Santa Rosa Photographic Society Prospective Member
Information.
How To Join
Simple, come to any of our regular meetings and
someone will be there to help you.
SRPS meets on the 2nd & 4th Thursday's at 7:00pm, doors open at 6:30pm. All meetings are held at the Luther Burbank Art & Garden Center.
SRPS meets on the 2nd & 4th Thursday's at 7:00pm, doors open at 6:30pm. All meetings are held at the Luther Burbank Art & Garden Center.
About the Club
We are pleased that
you are interested in the Santa Rosa Photographic
Society (SRPS), a camera club for beginning through
advanced amateurs. SRPS was founded in 1975 and
serves Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.
Our educational and competition meetings are designed to further members’ interest and ability in photography. Meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursdays monthly, except November and December. The club is a member of and meets at the Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Avenue, in Santa Rosa.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for socializing and for members to submit their entries into the evening’s competition. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. with a short business meeting prior to the competition or program.
The first meeting of the month features the monthly competition in slide, print, and electronic image formats based on specific subject categories and judged by a professional photographer. The second meeting features a themed competition judged by those attending the meeting, followed by a program, workshop, or demonstration.
As a club chapter member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA), the club participates in four PSA slide competitions annually, endeavoring each year to improve the club’s PSA ranking.
SRPS also schedules field trips at various points during the year. Most are day trips to nearby sites, but some are weekend or extended weekend expeditions to more distant locations.
The Exhibitions Committee arranges at least one member exhibition at a public venue annually, giving members the opportunity to have their images viewed outside of the club.
The year closes with an Awards Banquet and a program highlighting the End-of-Year Competitions’ winners.
Our educational and competition meetings are designed to further members’ interest and ability in photography. Meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursdays monthly, except November and December. The club is a member of and meets at the Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Avenue, in Santa Rosa.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for socializing and for members to submit their entries into the evening’s competition. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. with a short business meeting prior to the competition or program.
The first meeting of the month features the monthly competition in slide, print, and electronic image formats based on specific subject categories and judged by a professional photographer. The second meeting features a themed competition judged by those attending the meeting, followed by a program, workshop, or demonstration.
As a club chapter member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA), the club participates in four PSA slide competitions annually, endeavoring each year to improve the club’s PSA ranking.
SRPS also schedules field trips at various points during the year. Most are day trips to nearby sites, but some are weekend or extended weekend expeditions to more distant locations.
The Exhibitions Committee arranges at least one member exhibition at a public venue annually, giving members the opportunity to have their images viewed outside of the club.
The year closes with an Awards Banquet and a program highlighting the End-of-Year Competitions’ winners.
Benefits of Membership
There are two levels of membership: Associate and
Full. Associate members may not enter club
competitions, participate in club exhibitions, or
place images on the club website, but may
participate in all other club activities. For the
year, Associate membership is $35 and Full
membership is $55, less after mid year.
The benefits of membership include:
Monthly competition judged by a professional photographer whose comments help members understand how to improve their photography.
The benefits of membership include:
Monthly competition judged by a professional photographer whose comments help members understand how to improve their photography.
- Monthly competition judged by all members, which sharpens members’ ability to assess entries based on a specific theme.
- Opportunities to compete with others in the club to fill the entries sent to the International Club Slide Competition sponsored by the Photographic Society of America.
- Programs, speakers, demonstrations, seminars, etc. on a variety of topics of interest.
- Several field trips annually.
- Annual SRPS exhibitions at public venues.
- Monthly newsletter with information on upcoming club meetings and events, member achievements, and a variety of additional topics.
- Club website where full members may post a sample of their work.
- Club-only e-group for the timely exchange of ideas and information about photography and club issues.
- Lending library with books and tapes.
How the Club Works
Competitions & class levels . .
.
In the monthly competitions (first meeting of the month), there are four skill levels or classes: B, A, AA, and Masters. Each new member is generally placed at level B and must work his/her way up through the succeeding levels.
Monthly competitions are professionally judged, with the judge awarding scores to each entry. A record of scores is kept by the Competition Chair. At the end of the year, the High Points Award is given in each skill level.
To advance to the next level, members must earn the top two high points averages and must also meet the minimum number of submissions requirement of 22 entries during the year. Additional special requirements govern advancing to Masters.
Each member may submit a total of three entries per monthly competition, divided as the member wishes among the formats (slides, prints, electronic images) and among the subject categories (Nature or Creative and General).
The second meeting of the month is quite different. At the second meeting, the Photo Image Challenge (PIC) competition has a specific monthly theme, generally based on encouraging members to try new techniques and approaches. PIC encourages members to get out and shoot, since all entries must have been photographed within the calendar year. The PIC competition is scored by members and guests attending the meeting. Since these images are not professionally judged, there are no class levels and the scores do not count toward high points or advancement.
Programs . . .
The second meeting of the month is the program meeting. Educational presentations featuring speakers, workshops, demonstrations, or hands-on participation are arranged to address topics of interest and to increase members’ photography skills.
Field Trips . . .
Frequent local field trips and some extended weekend trips give members opportunities to share interests, skills, and experiences.
Exhibitions . . .
The club encourages members to participate in the Sonoma County art scene and endeavors to arrange at least one or two photography exhibitions annually featuring members’ images.
Board meetings . . .
All members are encouraged to attend Board meetings since that is where issues of concern to the club are discussed, ideas are exchanged, and plans for upcoming months are determined. Discussions at board meetings are especially important since every attempt is made to keep the business portion of club meetings as short as possible. Board meetings are held the third Thursday in January, March, May, September, October, and December.
Receiving the newsletter by e-mail . . .
Given the size of the newsletter and the number of club members, e-mail distribution is necessary to keep costs within the annual budget. Members with e-mail capacity receive newsletters by downloading the free program, Adobe Reader. To acquire Adobe Reader, go to www.Adobe.com/reader and follow Adobe’s instructions. Members without e-mail received the newsletter by mail.
Website information . . . www.santarosaphotographicsociety.org
The SRPS web page offers:
Online Forum & E-Group information . . .
SRPS maintains a club onlin forum at http://srps.proboards38.com and an email e-group accessible only by members. Both the online forum and the e-group are useful in a number of ways:
SRPS is a Club Member of the Photographic Society of America . . .
SRPS participates in Photographic Society of America’s International Club Slide Competitions with other camera clubs. Our PSA Representative also has information on individual memberships, PSA-sponsored conferences, and other PSA-related activities.
In the monthly competitions (first meeting of the month), there are four skill levels or classes: B, A, AA, and Masters. Each new member is generally placed at level B and must work his/her way up through the succeeding levels.
Monthly competitions are professionally judged, with the judge awarding scores to each entry. A record of scores is kept by the Competition Chair. At the end of the year, the High Points Award is given in each skill level.
To advance to the next level, members must earn the top two high points averages and must also meet the minimum number of submissions requirement of 22 entries during the year. Additional special requirements govern advancing to Masters.
Each member may submit a total of three entries per monthly competition, divided as the member wishes among the formats (slides, prints, electronic images) and among the subject categories (Nature or Creative and General).
The second meeting of the month is quite different. At the second meeting, the Photo Image Challenge (PIC) competition has a specific monthly theme, generally based on encouraging members to try new techniques and approaches. PIC encourages members to get out and shoot, since all entries must have been photographed within the calendar year. The PIC competition is scored by members and guests attending the meeting. Since these images are not professionally judged, there are no class levels and the scores do not count toward high points or advancement.
Programs . . .
The second meeting of the month is the program meeting. Educational presentations featuring speakers, workshops, demonstrations, or hands-on participation are arranged to address topics of interest and to increase members’ photography skills.
Field Trips . . .
Frequent local field trips and some extended weekend trips give members opportunities to share interests, skills, and experiences.
Exhibitions . . .
The club encourages members to participate in the Sonoma County art scene and endeavors to arrange at least one or two photography exhibitions annually featuring members’ images.
Board meetings . . .
All members are encouraged to attend Board meetings since that is where issues of concern to the club are discussed, ideas are exchanged, and plans for upcoming months are determined. Discussions at board meetings are especially important since every attempt is made to keep the business portion of club meetings as short as possible. Board meetings are held the third Thursday in January, March, May, September, October, and December.
Receiving the newsletter by e-mail . . .
Given the size of the newsletter and the number of club members, e-mail distribution is necessary to keep costs within the annual budget. Members with e-mail capacity receive newsletters by downloading the free program, Adobe Reader. To acquire Adobe Reader, go to www.Adobe.com/reader and follow Adobe’s instructions. Members without e-mail received the newsletter by mail.
Website information . . . www.santarosaphotographicsociety.org
The SRPS web page offers:
- Membership information, answers to frequently asked questions, and photography-related articles.
- Members’ Photo Gallery
- Sample issue of The Positive Print, the SRPS monthly newsletter,
- Calendar of upcoming events,
- Photography-related links.
Online Forum & E-Group information . . .
SRPS maintains a club onlin forum at http://srps.proboards38.com and an email e-group accessible only by members. Both the online forum and the e-group are useful in a number of ways:
- as a forum for the exchange of information and ideas,
- as a means of announcing changes in or additions to previously-published information,
- as a facilitator of member contact, including such things as planning informal photography outings among members,
- as a repository for club documents.
- a place to view member's images and discuss them outside of meetings.
- a place to ask for help.
SRPS is a Club Member of the Photographic Society of America . . .
SRPS participates in Photographic Society of America’s International Club Slide Competitions with other camera clubs. Our PSA Representative also has information on individual memberships, PSA-sponsored conferences, and other PSA-related activities.
Image Submission Guidelines 2008
The purpose of this document is to describe one
technique for preparing digital images for
competition at the Santa Rosa Photographic
Society using Photoshop. The procedure will be
slightly different if you are using another
software program.
Note: If you are submitting Prints or Slides, see No. 11 at the end of this Guideline.
Electronic Images entered into the competitions must meet the following criteria:
Maximum Height 768 pixels
Maximum Width 1024 pixels
File Format JPEG (.jpg)
Filename Format Title-Name-Category-Level-MonthYear.jpg
For example: Fall Trees-Alan Glazier-N-M-0107.jpg
In order for the title to be read correctly during competition, please put spaces in titles and your name. Titles cannot exceed 30 characters (including spaces). Use hyphens for delimiters. Do NOT use hyphens in your image title or in the date. All files must have .jpg extension
Categories Level Categories For Al Shelton
C (Creative) B, A, AA, M SLS (Land/seascape)
N (Nature) B, A, AA, M SN (Nature)
G (General) B, A, AA, M SG (General)
PSA None No Levels
FT (Field Trip) None
Some more Examples:
Street Scene-Larry Mackie-G-AA-0808.jpg
New Worlds-Donna Campbell-C-B-0508.jpg
Sonoma Coast Wave Action-Donna Campbell-SLS-0108.jpg
Point Reyes Lighthouse-Drew Jackson-FT-1108.jpg
Mardi Gras in Venice-Gus Feissel-PSA-0408.jpg
Note:
Be sure that your images meet the criteria for the category in which you are entering them. Nature images must meet strict criteria for content and preparation technique. They will be previewed when you submit them. If an image does not meet the Nature criteria as specified in the Competition Rules, the image will be rejected and you may not have time to correct and resubmit the image for the competition. Read the Competition Rules, Section 3.1, for the Nature Category. The Competition Rules are found on the SRPS website (www.santarosaphotographicsociety.org).
The Competition Rules for the Creative and General categories (Sections 3.2 and 3.3 respectively) are not as strict as for Nature and are not previewed. However, images should be placed in the proper category for the subject matter shown and techniques used in their creation. “Nature” images which do not meet the Nature category rules may be entered in the General category.
To prepare your image for submission:
This guideline is not intended to be a complete process or tutorial for preparing an image. All entries must conform to the established SRPS competition rules. If you need help submitting your image, or the steps are not clear to you, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Electronic Imaging Projectionists. We will be glad to provide assistance.
click here to download PDF with images
Note: If you are submitting Prints or Slides, see No. 11 at the end of this Guideline.
Electronic Images entered into the competitions must meet the following criteria:
Maximum Height 768 pixels
Maximum Width 1024 pixels
File Format JPEG (.jpg)
Filename Format Title-Name-Category-Level-MonthYear.jpg
For example: Fall Trees-Alan Glazier-N-M-0107.jpg
In order for the title to be read correctly during competition, please put spaces in titles and your name. Titles cannot exceed 30 characters (including spaces). Use hyphens for delimiters. Do NOT use hyphens in your image title or in the date. All files must have .jpg extension
Categories Level Categories For Al Shelton
C (Creative) B, A, AA, M SLS (Land/seascape)
N (Nature) B, A, AA, M SN (Nature)
G (General) B, A, AA, M SG (General)
PSA None No Levels
FT (Field Trip) None
Some more Examples:
Street Scene-Larry Mackie-G-AA-0808.jpg
New Worlds-Donna Campbell-C-B-0508.jpg
Sonoma Coast Wave Action-Donna Campbell-SLS-0108.jpg
Point Reyes Lighthouse-Drew Jackson-FT-1108.jpg
Mardi Gras in Venice-Gus Feissel-PSA-0408.jpg
Note:
Be sure that your images meet the criteria for the category in which you are entering them. Nature images must meet strict criteria for content and preparation technique. They will be previewed when you submit them. If an image does not meet the Nature criteria as specified in the Competition Rules, the image will be rejected and you may not have time to correct and resubmit the image for the competition. Read the Competition Rules, Section 3.1, for the Nature Category. The Competition Rules are found on the SRPS website (www.santarosaphotographicsociety.org).
The Competition Rules for the Creative and General categories (Sections 3.2 and 3.3 respectively) are not as strict as for Nature and are not previewed. However, images should be placed in the proper category for the subject matter shown and techniques used in their creation. “Nature” images which do not meet the Nature category rules may be entered in the General category.
To prepare your image for submission:
- Make all edits and adjustments to your image.
- Save your current image file for safekeeping.
- Flatten all layers (if necessary). Choose Layer>Flatten Image.
- Resize your image to the final size for display. There are several ways to size an image in Photoshop. You may use the File>Automate>Fit Image command, the Image>Image Size command or the Crop Tool. The Resolution of the image does not matter for a projected image. Only the actual dimensions of the image in pixels are of importance. Note: Image size is particularly important due to the format of the projector, which is 1024 pixels horizontal by 768 pixels vertical. Images which do not fit within these limits will be rejected. Think of this as a rectangle within which your image must fit. Vertical images will appear smaller because they are limited to 768 pixels in the vertical dimension. An image of 768 pixels horizontal by 1024 pixels vertical is NOT allowed.
- Convert your image to 8 bits/channel if it is not already an 8 bits/channel image. You do not have the option of saving the file as a JPEG if it is in 16 bits/channel mode. Change to 8 bits/channel by choosing Image>Mode>8 bits/channel.
- Choose an appropriate amount of Sharpening to apply to the image. Choose Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask or Filter>Sharpen>Smart Sharpen, then make the necessary selections. Press OK. We recommend that you be careful not to overdo the sharpening, as the effect may become obvious in a projected image. View the image at 100% to see the effect of sharpening.
- If your image is not already in the sRGB colorspace, you should convert it to sRGB for the best color rendition with the projector. To do this, choose Image>Mode>Convert to Profile and select the sRGB profile. (Do NOT use Assign Profile.) Then press OK. (In Photoshop CS2 and CS3, the command is Edit>Convert to Profile).
- Save the image as a JPEG file by choosing File>Save As.
- Select the format JPEG and enter an appropriate filename as discussed above. On the JPEG Options Screen, a level of 8 is recommended. Note: Apple users: You must assure that the .jpg extension is added to the file name. In Photoshop, go to PREFERENCES: FILE HANDLING, and make the APPEND FILE EXTENSION to ALWAYS. If you are using iPhoto or some other program, please assure that the .jpg extension is the last part of your file names.
- E-mail the image to the SRPS Electronic Imaging email address, srpselim@sonic.net, by the submission deadline (Midnight on the Friday before the competition, unless otherwise specified). Please indicate in the Subject line of your email message that these are EI entries for the particular month of competition (e.g. EI entries for February).
- Prints and Slides Only: If you will be submitting Prints or Slides in the competition, send in your entry information in the same format (except for the “.jpg” extension) and bring your prints and/or slides to the competition meeting. Please indicate in the Subject line of your email message that these are Print and/or Slide entries for the particular month of competition (e.g. Print entries for February, Slide entries for February). And, please send Print and/or Slide entries in a separate message from EI entries.
This guideline is not intended to be a complete process or tutorial for preparing an image. All entries must conform to the established SRPS competition rules. If you need help submitting your image, or the steps are not clear to you, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Electronic Imaging Projectionists. We will be glad to provide assistance.
click here to download PDF with images