description here…

CONSTITUTION – 2018 REVISION
1. Name

The club shall be known as Earl Shilton Camera Club. Hereafter will be referred to as the club.

2. Objects
The object of the Club shall be:

2.1 To encourage and promote the art and science of photography in all its aspects.
2.2 To present the facilities of the Club to non-members who may seek to join the club

3. Membership
There shall be two classes of membership:

3.1 Ordinary Members – Ordinary Members shall be deemed elected to the Club on the receipt of the subscription pending at the time, so long as they shall agree to uphold the dignity of the Club, and be over the age of sixteen years. Applicants younger than 16 years shall be elected to the club subject to parental permission and must be accompanied by an adult who will be responsible for them.
3.2 Honorary Members – The committee shall have the power to elect any persons as Honorary Members to the Club, subject to notification at a General Meeting of the Members. Such persons elected shall have all the privileges of the ordinary members. Any visitors to the Club (i.e. potential member, members of visiting clubs or speakers) will be deemed Honorary Member of the club for the duration of their participation in the Club meeting.
3.3 Guest / New Members – Guest or New Members must be paid up Ordinary Members after attending 3 or more meetings in a given year, if they wish to continue attending regularly.

4. Officers of the Club
The officers of the Club shall be:-

4.1 A Chairman.
4.2 A Vice –Chairman.
4.3 A Programme Secretary.
4.4 A Competition Secretary.
4.5 A Treasurer.
4.6 A Club Secretary
4.7 Nominations for Officers of the Club shall be given to the Secretary at least one week before the Annual General Meeting. If no nominations are received in advance of the Meeting or if Members so nominated are not elected to office by members present at the AGM, nominations shall be received from the floor at that meeting.

5. Management of the Club

5.1 The management of the Club shall be vested in the Officers and the Committee.
5.2 The Committee shall be made up of the Officers of the Club and a Committee made up of any number of Ordinary Members.
5.3 In the event of a vacancy occurring on the Committee before the AGM it shall be filled by co-option by invitation from the Committee. Such position to be held until the next AGM
5.4 All Officers shall be eligible for re-election at the AGM.
5.5 The Committee shall have the power to co-opt any Member of the Club at its meetings. Such a co-opted member having no right to vote.
5.6 The Committee shall not be quorate unless at least two Officers of the Club are present.
5.7 The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in either May or June of each year.
5.8 In all decisions, either in Committee, at General Meeting or at the Annual General Meeting, the majority vote shall carry a motion. The Chairman having a casting vote.
5.9 The Committee shall be the sole authority in the interpretation of these or any rules.

6. Finance

6.1 The income of the Club shall be derived from the Subscription collected from Members each year and from grants, donations and events. The levels of such subscriptions being determined by the committee and ratified by a General Meeting. Membership subscription will be payable during the first 3 months of a given year (Sept – Nov). Members joining after the start of the year will pay a pro-rata basis (i.e. reductions for new members post Christmas and post Easter).
6.2 The Club Treasurer shall control the finances. The Treasurer will also present the Audited accounts of the Club to the AGM for approval.
7. Committee and General Meetings

7.1 Committee meetings shall be called by the Secretary, after consultation with the Chairman, as and when they are deemed necessary.
7.2 Extraordinary General Meetings may be called at any time by the Secretary after the receipt of written applications for such a Meeting from a minimum of 30 per cent of the Members or by the Committee in conditions where the events deem to call an EGM. Such an EGM shall be called within one month of the application request or on agreement between the Committee and its Members.
7.3 Only Ordinary Members of the Club shall be entitled to attend and vote at General Meetings, Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. The quorum for such meetings shall consist of a majority of Members.
7.4 At a General Meeting of the Club a register of attendance should be kept to indicate Ordinary Members in attendance.

8. Suspension

8.1 The Club Committee shall have the power to suspend any Member of the Club from all or any of the privileges of the Club. This must be given in writing stating the exact reason for the suspension

9. Dissolution

9.1 The Club shall never be dissolved unless such dissolution is agreed at an Extraordinary or Annual General Meeting of the Members.
9.2 In the event of such a dissolution of the Club. The nett assets and effects of the Club shall be disposed of in a manner as seen fit by a majority of Members present at such a winding-up Meeting. Any further liabilities pending at the time shall be eradicated by equal subscriptions payable from each Member.

10. Personal use of Club Equipment

10.1 Club equipment may be borrowed by Members for personal use by agreement of a quorate of Members present at any club meeting.
10.2 Equipment being borrowed should be returned the following week or on the first week of a new “Term” if borrowed over a holiday period

11  Alteration of the Rules

11.1   No alteration, amendment or addition to the above rules and regulations shall be made unless
agreed by an Extraordinary or Annual General Meeting.
11.2   A current copy of these rules shall be supplied to all members of the Club.

12   Competitions and Events

12.1   The Programme Secretary shall produce a “document” which will include the Programme of       Events, competitions, speakers, contact details and exhibitions before the start of a new fiscal                     year (or club season)

COMPETITION RULES 
The Earl Shilton Camera Club holds internal competitions and participates in competitions with other camera clubs. The purpose of these competitions is to foster the development of photographic skills for the Club’s members. To this end, members are encouraged to shoot new images for competitions, rather than raiding the archives for something that fits the brief.

Italics indicates New rules for 2021/22 season

(A) Monochrome Images
1. All black and white and monochrome images are included;
2. A black and white image which has been modified by the addition of a single tone to the entire image is defined as a Monochrome Image; aka a colour who’s Hue & Saturation are the same that vary only in lightness
(B) Colour Images
1. All images other than those in (A) above are defined as colour images;
2. A black and white image which has been modified by the addition of partial toning or by the addition of one colour to any part of the image is a Colour Image;
(C) Composite Images
1. All components of a composite image must have been taken by the Author, this also applies to added textures and skies.
(D) Nature images
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 domestic 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, mono conversion 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. If in doubt consult PAGB rules.

1. Photographer of the Year
a. The title of “Photographer of the Year” is awarded to the photographer who scores the most points in internal print and projected image competitions;
b. The “Image of the Year” competition, The Trevor Wain UK Landscape, Chairman’s Challenge and the “Secretaries Challenge” do not count toward the “Photographer of the Year” award;
c. Entries for the Photographer of the Year competition (Print or PDI – defined as Projected Digital Image) must not have been previously submitted into any past Photographer of the Year competition;
d. Members may enter upto 2 images per round of POTY;
e. An entrants final placement will be decided by summing the highest 10 scores received over all rounds.
f. Any image entered has been deemed to meet the theme by the competition secretary and should be scored as if it does irrespective of the scorer’s personal opinion.

2. Image of the Year (IOTY), The Trevor Wain UK Landscape and Secretary’s Challenge
a. Image of the Year (IOTY), The Trevor Wain UK Landscape and Secretary’s Challenge are externally-judged competitions;
b. The judge’s decision on the night is final;
c. Members are asked to submit mounted prints of what they consider to be their best images for each of the 3 competitions;
d. A a member can enter upto three prints for these but the 3rd choice print must be marked as dependent on the number of entries these may be withdrawn at the competition secretaries discretion;
e. The judge will mark each image out of 20 and choice an overall winner and either a 2nd & 3rd or award a number of High Commended and Commended’s.
f. For the Image of the Year the images must have been taken during the preceding 12-18 months;
g. For the Trevor Wain UK Landscapes the images must show a landscape from within the UK;
h. Images entered adhere to the rules in section 4 titled “Print Competitions”;
i. Members may submit any image they wish, irrespective of whether or not it has been submitted to other competitions during the season, but not the same competition in previous years;
j. All submitted prints must have a club sticker on the rear, giving the image Author, Title, Competition and date of submission.
k. For Trevor Wain UK Landscape  Image must show a landscape image taken within the UK . As with nature images processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking, time stacking, mono conversion and sharpening, is permitted, as is cloning of image defects and minor distractions including overlapping elements but must not contain any major composite elements including replacement skies from other locations.

3. Special Competitions
a. For any other print or projected image competition that is not any of the Photographer of the Year rounds nor Image of the Year, then the usual rules in (4) Print Competitions, (5) Projected Image Competitions, (6) Conduct of Internal Competitions and (7) External competitions apply;

4. Print Competitions
a. Entries for print competitions should be mounted;
b. Entries for club competitions both print and electronic versions must be submitted by the submission date given in the club’s programme of events unless prior dispensation in regard to prints has been obtained from the Competition Secretary in which case just the electronic versions need be provided;
c. Entries received after the submission date will not be included in the competition, no prints will be accepted on the night unless prior dispensation obtained from the Competition Secretary (see 4.b);
d. Mount sizes must not be greater than 20×16 inches or 50 x 40cm;
e. All submitted prints must have a club sticker on the rear of the print (please put the sticker on the bottom right of your print), giving the image Author, Title, Competition and date of submission;
f. Continuing non labelling or non conformity of the label of your prints would seek a review of your prints by the Committee in future competitions;
g. Authors must submit a digital copy of all entered image by the submission date for use during the image critique sessions and for inclusion on the club website, unless otherwise requested by the member not to be used i.e. for instance if they are of children etc. Sizing and naming of these images should be as per 5. Projected Digital Image Competitions;

5. Projected Digital Image Competitions
a. Images for projected digital image competitions must be submitted by the submission date given in the club’s programme of events unless prior dispensation obtained from the Competition Secretary;
b. Images received after the submission date will not be included in the competition unless prior dispensation obtained from the Competition Secretary;
c. Images may be submitted on CD, Memory Stick, Memory Card or by email to the Competition Secretary;
d. The standards for projected digital image competitions are likely to evolve with time and the club rules shall follow the latest available guidance from the PAGB;
e. The currently specified standards for projected image competitions are:
i. File type: JPEG Colour Space: sRGB;
ii. Maximum File Size: no specification;
iii. Maximum Image Size: 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. NOTE: Portrait format images should be no more than 1080 pixels high – this is a projector limitation;
iv. Resolution: 72dpi – this is a projector limitation;
v. Filename: Should be of the form <image title>-<authors name>.jpg.  Do not use a ‘-‘ hyphen in the image title. For the Projected Digital Image Competition the Competition Secretary will remove the authors name prior to display;
f. Where images are submitted that do not conform to these specifications, the Competition Secretary will adjust the image accordingly. Members should note that although every endeavour will be taken to preserve image quality this may be adversely impacted by such adjustments and therefore members are strongly advised to ensure the images they submit are compliant;
g. Unless otherwise requested, digital images submitted will be used on the club’s website;

6. Conduct of Internal Competitions
a. Internal competitions shall be marked by peer-voting, unless stated by the “Programme of Events” or a member of the Committee;
b. Each member present at a club competition shall be entitled to vote;
c. The Competition Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that all members present have a “result form”;
d. For print competitions, the entries shall be displayed in the meeting room;
e. The Competition Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that each print shall be given an “image number”;
f. For Projected Image competitions, the Competition Secretary shall compile a slideshow of the submitted entries. Images from any given author in the slideshow shall be randomly distributed and will not be shown in the order submitted but the slideshow order will repeatable;
g. The slideshow shall have a fixed display time for each image, which shall be the same for all images;
h. The slideshow shall be projected three-times;
i. The image number and title shall be announced for each image as it is displayed.;

7. Peer Voting
j. Each member shall write their name on the “result form” and mark on the “result form” the score, from 1 to 10, allocated against each image number except for their own submitted work for each of the 3 category’s Impact, Composition and Technical.
k. After the allocated viewing time, the Competition Secretary shall ensure that all “result forms” are collected;
l. The Competition Secretary and an assistant shall transfer the votes cast to the Scoring document;
m. All the points awarded to each image shall be totalled, divided by the number of votes cast and an “average score” calculated. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be determined by those with the highest average marks. In the event of a tie, the image that has the most highest marks (i.e. 20, 19, 18, etc) shall be deemed the winner, runner-up, etc;
o. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entries shall be displayed in reverse order and member critique given;
p. The remaining entries shall then be displayed in no particular order for member critique;

8. External Competitions
a. External competitions shall be conducted in accordance with the rules agreed between the participating club(s) and the Earl Shilton Camera Club;
b. Entries for such competitions shall be selected by the designated selection committee;
c. Members should not submit for consideration images that have already been entered into competitions against the club(s) concerned;
d. Entries for external print competitions shall have a club sticker attached to the rear of the image bearing the following information:
i. Author’s name;
ii. Image title;
iii. Competition entered;
iv. Date;
e. Entries for external projected image competitions shall have the author’s name, filename, file size, date and competition entered recorded for future reference. Such data shall be held for no more than five years;

9. Chairman’s Trophy
a. Shall be award to the member who it is felt by the selection committee has improved the most for that season.