1 PROCESSED

Example: Emil Davocol’s original of the submitted entry:

DAVOCOL EMIL ENTRY2 ORIGINAL

A member entering or joining a contest shall be responsible to ensure that his file has been submitted and recorded as an entry. The member or his duly authorized representative must sign the entry logbook when they are submitting their entries. If entry is submitted via email transmission, an entry is deemed accepted after receipt of confirmation from the Contest Committee or the probee designated by the Contest Committee.

Section 5.03 Submission of entries assumes accompanying permission by the photographer for the Club to store files, digital or otherwise, of them and/or to use such entries in publications and exhibits and other public presentations. All entries that have qualified as defined in the section on Scoring and Awards below, shall remain in the custody of the Club for at least two years unless returned earlier by specific decision of the Board.

Section 5.04 An entry, once submitted, and logged in by the contest committee in its contest entry logbook, cannot be withdrawn. Should an entry be deemed non-compliant before the deadline, it can be replaced with one conforming to the requirements of the particular contest with the approval of any member of the Contest Committee.

VI. DISQUALIFICATIONS AND COMPLAINTS

Section 6.01 Only the Contest Committee Chairman or any member of the Contest Committee duly appointed by the Contest Committee Chairman during his absence may disqualify any entry that does not comply with contest themes or any of the rules contained herein and/or any rules published specifically for any particular contest. The Contest Committee Chairman or his/her appointee has full executive control over the interpretation of all the rules stated herein and/or any rules published specifically for any particular contest.

Section 6.02 ANY COMPLAINT by any member regarding a particular contest entry must be in writing (through a complaint letter or email) addressed to the Contest Committee Chairman, mailed or hand-carried to the Club’s office or faxed or e-mailed to any Director or Contest Committee Member by the member/complainant or any member representing the member/complainant not later than 5 days immediately following the contest date. The complaint letter should include the following information:

(1) date and theme of the contest,

(2) entry number,

(3) reason of the complaint, and

(4) member complainant in good standing.

After said deadline, no complaint of any kind shall be entertained, unless initiated by any TRUSTEE at the Board meeting immediately following the contest concerned. The decision of the Board shall be final.

Section 6.03 ANY FORM OF CHEATING in the monthly or OTS competitions, if found to be true, the photographer will no longer be allowed to continue participating in the competition and all previous scores will be nullified and a sanction from the BOARD of TRUSTEES will be issued to the photographer.

VII. ON THE SPOT COMPETITIONS

Section 7.01 JPEG COLOR ORIGINAL (JCOP). For JCOP, post processing is prohibited. In-camera editing after the shot has been recorded is likewise prohibited.

Section 7.02 Props and models brought in for the occasion by any member or guest are prohibited, but props and models found in place are allowed.

Section 7.03 NO assistant or “alalay” is allowed in the shoot during OTS.

Section 7.04 Use of drone is prohibited.

Section 7.05 Only original file in JPEG format is acceptable as entries for projection.

Section 7.06 The On-The-Spot Competition (OTS) venues and schedules will be published together with the themes for the coming year. Should weather conditions or incapacity of the CCP to travel to these published venues be apparent, the Contest Committee is permitted to suggest alternative dates and locations for consideration of the Board.

Section 7.07 Particulars for each specific OTS competition will be published and distributed at least a month prior to the event and upon registration of the entrant. Information to be disseminated will explain the location, time and date, format of entry as well as restrictions or theme if any.

Section 7.08 Subject of the OTS entry must be inside the OTS Territory OR shot by the photographer within the OTS Territory.

No post editing will be allowed in OTS competitions. All edits may be done through presets prior to the picture being taken but not after. Cropping is not allowed.

Modifiers such as filters and the like may be used during the shoot. Flash, portable led lights, reflectors, and similar portable lighting may be used during the shoot.

All entries must be originally shot in JPEG format. In the event that entrant has no JPEG file, entrant may submit the original RAW file straight from camera and the contest committee shall convert the file to jpeg at zero-zero values.

PHOTOS will not be printed but instead will be displayed using projection media that will be designated by the Contest Committee. The Contest Committee may resize all entries to conform to the limitations of the media to be used, prior to photo presentation.

Section 7.09 Unless otherwise specified by the Contest Committee, regular OTS competitions will not allow for props or persons brought by any member of the club from outside of the OTS territory, or his non-member companion, other club members or the entrant himself, to be used as subject or be a part of a photograph submitted as entry in the said contest.

VIII. THE CONTEST COMMITTEE

Section 8.01 The Contest Committee is chaired by a member of the Board of Trustees. The chairman together with a minimum of two regular members of the CCP shall form the Contest Committee. The Chairman of the Contest Committee may nominate any regular member of the CCP to the Board of Trustees and their inclusion will be subject to the Board’s approval.

Section 8.02 The Master Photographer Cup competition shall be under the full responsibility of the Contest Committee. Tendering of the entries will be through the secretariat or any member of the Committee on or before the prescribed date and place of submission. The submission will not be limited to the date of the actual monthly meeting and can be submitted to the Committee through the secretariat during regular office hours.

Section 8.03 Aside from the regular monthly competitions, the OTS’s will be organized by the Contest Committee. This will include publication of rules and guidelines, registration, collecting of fees and acceptance of entries.

IX. SCORING AND AWARDS

Section 9.01 The Committee shall select a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 5 judges per competition. Should less than 4 judges make it on the day of the competition, the Contest Committee shall designate a non-competing Lifetime Member of the Club as an alternate judge. The identity of the judges may not be made know to the general membership until the competition proper.

Section 9.02 Prior to any competition, the judges will be briefed by a member of the Contest Committee in order to clarify both the scoring method and the theme, if any, as well as the submission format.

Section 9.03 At any time before and during the judging of any contest, all members must refrain from any action or comment which may reveal to any judge the identity of the entrant of any particular entry or which may tend to bias in any way or unduly influence the decision of any judge.

Section 9.04 Each entry will be judged and scored on a scale of 1 to 5, which will be defined to judges as follows:

5 – Excellent

4 – Above Average

3 – Average

2 – Below Average

1 – Poor – Lowest score

The judges will be encouraged to use decimal points to further distinguish the scores of the entries from one another.

Section 9.05 Tiebreak Protocol: In case of ties for monthly and annual competitions, these will be broken by having the entries re-judged. This shall be applicable only to the top positions qualifying for awards. Should the judges not be complete to do a secondary round of arbitration on the tied positions, the tiebreak protocol shall be to use the highest individual scores from each judge. Among or between ties, the entry or entrant with the highest individual score shall prevail over the others. Should there be a tie among the highest individual scores from the judges, the second highest score shall be used, and so on.

Section 9.06 The final score of the entry will be the actual average scores of all the judges

Section 9.07 Only the TOP 25 entries in all monthly and OTS competitions can vie for the Photo of the Year awards in all the categories: CPG, BWPU, C/Proj, and OTS. Moreover, only members in good standing will be eligible for any award.

Section 9.08 The top three placers in the Photo of the Year award in all formats or categories (CPG, BWPU, CPrU, OTS) shall receive the following bonus points:

Photo of the Year – 0.60 Points

Second Place – 0.30 Points

Third Place – 0.15 Points

Section 9.09 All regular monthly entries that have qualified shall be accumulated together with the two best OTS scores and bonus points (section 9.08) from yearend finals. The highest score from these various competitions shall be the basis for the Master Photographer Cup as well as the Top Ten Photographers of the Year.

Section 9.10 LIST OF AWARDS

Photo of the Month: for the entry with the highest score for each regular monthly contest.
Photographer of the Month: for the photographer with the highest total points for each regular monthly contest.

OTS Best Photo: for the entry with the highest score for each OTS event.

OTS Best Photographer: for the entrants with the highest total scores for each OTS event.

1st Conference Best Photographer: 1st, 2nd 3rd Place for highest total points for regular monthly contests of January, February, March.

2nd Conference Best Photographer: 1st, 2nd 3rd Place for highest total points for regular monthly contests of April, May June.

3rd Conference Best Photographer: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place for highest total points for regular monthly contests of July, August, September.

100% Qualifier Award: for any member who submits and earns passing scores for two entries for all regular monthly contests and two entries to at least two OTS events, all of which, without exception, earn qualifying points. “Failure” in other additional OTS events does not disqualify the member from this award.

OTS 100% Qualifier Award: for any member who submits and earns passing scores for two entries in each of the 4 official OTS events. Should there be special OTS’s added, automatically the highest 4 OTS will be considered.

Color Print Photographer of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the member with the highest total of points earned in all regular monthly contests in the COLOR PRINT GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS ONY format.

Black and White Print Photographer of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the member with the highest total points earned in all regular monthly contests in the Black and White Printed format.
Color Projected Photographer of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the member with the highest total points earned in all regular monthly contests in the COLOR PROJECTED UNRESTRICTED format

On-the-Spot Photographer of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the member with the highest total points earned in 4 out of 5 official OTS events.

Color Print Photo of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the winners of the finals among all qualified entries in all regular monthly contests in this format.

Black and White Photo of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the winners of the finals among all qualified entries in all regular monthly contests in this format

Color Projected Photo of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for the winners of the finals among all qualified entries in all regular monthly contests in this format.

On-the-Spot Photo of the Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place for winners of the finals among all qualified OTS entries of the year.

Photographer of the Year: 2nd to 10th place for the highest cumulative totals including all nine regular monthly contests and the two OTS contests in which the photographers did best for himself.

Master Photographer of the Year: 1st place for single highest cumulative total including all nine regular monthly contests and the two OTS contests in which the photographer did best for himself.