Share & Learn (Winter Challenge)

Deadline for submission:  Feb. 23, 2023 (Midnight) [Firm]

Background:  The original OCC challenge program has been revitalized under the new program name "Share & Learn".  It remains focused on advancing member photography skills in a friendly atmosphere where members learn from each other. Wherever possible, the program will tie in with club outings, speaker program presentations and other educational activities to enhance member learning experiences.  "Share & Learn" presents low-risk opportunitiesfor members to experiment outside their photographic comfort zones, to expand their artistic and technical skills.

Submitted images are evaluated by the OCC members.   It is an opportunity for members to show their work, share their knowledge, seek help, experiment with their photography and learn how to constructively critique.  We may not all agree with some of the feedback we receive, but creative differences lead to lively discussions. Constructive evaluation may help each of us to  find new ways of thinking about our photography, from composition to shutter click to final touches. Objective evaluation can be a tool for development, and challenge meetings are a great opportunity to interact with fellow club members.

In the spirit of creative adventure and discussion, the Challenges Director may choose one or more of the "Share & Learn"  images, and apply some edits in post-processing to explore and illustrate another way of showing off an image (e.g. in colour vs. B&W) . These altered images, which may not necessarily be better that the originally submitted images,  will be clearly identified and shown alongside the original images for discussion.

In this new format, there will be no formal judging and scoring of the submitted images by any judges, nor will there be any winners chosen, gift cards presented or judging sheets posted on the web site.  For the program to succeed, we need to have active member  participation in the critiquing.  To help facilitate  this, individuals selected from our pool  of CAPA-trained judges will help out.

The identities of the photographers will be kept confidential unless they choose to participate in the discussions. We encourage the submitters to talk about their presented work and to respond to the critique comments if they would like.    Anonymity is always an option, but it makes for a rather empty discussion. Members really are interested in learning the stories behind the images they are seeing.   There is always a story - why did the photographer  take the shot in the first place? The maker should be able to answer questions and give feedback about the image while it is on screen, including the f stop, iso, and shutter speed, as these topics always come up.  The forum is also an opportunity for the photographers to ask technical and artistic questions to help them better achieve their vision in camera, in post-processing and/or in the field or studio.

Remember:  The overall goal is for everyone to learn and have fun!

Here are the rules for submitting your challenge images:

1. You may submit up to 3  images taken in last 12 months (any subject or genre) per challenge.  We will show as many images as time allows and ensure that one or more images from each submitter  is critiqued.  Should it not be possible to show all images in the available time, the submitted images not shown will be shown at the start of the next Challenge.
2. Keep it fresh – Images must not have been entered in a previous challenge or program.
3. Keep it clean – no watermarks or other identifying information on the images.
4. Challenges are open to current, paid-up club members only, and all submitted images must be the maker's own work.
5. Images must be jpg file format and a minimum size of 1 mb. and no larger than 5 mb.
6. Send your finished images via email attachments (NOT embedded) by midnight of the submission deadline date:  challenges@oakvillecameraclub.com   Don't wait until the last minute! Submissions received after the deadline will not be evaluated.

Please include the following mandatory information in your email message with the attached images:

1. Your name and telephone number.
2. The file name of each image.  Follow the club file naming convention:Title of Image-  Name of Photographer.jpg   (example: Autumn Leaves-John Doe.jpg ).
3. The title of each image (title is used at the presentation).
4. When submitting images, the photographer  is encouraged to include basic information about the image. When it was taken, where, and what kind of feedback they are looking for.

Your ideas, comments and suggestions are always welcome! Please email the challenges director challenges@oakvillecameraclub.com or chat in person at any of the camera club meetings.

This is a member driven event, but guests are welcome. Members choose and discuss their own submissions to develop their photography skills.  It is a great learning event. Non-members must register before 4 pm on the day.  Send an email request to info@oakvillecameraclub.com

Photo credit:  Jared Fein