2021 will be the 20th Annual Champaign County Camera Club’s
Photographic Print Competition
Shutterbugs get ready! Best in Show 2021, the largest amateur photographic print competition in the area, is returning to Champaign-Urbana. Download the poster and the entry from in Word or pdf. See winners from 2020 and from prior years.
Snap some great pictures & you might snap up one of 8 top prizes or part of over $2,000 in cash & prizes. In addition to the Champaign County Camera Club (CCCC), there are eight sponsors of the Best in Show competition. The Urbana Park District assists with all phases of the event including submission collection, hanging the show, and communicating with participants. For information about Urbana Park District programs, call 217/367-1544 or visit the UPD website at urbanaparks.org. We gratefully acknowledge Lincoln Square Mall for providing the space for the show and critique. Larry Kanfer Gallery and Illini Studio provided funding for the top image awards. Trophy Time donated all place-winner ribbons; Busey Bank, Prairie Gardens, International Galleries, and Art Coop also provided prizes. The generosity of all these businesses is important to making this such a popular public event. CCCC thanks them all for their generosity.
ENTRY FEE: (Early bird deadline) Through Jan. 20, 2021 at 6 pm, $5 for the first print plus $3 for each additional print. After Jan. 20, 2021 at 6 pm, $10 for the first print plus $3 for each additional print. Limit five prints per entrant. (There is no fee for Youth Division entrants.) ENTRY DEADLINE: January 27, 2021 at 6 pm.
JUDGING/CATEGORIES
With so many people now using Photoshop and other photo-editing programs, we have adjusted our definitions so that those individuals not using such programs will have an equal chance of winning ribbons.
For tips on what makes an award winning image, view the Best in Show Zoom Workshop on youtube. You'll get an inside look at the judging set up/process and what the judges are looking for, as well as tips for formatting and mounting your photos for the 20th Annual competition.
For purposes of this competition, a photo-realistic image is one in which the original photographic content of the original image predominates, whether the original image was made on film or by using a digital camera. Alteration of the basic image by the maker is permitted, but alterations must not predominate or be obvious. Combining elements of more than one image is prohibited. CICCA members may only enter the "Club" category. The use of HDR (high dynamic range) in the creation of the image is not considered manipulation, as long as the image still looks photo-realistic.
In this competition, only photo-realistic images may be entered, with the exception of the General category.
Categories for this year’s competition:
1. Animals (photo-realistic category) – Main point of interest must be wild or domesticated animals.
2. Architecture (photo-realistic category) – Images may show complete buildings or minute details of buildings. “Building” includes such things as bridges and other man-made structures.
3. Black and White (photo-realistic category) – This category is for prints that are entirely in the gray scale (typically thought of as black and white). In addition to grey-scale images, prints done in sepia tones, colored monotone or infrared are acceptable.
4. Club – CICCA members are limited to entry in this category following the General category guidelines.
5. General – Any image may be entered in this category including those that previously fit in the manipulated category. Manipulated images have been significantly modified via photo-editing software or combine elements from more than one scene, test, abstracts, etc. Youth entering a manipulated image must enter it in this category.
6. Landscape (photo-realistic category) – Includes the visible features of an area of land or water, including the physical elements of landforms, water bodies, living elements of landcover incl. vegetation and human elements (crops, buildings, and roads), transitory lighting, weather elements.
7. Nature (photo-realistic category) – Image must be shot in a natural environ-ment. The hand of man, such as buildings, fences, roads, etc., must not be present. Domesticated animals must not be present. Images containing a plant/ animal found in nature must have been photographed in its natural environment. A beautiful plant found in nature but brought into a studio to be photographed would not fit in the Nature category.
8. People (photo-realistic category) – Main point of interest must be an individual person or a group of people.
9. Youth Division – All youth entries (with the exception of strongly manipu-lated images which will be judged in the General category) will be judged in a single general category. Youth wishing to have their entries judged in the other categories may do so by paying the appropriate entry fees and entering their images in those categories. All youth entrants will be awarded a Certificate of Participation at the end of the competition. The youth category is open to children ages 17 and younger and 18-year-olds currently enrolled in high school.
PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS OF ENTRIES FOR DISPLAY
The exhibit committee requires that all pieces be prepared as follows. If these requirements are not met, your entry will not be displayed. All prints must be mounted on foamcore measuring 11”x14”x 3/16”. Any size print that fits on an 11x14 piece of foamcore is acceptable but entrants are advised that prints smaller than 8x10 are likely to have less visual impact than competing prints of a larger size. Prints may be flush mounted (all the way to the edge of the foamcore), matted, dry-mounted or neatly affixed with adhesives (no tape please). No framed pieces will be accepted. Each entered print must have a title (“untitled” is an unacceptable title). Entries must be clearly labeled on the back in the bottom right hand corner with the entry title, category artist’s name, and general location (e.g., city, county, state, or country) where photo was taken. Artist’s name must not appear on the front of the entry.
Judges for Best in Show 2021 will be:
Della Perrone started Della Perrone Photography in 2013 after spending several decades capturing images for performers and commercial purposes. Today, Della’s work ranges from portraiture to nature and sports to performance and events (and the occasional wedding). She serves a variety of private, commercial, and institutional clients, and covers some events free-lance for the News-Gazette. Her personal work primarily reflects a passion for the natural world. Della has judged for the Camera Club on several occasions, including the 2017 Best in Show competition.
Peggy Shaw works in a variety of mediums including: photography, video, sound; and mixed media such as paint, charcoal, dirt, leaves, thorns, petals, wings, eggshells, hair, thread, wire, sand, and glass. Her work has been shown nationally including solo exhibitions in Chicago and New York and has won numerous awards in both photography and video, including awards from the Illinois Arts Council and Arts Midwest/NEA Regional. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Shaw is an Art Professor in Photography/Video at Parkland College in Champaign, IL where she was awarded the 2016 Illinois Community College Trustees Association Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Award, and recently received the 40 North Artist Ace Award.
Bridget Broihahn started as a freelance photographer in 2004 for real estate marketing, promotional materials, and website stock for both Realtors and home builders. From there she started working as a photojournalist for local news publications and magazines, eventually becoming editor for the News-Gazette Magazines. Currently, she manages the photo repository, graphics, and other communications media for the City of Urbana. She also occasionally does freelance work.