Burpengary Camera Club
Critique Explained

Rust  (RU)

An image that shows the weathering and oxidisation on any ferrous metal

Texture  (TE)

an image showing the surface texture of any manmade or natural material.

 Rust is excluded from this category

Scapes (SC)
An image featuring an expansive view without humans dominating the scene - urban, rural, sea, sky scapes, and traditional landscapes are all included in this category. A landscape is a photograph of natural scenery with land and sky based elements displayed in a pictorial fashion. It may include evidence of man, people, animals, even part of the sea provided that none of these addional elements dominate the photograph. A seascape is a photograph of natural coastal scenery, a wave study, or a picture of the open sea, provided always that the sea is the centre of interest of the photograph. People, boats and man-made structures may be present as incidental to the photograph. (APS definition) 

Social documentary (SD)
Social documentary photography is the recording of what the world looks like, with a social and/or environmental  focus, and aims to draw the public`s attention to ongoing social or environmental issues. it is often associated with the photographer providing a critical review/assessment of these issues and how people act on them. in these cases, the photographer also often advocates for the people impacted, trying to draw the public`s attention to the topic documented. images need to be black and white (grey tonal range) and not toned with any colour.

Architecture (A)
Pictures depicting the interior or exterior of any manmade structure portraying the surface texture, lighting, colour, or geometry and emphasising the character or beauty of the structure. People, statues and fountains may be included but not be the dominant point of the image. 

Nature (N)

Nature photography records all branches of natural history except anthropology and archaeology. This includes all aspects of the physical world, both animate and inanimate, that have not been made or modified by humans. 

•  The most important part of a Nature image is the nature story it tells. High technical standards are expected and the image must look natural. 

• Nature images must convey the truth of the scene that was photographed. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the image and be satisfied that it has been presented honestly and that no unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the image. 

• Images that directly or indirectly show any human activity that threatens the life or welfare of a living organism are not allowed.   

• Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a necessary part of the Nature story.  

• Photographs of human-created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated animals, human-created hybrid animals and mounted or preserved zoological specimens are not allowed.   

• Images taken with subjects under controlled conditions, such as zoos, are allowed.

• Controlling live subjects by chilling, anaesthetic or any other method of restricting natural movement for the purpose of a photograph is not allowed. 

Editing Guidelines

Processing or editing must be limited to making the image look as close to the original scene as possible, except that conversion to grayscale monochrome is allowed. 

Allowed editing techniques:  

• • Cropping, straightening and perspective correction.  

  • Removal or correction of elements added by the camera or lens, such as dust spots, noise, chromatic aberration and lens distortion.  

  • Global and selective adjustments such as brightness, hue, saturation and contrast to restore the appearance of the original scene.  

  • Complete conversion of color images to grayscale monochrome.  

  • Blending of multiple images of the same subject and combining them in camera or with software (exposure blending or focus stacking);  

  • Image stitching – combining multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively (panoramas). 

Editing Techniques NOT allowed:

• Removing, adding to, moving or changing any part of an image, except for cropping and straightening.  

• Adding a vignette during processing.  

• Blurring parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene 

• Darkening parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.  

• All conversions other than to complete grayscale monochrome.  

• Conversion of parts of an image to monochrome, or partial toning, desaturation or over-saturation of color 

Subject Matter Statement

The fundamental rule that must be observed at all times is that the welfare of living creatures is more important than any photograph. This means that practices such as baiting of subjects with a living creature and removal of birds from nests, for the purpose of obtaining a photograph, are highly unethical, and such photographs are not allowed. Under no circumstances may a living creature be placed in a situation where it will be killed, injured or stressed for the purpose of obtaining a photograph. Images that show live creatures being fed to captive animals, birds or reptiles are not permitted under any circumstances. 

There are also concerns about the use of aerial photography, drones, helicopters, low flying aircraft. These should not cause any interference with other individuals or animals which causes a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupt the way any individuals or animals interact with their environment. Entrants must comply with all relevant laws and regulations, associated with aerial photography, in the country in which the image was taken.

(APS definition)