Re: 2007 Photo Contest

["K. Loberg" <iris.loberg@comcast.net>]

"Since the deadline for the Photo Contest has been moved forward by two
months, this will cause difficulty particularly for those who live in the
northern parts of the country. A lot of people still have irises in bloom, and
they need time for cleaning up and maintaining their gardens. Many of us
haven't had a chance to sort and select pictures. Once pictures are selected
they must be edited, sent out to be printed, and finally packed and mailed. It
seems to me that a June 30 due date is very tight."

I can understand that it might be tight for some, but we have tried to set the
timeframes to best suit other aspects of the contest as well.   Last year, the
final judging wasn't completed in time for the winning rhizomes to be shipped
to several parts of the country, and that was the main emphasis for moving the
deadline up.  The August 15 deadline for getting winning announcements to the
AIS bulletin was another factor, as well as my time schedules.   Any photo you
have from this year that isn't ready to be sent to me can also be held and
entered in next years contest.  We received several photos last year that were
not taken in the current year, and that is perfectly acceptable.

"The entry form doesn't state how to identify each picture by category. What
is your recommendation for making certain that pictures are entered in the
right category?"

You're welcome to make a note of what category you'd like to enter on the
entry form, although it is not a requirement that the exhibitor note the
category.  I have photos judged in one or more categories for which they are
appropriate.

"If there is no writing or labeling on the back of a photo, how can the people
who are handling the photos match them to the number on  the entry form and
sort them by category?"

As chairperson, I handle all of this myself.   I do all the organizing and
preparation for shipping to our three judges.  Every photo is placed in a
sheet protector, given a sequential number and eligible category(s), and sent
to the judges with a corresponding judging sheet.

"I don't know what you mean when you say that the pictures should be taken at
360 dpi or greater resolution. If a picture is intended for direct viewing by
the judges, then the finished print should have a resolution of of approx. 300
dpi. What it takes to do that depends on your individual camera and the amount
of cropping on the original image. Or are you planning to scan all the
pictures first and have the judges view them on a monitor or projection
screen?"

Our rules say "it is suggested that you take your photos in 360dpi or higher
resolution", it is not mandatory.   Often a novice photographer doesn't know
that resolution can make a difference, so our suggestion is to help guide new
photographers.   You are correct in that there are differences in individual
cameras.  Ideally, a high quality photograph would have resolution in the
neighborhood of 600dpi, but having seen photos as they came in last year, I
think photos with resolutions in the medium range were competitive.    Our
judges do all of their scoring from viewing the photos on photo paper.

Natalie, I hope this answers your questions, thank you for writing, and hope
you'll be sending in some photos!
Kitty Loberg
AIS Photo Contest Chair

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