Internet digital imaging exhibitions

PSA Journal, Feb, 2005 by Milan Sedio

You finally have purchased a digital camera and are creating some excellent images, and now you want to get involved in Internet Digital Imaging Competition. This is a good time to get started. There are a growing number of international internet exhibitions waiting for your entries. There were eight PSA-recognized exhibitions in 2004, and I expect that there will be between ten and eleven in 2005.

The major sources of Internet Exhibitions can be found in the PSA Journal, the PSA website (http://www.psa-photo.org/Exbibitions.pdf). and in Willy Suys website (http://webplaza.pt.lu/public/suyswill/index.html). The exhibitions listed in the Journal or the PSA website are PSA-recognized and acceptances received in those exhibitions count toward Star Ratings. Those listed in Willy's site may or may not be PSA-recognized.

The Electronic Imaging Division digital exhibitions may have four competition sections, Color General, Color Creative. Monochrome General, and Monochrome Creative. The definitions for General and Creative images are the same as the definition for the Color Slide Division General and Creative slides. These definitions are in the PSA Exhibition Standards (http://www.psa-photo.orgces2004.pdf). Select the exhibition you are interested in and go to the exhibition's website (URL) for the entry form. You can also get the entry form by, sending a message to the e-mail address provided or looking at http://exhibitionforms.com/ exhibitionforms/index.htm.

When you review the entry form and entry rules from an Internet Digital Imaging Exhibition, you will find a number of items that you will not see in the entry form for a Color Slide Exhibition. You will see items like image size, pixels, image file identity, resolution JPG, CD, etc. Let us look at how these items are used.

The entry form/entry rules form will specify the maximum image size-usually 1024 pixels maximum horizontally or 768 pixels maximum vertically and the compression format-typically JPG. Sometimes they will specify the image resolution (72ppi). The image size specified will fill the screen on the exhibition's monitor (horizontally 1024 pixels and/or vertically 768 pixels). If your image is a vertical, make sure that the max vertical dimension is 768 pixels and not 1024 pixels. If you make your image smaller than 1024 pixels horizontally, or 768 pixels vertically, the image will not fill the monitor screen: and if the exhibition program expands your image to fill the exhibitions monitor screen, the quality of your image will be reduced. So it is best to size your image to the requirements stated in the entry form.

You will find that the image title is not the same as image file identity. The entry form will require both. The image title is familiar; however, the image file identity is not. The image file identity includes: the maker's country, the maker's name or other means of identity, the competition category, and the competition round number and file extension. This is to assure that if more than one image has the same title, the image file on the hard drive matches the image title on the screen and that the score is assigned to the correct image and maker.

The entry form/entry rules will explain how that particular International will want the image file names, the image titles, and makers names presented. Review these requirements carefully as they differ from one exhibition to another. Each exhibition uses an entry form format that assures them that the data will be correctly entered into their files on the hard drive with little or no retyping.

For example, the 2004 Chinese Canadian Exhibition required the file identity to be: Country Code, maker's name, the code for the Section entered G for General and C for Creative, and image entry sequence number, all separated by dashes, then a period and the file extension (JPG). My Color General file names were: us-msedio-G1.jpg, us-msedio-G2.jpg, us-msedio-G3.jpg, and us-msedioG4.jpg.

However, the 2004 PSA Exhibition requirements were a bit different as they requested your surname, the first initial of your given name, the last four digits of your telephone number, the code for the Section entered, and image sequence number, again separated by dashes and then a period followed by file extension (JPG). My Color General file names looked like: sedio-m-4630-Al.jpg, sedio-m-4630-A2.jpg, sedio-m-4630-A3.jpg, Sedio-m-4630-A4.jpg, and my Color Creative file names were: sedio-m-4630-B1, sedio-m-4630-B2, sedio-m-4630-B3, sedio-m-4630-B4.

The entry form/entry rules usually can be filled in right on the website and sent via e-mail, or downloaded, filled out, and again sent via e-mail. The completed entry fibrin can also be printed and sent via USPS together with the entry fee.

The best method of submitting your images is via e-mail attachments. I minimize the attachment file size by sending two e-mails with two images attached to each, rather than one e-mail with tour images attached. The smaller attachment file size reduces the upload time for the e-mail if you use a dial-up connection, and sometimes the ISP (Internet Service Provider) will not accept large attachment files. You may be allowed to enter image files on CDs or Zip disks sent via USPS or UPS, but the CDs and Zip discs will not be returned unless additional money is sent to cover the cost of return postage.