Non-league competitions 2024-2025 season

Advice to members

This page contains a summary of the non-league competitions. For full details of the competition rules, members should refer the Competition Rules page in the Members Area.

Non-league competitions
Date	Type	Topic	Presenter/Judge
Thursday 26-09-2024		Creative Hybrid meeting Hand-in: 15-09-2024	Barbie Lindsay MPAGB FBPE EFIAP/s AWPF
Thursday 31-10-2024		Portrait Hybrid meeting Hand-in: 20-10-2024	David Gibbins EFIAP/s ARPS BPE5* APAGB
Thursday 12-12-2024		Natural history Hybrid meeting Hand-in: 01-12-2024	Edward Hyde FRPS
Thursday 20-02-2025		Rural landscape Hybrid meeting Hand-in: 09-02-2025	Cameron Scott
Thursday 13-03-2025		PDI theme Hybrid meeting Hand-in: 02-03-2025	Steve Kingswell LRPS, AFIAP
Thursday 17-04-2025		Chairman's salver - Subject - Playing Hybrid meeting Hand-in: 06-04-2025	Philip Hinton ARPS
Thursday 01-05-2025		Print panel Face-to-face meeting Hand-in: 20-04-2025	To be confirmed
Thursday 15-05-2025		Annual Exhibition Face-to-face meeting Hand-in: 04-05-2025	Pat Couder CPAGB BPE1 QPSA

Non-league competitions overview

Unlike League competitions, where members compete in divisions of photographers of similar experience, non-league competitons are open, so all entries are judged together.

Our non-league competions comprise: Portrait, Record, Natural History, Rural Landscape, Panel, Theme and Annual Exhibition (prints). During some seasons, we may run the Chairman's Salver, which is based on a topic chosen by our Chairman.

Portrait - prints and PDIs

To be awarded for the best image submitted in the competition. Portrait subject matter is deemed to be human portrait, glamour or figure studies.

Record - prints and PDIs

To be awarded for the best image submitted in the competition. The title 'Record' is to include Applied Photography and Architecture, but exclude Natural History.

Rural Landscape - prints and PDIs

To be awarded for the best image submitted in the competition, which will be held annually. Photographs entered must be a pictorial study of a RURAL landscape (water/seascapes and skyscapes are acceptable), a landscape being a wide view or vista of scenery.

Natural History - prints and PDIs

To be awarded for the best Nature image submitted in the competition.

Nature means images where living organisms are the primary subject matter. The story telling value of an image will normally be weighed more than the pictorial quality. Nature includes:

Images taken with subjects in controlled conditions such as zoos, game parks, botanic gardens, aquariums and enclosures where the subjects are dependent on man for food. Scientific bands, tags or collars are permissible.

Nature excludes:

Images where the subjects are obviously domestic animals or plants.
Images where an obviously artistic treatment has been applied.

Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and sharpening, is permitted, as is cloning of image defects and minor distractions including overlapping elements.

An image appearing to meet these criteria will be accepted as Nature. The Judges will normally assume that any image presented to them is eligible.

Access to some biological subjects may be restricted. Where that is relevant, then Photographers warrant that they have followed relevant codes of practices and hold any necessary licences.

Panel - prints only

The aim of the competition is to encourage members to produce panels of prints linked by content or technique according to the photographer's choice.

Theme - PDIs only

A selection of a minimum of three and a maximum of six PDIs (plus a title image if desired) on the photographers chosen theme(s) will be presented without commentary. The Judge will be asked to select a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the competition.

Annual Exhibition - prints only

Each member may enter up to a maximum of four prints. Prints entered in previous Society Exhibitions will not be eligible, but any other prints including those entered in any of the Society's competitions (excluding the small print competition) will be eligible. There will be a trophy for the best print.