2006 Fencing Photography Competition Official Thread
2006 Fencing Photography Contest
Sponsored by Fencing.net and FencingPhotos.com
Show the world how you can capture the action, excitement, and beauty of fencing! Fencing.net and FencingPhotos.com are proud to announce the first annual fencing photography contest. Open to all amateur* photographers from around the world, this year we’ll focus on three categories of fencing images:
• Artistic
• Action
• Posed
Prizes will be awarded to the top three images in all categories, and include fencing equipment and accessories along with shopping sprees on Fencing.net and FencingPhotos.com. Images will be published on both Web sites, presented at the U.S. Summer National Championships as well as in American Fencing.
Contest Judges:
• Carl Borack, Olympic fencer and Hollywood producer
• Craig Harkins, president, Fencing.net
• Jochen Faerber, FIE press officer and photographer
• Serge Timacheff, FIE photographer and president, FencingPhotos.com
Contest Entry Guidelines:
HOW:
• Images must be submitted digitally, either as an original digital image or as a digital scan of an original film negative, slide, or print. All entries should be emailed to Fencing.Net (send to craig at fencing.net) . No prints, slides, or negatives will be accepted except in digital format.
(Entry upload form will be up very soon - look to this thread for details.)
• There is no entry fee!
• Read the contest rules and fill out/sign the entry form.
• Only amateur* photographers are permitted to enter the contest.
• Images must be original, meaning they were taken by you only.
• Images may be in color, black and white, or sepia.
• Images must be in JPEG format with a resolution of 300 dpi and at least six inches on their longest side.
• You may submit up to five images for each category.
• Each image file MUST be named according the following system:
o YOURNAME–CATEGORY–NUMBER.jpg
Example: “BillSmith-Artistic-3.jpg”
WHEN:
• Deadline for entry is midnight, MAY 15, 2006, Eastern U.S. time. NO late entries will be considered.
• Finalists will be notified by June 20, 2006
• Winners will be announced, images will be presented, and prizes will be awarded at the United States Summer National Championships in Atlanta, Georgia in early July. If you are not at the event, we will contact you by email or telephone regarding prizes.
Category Specifics
• Action
o Show real fencers in real fencing action, either in practice or competition. Staged or posed fencing for the purposes of photography is not permitted.
o Any weapons, genders, or levels of fencers are permitted.
o Fencing action must be in the “Olympic style” of fencing, with regulation equipment and uniforms in use. Photos of fencing without masks, jackets, etc. will not be accepted. (Shots of coaching, practice, etc. in warm-up pants is allowed.)
o Images may not be altered digitally, beyond basic exposure correction/touchup (color, contrast, sharpening, brightness, gamma). No other digital filters, alteration, or changes may be made to images.
• Artistic
o Be as creative as you like!
o Apply any and all photographic methods to your image, alter it with an image editing package, or even use a paintbrush on a photo print and then have it scanned.
o Images must obviously involve fencing in some way. They do NOT, however, have to be of fencing action.
o No nudity.
• Posed
o Images must represent a fencer or fencers so that they obviously are part of the sport.
o Fencers do not have to be in complete fencing gear or uniforms, but must be recognizable as fencers in some way.
o Images can be creatively or traditionally presented.
o Poses can be part of a medal ceremony, outdoors, in a club, or any other location.
o No nudity.
* An “amateur” photographer, for the purposes of this contest, means that you do not make any money from photography as a professional or by selling your images.
Entry Forms
1. Complete Photographer’s Entry Form
2. Complete an Image Entry Form for EACH image.
3. Submit completed forms via email (craig at fencing.net)
I have read and understood the rules for entering the 2006 Fencing Photography Contest, and I agree to comply with them. I understand that if I do not comply with the rules, I can be disqualified from the competition. I also understand that any photos of recognizable individuals must have a model release that has been signed by them, and that I am solely responsible for submitting their image to the contest. (Please email us if you do not have a model release form and need one.)
_______________________________________
Photographer Signature Date
If photographer is under 18:
_______________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature Date
Image Entry Form
Please Complete One for Each Entry. Duplicate as necessary. Give us as much information as you’d like so we can know more about the image.
EXAMPLE:
Image File Name: sergetimacheff-action-3.jpg
Image Title: “Bill’s Final Touch”
Date Taken: April 30, 2004
Category: Action
Format (digital, film, etc.): digital
Camera details, if known (type of camera, settings, etc.): Canon 1D Mark II, 70mm lens, f/2.8, ISO 400, 1/500th second
Details about the image (optional): “This was Bill Smith’s last bout to finalize his placement for the summer national championships. I was lucky enough to be standing on a chair behind the end of the strip, so I had a high perspective as he jumped in the air and screamed.”
Image File Name:
Image Title:
Date Taken:
Category:
Format (digital, film, etc.):
Camera details, if known (type of camera, settings, etc.):
Details about the image (optional)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image File Name:
Image Title:
Date Taken:
Category:
Format (digital, film, etc.):
Camera details, if known (type of camera, settings, etc.):
Details about the image (optional)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image File Name:
Image Title:
Date Taken:
Category:
Format (digital, film, etc.):
Camera details, if known (type of camera, settings, etc.):
Details about the image (optional)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Prize Package includes:
Digital Sports Photography book, $50 gift certificate to FencingPhotos.com (prints only), $100 Gift Certificate from the Fencing.Net Store
Second Prize package includes: A free 8x10 for each second place winner, of any image on FencingPhotos.com, $50 Gift Certificate from the Fencing.Net Store
Third Prize package includes: $25 Gift Certificate from the Fencing.Net Store
In addition, all finalists will receive a Fencing.Net T-Shirt, Fencing Photos.com T-Shirt, and a copy of the “World Championship Fencing” slide show and screen saver from FencingPhotos.com.
As a matter of fact, the pictures I have in mind do include jackets, masks, and "action". FIE gear, even.
"real fencing action"
"Fencing action must be in the “Olympic style” of fencing"
Not sure if what you have in mind has made it to the official Olympic activities level yet.
Meh. Try it. Submit the pictures you have in mind. See whether or not the judges agree with your interpretations and select them as finalists or winners.
-B
"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
If you have questions or concerns about the rules and how they pertain to an existing photo that you wish to submit, then contact me directly and Serge and I will provide you with a ruling as to if the photo qualifies for the contest.
o Images may not be altered digitally, beyond basic exposure correction/touchup (color, contrast, sharpening, brightness, gamma). No other digital filters, alteration, or changes may be made to images.
Does this mean that I can't crop a photo to get at the heart of what is in the action?
I am under the age of 18 and I still want to participate. On this thread it says that if the photographer is a minor a parent must sign, but on the .doc file, it says I have to be at least 18. Which one is right?
2) If I am going to take pictures of any of my friends that are under 18, how do I have the contest know that it is their parent who is sending in the photo like it states I have to do in the .doc file and not me sending it in?
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
- Muhammad Ali
I am under the age of 18 and I still want to participate. On this thread it says that if the photographer is a minor a parent must sign, but on the .doc file, it says I have to be at least 18. Which one is right?
2) If I am going to take pictures of any of my friends that are under 18, how do I have the contest know that it is their parent who is sending in the photo like it states I have to do in the .doc file and not me sending it in?
Just put in a note with the entry. Have your parent sign the document and note that the entry is from you.
We have been receiving a number of requests for model releases. I have attached a release in MS Word format for anyone to use. It actually includes two releases -- one for adults and one for minors and their parents/guardians.
Simply customize one of the releases with the appropriate highlighted info.
I am unsure how to enter the contest. Can I upload the photos to you, and then snail mail the entry form (with signature)? Or should I email you with the photos as an attachement?
2006 Fencing Photography Contest
Sponsored by Fencing.net and FencingPhotos.com
....
• Deadline for entry is midnight, MAY 15, 2006, Eastern U.S. time. NO late entries will be considered.
The official rules state
Program Period. The photo contest begins on April 3, 2006 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) and ends on May 22, 2006 at 11:59 p.m. PT (the "Program Period"). All registration attempts made outside the Program Period shall be void.
So, I'm a bit confused. Do I have until May 22 or just until midnight tonight to submit photos?
also understand that any photos of recognizable individuals must have a model release that has been signed by them, and that I am solely responsible for submitting their image to the contest.
I've never done anything with my photos, so I don't know much about things like model release forms. Is a photo like this a "recognizable individual"? It's part of the focus of one or my photos. I imagine that most people who fence in and around Austin would recognize Mr. Parker since he has a TFA jacket on. Does that count as recognizable?
I've never done anything with my photos, so I don't know much about things like model release forms. Is a photo like this a "recognizable individual"? It's part of the focus of one or my photos. I imagine that most people who fence in and around Austin would recognize Mr. Parker since he has a TFA jacket on. Does that count as recognizable?
Nah. Everyone knows that Ray's distinguishing feature is his right index finger.