The club holds monthly competitions that are contests between individual members of the club. There are seven monthly competitions throughout the season (five open and two theme), with collections usually on the first Monday of the month and judging usually on the last Monday of the month from September to May. Additionally we hold landscape, three on a theme and mono competitions. Finally there is an end of season image of the year competition. For all competitions there are two separate formats, one for prints and one for digital projected images. Details for the 2022/2023 season are below. The collection and judging dates are also listed in the programme and information on how to submit prints and images can be found here.
Members may submit up to two prints and two digital images per month. Entries are submitted to the Competition Secretary by the notified date. Digital images can be submitted via Dropbox (see the Dropbox section at the end of the submissions page), by e-mail to the Competition Secretary: or on club evenings on USB stick or CD/DVD.
During the judging evenings, each piece of work will be awarded a mark out of 20 and be commented on in a constructive manner.
| Month | Last submission date | Judging date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2022 | 30 Aug 2022 | 5 Sep 2022 | Chairman's Challenge |
| September 2022 | 5 Sep 2022 | 26 Sep 2022 | Open competition |
| October 2022 | 3 Oct 2022 | 31 Oct 2022 | Open competition |
| November 2022 | 7 Nov 2022 | 28 Nov 2022 | Theme competition: People at work |
| December 2022 | 5 Dec 2022 | 19 Dec 2022 | Landscape competition: Winner to be awarded the Mike Stokes Trophy |
| January 2023 | 9 Jan 2023 | 30 Jan 2023 | Open competition |
| February 2023 | 6 Feb 2023 | 27 Feb 2023 | Open competition |
| March 2023 | 13 Feb 2023 | 6 Mar 2023 | Three on a theme competition |
| March 2023 | 6 Mar 2023 | 27 Mar 2023 | Theme competition: Weather |
| April 2023 | 3 Apr 2023 | 24 Apr 2023 | Open competition |
| May 2023 | 24 Apr 2023 | 22 May 2023 | Mono competition |
| May 2023 | 8 May 2023 | 5 Jun 2023 | Image of the year: Winner to be awarded the Terry Gardiner Trophy |
Other competitions
Annual Mono Competition
This competition is held in May each year. Members may enter up to two monochrome prints and two monochrome digital images with the definition of monochrome being that of the WPF at the time. Each piece of work will be commented on in a constructive manner. No theme is intended nor should any marks be awarded for any theme.
Three on a Theme Competition
This competition is held annually. More information can be found here.
The Mike Stokes Trophy
The Mike Stokes Trophy is a landscape and seascape competition held in memory of Mike Stokes. Mike served the club as a committee member holding several posts over many years. He also inspired and entertained members in equal amounts over those years. The competition is in print and digital projected image sections with an overall winner from the two sections.
Image of the Year - The Terry Gardner Trophies
At the end of the season members may submit their favourite previously submitted images for an Image of the Year competition. Entries are scored by members or an external judge. The top scoring print and projected image are named as the "Image of the Year" for that season. The winning photographers are awarded the Terry Gardner Trophy, named in memory of a well respected former committee member. Note: Images must have been entered in a monthly competition during the season and can be any image you may have entered previously, regardless of the score awarded in the monthly competition.
Review of Summer Evening Outings
During June and July club members meet on a Monday evening in the local area to take photographs. One evening in the programme for the following season, usually around October, is devoted to a review of images taken during these evenings with a winning image selected from those submitted.
Other Internal Competitions
Whilst planning that seasons programme the committee may decide on one or two more competitions, whose format will vary. The idea will be to provide a fresh and interesting challenge to club members. As much advance warning on the competitions rules as possible will be given, typically around the time of the previous years AGM.
Trophies and Awards
There are currently fourteen competition winners announced at the end of the season (end of May / start of June):
- Open - Print
- Open - Digital
- Themed - Print
- Themed - Digital
- Mono - Print
- Mono - Digital
- Three on a Theme - Print
- Three on a Theme - Digital
- Mike Stokes Landscape - Print
- Mike Stokes Landscape - Digital
- Mike Stokes Landscape - Shield
- Terry Gardiner Memorial Trophy - Print
- Terry Gardiner Memorial Trophy - Digital
- Novice of the Year
The Open winners, print and digital, will be decided by taking the highest seven scores over all five Open competitions.
The Themed winners, print and digital, will be the members with the highest four scores in the two Themed competitions.
All trophies are held for one year and are to be returned to the club at the end of that period for engraving and passing to the next winner.
Results from previous season can be found by scrolling through the News page.
Monthly competition theme subjects for years gone by
For the record here are the theme subjects of past seasons...
| Season | Theme subjects |
|---|---|
| 2021-22 |
Two or a pair Openings |
| 2020-21 |
Framed Journeys |
| 2019-20 |
Danger Crooked |
| 2018-19 |
Life on the street In the garden |
| 2017-18 | Something new |
| 2016-17 |
T.V. programme title Transport |
| 2015-16 |
Lightweight Man's influence on the landscape |
| 2014-15 |
Footwear Toys |
| 2013-14 |
Creative Dereliction Emotion Macro Night photography Shadows Welsh |
| 2012-13 |
At night Childhood Only small Speed Still life Urban life Wildlife and nature |
| 2011-12 |
Action At work Creative / altered reality In the kitchen Lines Song title Weather |
| 2010-11 |
Coast Close up Dilapidation Grabshot (Street life/candid) RGB Seasons Something different |