KMHS Photo Competition 2010

KMHS Photo Competition 2012

Classes

Class 1	KMHS Member's Gardens: Be proud of your gardening and landscaping efforts. A photo of your own garden / landscaping i.e. front / back yard or baskets / pots and/or ponds.
Class 2	Future Gardeners: Our children, grandchildren and/or friends children - Any photo which has children (under the age of 12) and a 'Horticulture element' i.e. gardens / flowers / plants.
Class 3	Sharing the world: Plants and Animals - A photo which has plants and animals (including: birds / fish / insects / mammals / reptiles).
Class 4	Xeriscape: A photo of either a garden that needs minimum or no irrigation or a natural dry landscape such as a desert. Photos can include the garden or landscape or plants such as cactus, succulents, air plants, etc.
Class 5	Water theme: A photo of a 'water feature' in a garden, park, or natural setting with Flowers/Plants - i.e. pond, water fall, fountain, etc.
Class 6	Plants in far off places: A photo of any plant, garden or natural setting taken on your travel outside of Ontario, preferably outside of Canada - the more exotic, the better. Show us plants that we wouldn't ordinarily see in the Kanata region.
Class 7	Yearbook cover: This is an open category in which you can enter photos with any horticultural theme and which you think will be best to grace the cover of next year's KMHS Yearbook cover.
Pictures may be taken anywhere in the world (travel photos are encouraged!) and although there is no restriction on the dates on which they were taken, photos taken in the past two years are preferred. Take care with submissions to ensure they are in the right category. In past contests, excellent photos had to be disqualified since they did not meet class requirements. With the reduction in the number of classes to 6 main themes, it is intended to put the 1st and 2nd place entries in each class into the 2013 KMHS Yearbook calendar, with the winning entry in class 7 to be printed onto the cover. Rules and Regulations This popular KMHS Competition culminates at our Annual Pot Luck Supper in December, where there will be an ongoing slideshow of all the entries and a presentation of the winning photos and awarding of the Trophy at the conclusion of the evening. Past judges have included John Mlacak, Donna Christie, Owen Munn, Hans Blohm, Mary Stuart, and Karl Siemens. The emphasis for the contest will be on material that will make a high quality Yearbook. The following rules apply to this competition: Exhibitors must be members of the KMHS. A major change for this year's contest is that entries will be accepted only in digital format. Entries can be made via CD/DVD's, memory sticks or email. Please provide entries in .jpg format with as high a resolution as possible (i.e. do not reduce the size of the file provided from your camera). Up to 3 prints, slides, or digital files may be submitted for any class. If more entries are included in a class, they will be disqualified. Identification of entries: Please name your digital entries with the following format: 2012_Class<#>_<entry#-1,2, or 3>_<your name>_<description>.jpg e.g. 2012_class4_2_Karl Siemens_Prickly Pear cactus.jpg The description part of the file is not necessary if the subject is obvious. Do not crop your photos - they will be judged on content within your photo that MAY be cropped by KMHS for entry into the Yearbook. Photos may be adjusted for lighting and colour balance, but should not be enhanced by adding or eliminating photo elements. KMHS reserves the right to edit photos for printing into the Yearbook. Any photo may be submitted except those that have been previous winners in any competition, not just KMHS competitions. The same image may be entered only once. KMHS reserves the right to keep any submissions for use with Society activities or publications. Take care with submissions to ensure they are entered into the correct class. In the past excellent photos have been disqualified since they did not fit the description of the Class challenge. Submissions must be made on or before November 1, 2012 to Karl Siemens, at any KMHS regular monthly meeting or dropped off at 20 Thiessen Cres., Kanata. Phone (613) 591-0522. Judging Guide Horticultural Content 40% Photographic Quality 40% General Appeal and Impact 20% Highest aggregate wins the Thomas Trophy Best of Show Photograph A selection of winning entries will be included in our Yearbook / Calendar. Photography Hints Light Each photographer has a preference for certain lighting conditions, some say hazy sun or bright shade is better, others prefer bright sun for their close-ups. Experiment to see what you like. However, garden pictures are better with uniform lighting, sun or shade, rather than a shadow across half the garden. The camera will emphasize the difference in lighting. It pays to wait until the lighting conditions are right – even if you have to wait a few minutes until the clouds move into the right position. Composition Have a subject – watch for distracting backgrounds. Tell a story. Select a point of view carefully. Unity is better than a lot of little pieces. Emphasize your point. Composition is better when there is: a strong contrast of light on your subject and dark in your background, a relationship of parts, a psychological balance (not the same as symmetry) your main subject is in focus Subject Matter A horticultural photo should not include the shadow of the photographer, feet, or people who have no relationship to the subject, or other common distractions. Try taking several shots of the same flowerbed or portrait, at different angles at different times. For reference, carry a copy of the subjects for competitions in your camera case and especially on vacation. Match the entry to the most appropriate class. Date Stamp on Photos Unlike print film cameras, all digital cameras provide "metafile" data as part of the picture file and it includes information about camera settings and the date and time the picture was taken, so there is never a need to place date information on the picture itself.