Contest Rules, Themes & Judging
Members may use this DropBox link to submit up to 3 photos taken in the last 6 months for the CURRENT month's contest. Please review the submission criteria below.

Photos submitted need to be:
  1. Related to the current month's theme (see below for descriptions)
  2. Treated as you see fit (there are no post processing restrictions)
  3. Submitted on time, by midnight of the current month's contest deadline (see below for due dates)
  4. Submitted through the CVPC website using the DropBox link (no email submissions accepted)
  5. Taken within the last 6 months (unless otherwise noted)
  6. Sized to 8"x10" or 8"x12" at 300 dpi recommended (displays well during judging and makes it easy to print if image wins)
  7. Saved as a JPEG and LESS than 25mb file size (no TIFFs, PDFs, GIFs, PNGs)
  8. Renamed using a number then underscore then photo's name. E.g.:
Photo Contest Rules
 
 
"1_Happy Horses.jpeg"
"2_Flying Bird.jpeg"
"3_Cool Barn.jpeg"

Use the numbers to denote your priority of the image to be judged. If we happen to get too many image submissions, we will drop all #3's and may drop #2's to keep the number of images to be judged reasonable for the judge and our meeting time.
In fairness to our members and judges, photos outside these criteria will not be judged.

Winners :

  1. Please send a NON-watermarked full resolution jpg to Nancy Hulsey (nancyhulseyphoto@aol.com).

  2. Bring an 8"x10" or 8"x12" printed photo of your winning image (which 300 dpi is best to print from) to Robin Grueninger at Marty’s Appliance. NJ will hang at library.


Questions? View our uploading guide for more instructions or contact Sandy at brokenspur22@gmail.com

Be Your Own Judge - View "Contest Judging Tips" on critiquing your work or that of others!

2022 Contest Themes
Click yellow links below to see past entries
 

Jan - Holiday Lights 

Feb - Eagles and Agriculture
Capture images of eagles, owls, ranch animals, ranch work of the Carson Valley.

March - After the Burn (Post Fire)
Photograph post fire images, show impact, devastation, survivors, regrowth, etc.

April - Photo Trip Sharing/Travel Photography - Due April 5
Global, US, or even local, photograph from a tourist point of view.

May - Horses - Due May 3
Wild or domestic, take some time to visit these majestic creatures on the range or private ranch and show their beauty, strength, and mystique.

June - Macro View of Succulents or Other Plants - Due June 7
Get really close and look for textures and patterns in nature, a different view of the beauty around us.

July - Look Up, Way Up! - Due July 5
A high percentage of the time we tend to look straight ahead, at our own eye level. Let's change it up a little, change your perspective and aim your lens upward on objects that are right in front of you.

August - Hometown Pride - Due August 2
Show what you love about the Carson Valley. Maybe it's the ranch life or a historical landmark or the people, what makes you proud to live here?

September - Light Painting - Due September 6
Sometimes called light drawing or light graffiti, light painting is the photographic techniques of using a moving light source like a flashlight, glow stick, light brush, or even a smartphone, to alter an image while taking a long exposure photography. Best done where there is little light pollution outdoors or indoors. Google "how to do light painting" for some ideas if you are stuck.

October - Objects in the Sky - Due October 4
Objects like hot air balloons, planes, stars, birds, clouds, and even UFOs if you can find them!

November - Shadows - Due November 1
Find what's lurking in the shadows! The play between light and dark is what creates texture, mood, and depth. Look at how the light falls on everything and photograph interesting shadows.

December - Best of 2022 - December 13
Bring your best picture of the year to our last meeting of the year. Print at a maximum size of 11" x 14", matted, no frames. First prize $75, second prize $50, their prize $25.
 

2023 Contest Themes
Subject to change after new board starts in early 2023

Jan - Red and Green - Due January 3
Red and green is all around us during the holidays. Share what represents this color combination to you.

Feb - Birds in Flight - Due February 7
Capturing birds in flight can be challenging. Show us your best photo.

March - Feet - Due March 7
Feet can mean many things, human, animals, furniture, measurement. What does it mean to you?

April - Baby Animals - Due April 4
Springtime is full of baby animals. Take some time to find some cuteness.

May - Stairs - Due May 2
Photograph stairs with an eye for the abstract patterns they can create.

June - Water in Nature - Due June 6
Get outside and find the natural water sources around us.

July - Red, White, and Blue - Due July 4
Photograph things like buildings, objects, or people that are displaying/wearing red, white, and blue.

August - Authentic Joy - Due August 1
What says authentic joy to you? Spread some happiness with your imagery.

September - Historical Landmarks - Due September 5
Share your view of historical landmarks from anywhere you've recently been.

October - Reflections - Due October 3
Reflections can be found all around us. Get creative!

November - Beautiful Leaves - Due November 7
Flowers usually get all the love. Let's give leaves some love and share the beauty they provide.

December - Best of 2023 - Meeting TBD
Bring your best picture of the year to our last meeting of the year. Print at a maximum size of 11" x 14", no frames. First prize $75, second prize $50, their prize $25.
 

2024 Contest Themes
Subject to change after new board starts in early 2024

Jan - Holiday Decorations - Due January 2
Share silly, funny, beautiful, or whatever interesting holiday decorations you've seen.

Feb - Birds and Agriculture - Due February 6
Eagles and Ag brings attention to all the birds and agriculture in the Carson Valley. Share your best bird and/or ranch images of the season.

March - Eyes - Due March 5
They say the eyes are the window to the soul. Find some eyes that tell a story to you.

April - People at Work - Due April 2
Share images of others around you doing their job.

May - Fences in Landscape - Due May 7
Fences can be made from many kinds of materials and can create interesting patterns and textures.

June - Bridges - Due June 4
Bridges can be big or small. You can find them in many different places. Capture a portion for an artistic view or the whole span for a large landscape view.

July - School's Out - Due July 2
Capture what "school's out" means to you. Is it the joy of graduation? Or the excitement of summer vacation? Maybe it's the peace of just doing nothing?

August - Zoo or Ranch Animals - Due August 6
What is your favorite furry or feathery creature you've seen either in a zoo or on a ranch?

September - Capture an Emotion - Due September 3
Photograph any emotion. Could be of a human, animal, or even an inanimate object that has markings that display an emotion.

October - Trees - Due October 1
Try finding an interesting angle when you photograph trees. Get creative!

November - Toys - Due November 5
Toys could mean many things. We each have our favorite toys even as adults. Or maybe there are toys you see younger generations around you playing with.

December - Best of 2024 - Meeting TBD
Bring your best picture of the year to our last meeting of the year. Print at a maximum size of 11" x 14", no frames. First prize $75, second prize $50, their prize $25.
 

PAST CONTESTS
2021 Contest Themes
Click yellow links below to see past entries
Jan - Eagles & Agriculture 

Feb - Patterns & Textures in Winter Landscapes 
Click here for ideas

March - Capturing Shape, Form, & Linear Perspective through the Lens 
Click here for ideas

April - Light of the Spring Season 
Click here for ideas

May - Balance or Asymmetry in the Environment OR Submit 2 of Your All Time Favorite Photos - Due May 4
Click here for ideas

June - The Drama of Daily Life - Home Life, Ranch Life, Work Life, Chance Encounters - Due June 1
 
July - Short Exposure Time - Animals, Birds, Sports, Things in Motion - Due July 6
 
Aug - Long Exposure Time – Clouds, Water, Lights, Fireworks, Stars - Due Aug 3 

Sept - Architecture from Cityscapes to Ghost Towns - Due Sept 7 


Oct - The World in Monochrome or Sepia - Due Oct 5

Nov - HDR (Kodachrome color), Panoramics and Fall Aspen Landscapes - Due Nov 2 

Dec - Best Picture of the Year - Due Dec 7

 
2020 Contest Themes
Click yellow links below to see past entries
Click here to enjoy a video montage of 2020
Jan - The Magic of Winter

Feb - The Color Red in Food

March - Windows

April - Architectural

May - Pets

June - Horses - Domestic & Wild

July - Flowers - Due July 21
Aug - Old Nevada Buildings in B&W - Due Aug 4 

Sept - Nights and Lights - Due Sept 1 

Oct - Landscape - Due Oct 6
(Tips - Video#1, Video#2, & Video#3) 

Nov - Birds - Due Nov 3 
(Check out this website#1 for Bird pic tips)

Dec - Best Pic -  Bring Matted Print to Dec 8 Meeting