Themes - Description & Scope

2023-4 Competition Set Themes with Descriptions and Scope

To see the full Competition rules and entry information .......click here

This is a list of the competition PDI and PRINT set themes for the September 2023 to May 2024 competition year.

For each of the monthly competitions (with the exception of the Monochrome and Open PRINT competitions, see below), members may enter one image in the set Theme for that competition and a maximum of two images in the OPEN section ie. three images in total.
The set Theme descriptions and scope are detailed below. The interpretation of how well a picture fits the set subject, and how to include this interpretation in the marking, must be left to the discretion of the judge for the evening. The judge will be told that the description and scope is the guidance (where applicable) that has been given to all members. It may go without saying, but just for the record, an OPEN competition may have any image subject entered. There are absolutely no restrictions on subject matter as long as it is in good taste.

19th September - Landscape in Portrait Format (PDI)
Judge: Louise Langley CPAGB
Theme Description/Scope
All submitted images must be in portrait format ie taller than they are wide. Usually when you're deciding how to frame your landscape shot, the clue is in the name. Landscape format every time! Not so here, with their narrower profile there can be more of an emphasis of the layers in the shot, from foreground detail, through mid-ground, to background horizon and sky. Depth of field can become more critical, as a portrait format often means there is more of the foreground included, and so a greater range of distances in the frame.

10th October - Monochrome (PRINT)
Judge: Robert Falconer
Theme Description/Scope
Your entry needs to be a grayscale image ranging from black to white of any subject. Your image may be toned entirely in a single colour e.g. sepia. However, a black and white image which includes a partial toning or an additional colour is not permitted. Members may enter a maximum of three monochrome images. There is no separate OPEN competition.

21st November - Flowers and Plants (PDI)
Judge: Steve Myall EFIAP, BPE5*
Theme Description/Scope
Buds or blossoms, cultivated or wild, fresh or dried, exotic or familiar, indoors or outdoors, plants with or without flowers - the scope is endless. Consider a classic still life, a flower filled landscape, or a close-up of a flowerhead, the choice is yours.

12th December - Abandonment & Decay (PRINT)
Judge: David Kissman OBE, CPAGB, BPE3*
Theme Description/Scope
Photograph an abandoned building or structures, or man-made object in some state of decay. Either the inside or outside of the building / structures is acceptable. Decaying objects you may find are: cars, boats, machines and tools, anything man-made is an acceptable object.

30th January - Annual PDI - OPEN competition
Judge: Dave Hollingsworth CPAGB
Theme Description/Scope
As this is an OPEN competition images may be a mixture of both colour and monochrome, there is no restriction on subject matter. Members may enter a maximum of three images. Images may be either new or have been entered into a previous monthly competition.

20th February - Long Exposure (PDI)
Judge: Vin Scothern DPAGB, EFIAP, BPE5*
Theme Description/Scope
For this contest, we would like to see your best photos captured with a long exposure. Whether it is clouds, water or light trails in the city etc., there must be an element of movement in the photo to demonstrate the effect of slow shutter speed.

19th March - Open (PRINT)
Judge: Carol McNiven Young FRPS, DPAGB, EFIAP/b, BPE5*
Theme Description/Scope
Anything goes; A maximum of three images of any sort you wish. As long as they haven't been entered into a previous monthly competition.

16th April - Nature(PDI)
Judge: Phil Newman ARPS, AFIAP, BPE4*
Theme Description/Scope
This celebration of the natural world offers broad scope for your images, but they must not include humans or our creations unless the elements are integral parts of the nature story. Nature is inclusive of wildlife but much wider and includes landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependant on man for food.

14th May - Seascape (PRINT)
Judge: David Gibbins ARPS, APAGB, EFIAP/b, BPE5*
Theme Description/Scope
Seascapes can have infinite variations of tone, texture and shade. They can be in colour or mono, and whilst you may include some land, boats, or other evidence of human activity, there should be an emphasis on the sea.

28th May - Annual PRINT - OPEN competition
Judge: Malcolm Sales ARPS, ABIPP
Theme Description/Scope
As this is an OPEN competition images may be a mixture of both colour and monochrome, there is no restriction on subject matter. Members may enter a maximum of three images. Images may be either new or have been entered into a previous monthly competition.