June 29^th to July 9^th 2006

L’Image 2006

Photographic Competition

Introduction

The 4^th Lymm Photo Competition, l’Image 2006, will form part of the Lymm Festival 2006, and judging will take place during the Festival. There are 6 categories overall including junior.

Rules

1. The Competition is open to all amateur* photographers

2. Entries must be in the form of prints (no slides) which may be colour or monochrome, except in the case of category 5. Either traditional film or digital cameras may be used, and final prints may be on photographic paper or computer printed.

3. The entrant must be in possession of the original negative, slide or digital file, as these may be needed for subsequent publication.

4. Size and Mounting: The minimum size of prints entered is 100mm (3.9”) by 150mm (5.9”). For the general competitions, prints should be mounted on any colour mount;the maximum size of mount being 500mm (19.7”) by 400mm (15.7”). It cannot be emphasised too much that careful mounting enhances the presentation of an image.
For the junior competition, mounting is desirable but not a requirement.

5. Each entry must have a completed entry form (see below) affixed to the back with the Entrants Name and address, Picture Title and Category. A ‘disclaimer’ is advisable where children are the principal subject (see below)

6. Entry Fee: Entry to the competition is free and entries are limited to 5 (FIVE) per person, with a maximum of 3 (THREE) images per person in any particular category.

7. The entries must be the competitors own unaided work (except for commercial processing and printing).
It is however prudent that young photographers be accompanied by a responsible adult when visiting locations.

8. Return of entries: Entries will be available for collection at the end of the exhibition, or by arrangement in the days following. Otherwise, please include a stamped self addressed envelope of suitable size.

9. Whilst the competition organisers expect a wide and flexible interpretation of each category, it remains at the judges’ discretion to reject any entries which are deemed not to be an interpretation of the entered category (see “Notes on Categories” below); or those which fail to meet the above requirements. Also please see “Terms Definitions and Notes” below.

10. Copyright: The winning photographs may be exhibited on the Lymm Festival Website and published in ‘Lymm Life’ etc. Entry to the competition will be regarded as permission for the images to be used for this purpose. The photographer will be credited.

Exhibition and Judging

Closing date for entries is 8^th June 2006. Short listing of entries will take place before the start of the Festival.

Up to 15 entries in each category may be short-listed and the short-listed entries will be exhibited during Lymm Festival at one or more locations as part of Lymm Festival. Note: The norm will be for less than 15 entries will be short-listed except where the overall standard for that category is exceptional.

Final judging and presentation of awards will take place during the course of the Festival.

Prizes and Awards

There will be certificates for 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd in each category along with prizes in the form of gift vouchers (see below)for first 2 places in each category. The overall award will be made at the Judges discretion.

Special Prizes: There will be three special prizes (1) A ‘People’s Prize’ voted for by visitors to the exhibition, The ‘Village Prize’ for the best entry from a Lymm resident, and (3) the ‘Festival Prize’ for the image which most impresses the competition organiser(s).

Award	1st	2nd
General	£20.00	£5.00
General (monochrome)	£25.00	£10.00
Junior	£15.00	£5.00
Overall Award (Discretionary)	£30.00
People's Prize	£10.00
Village Prize	£15.00
'Festival' Prize	£10.00

Entry Form

Each print must have a separate entry form attached to it. Copies of the entry forms are enclosed with these rules; if necessary photocopy the form; further copies can be obtained from the address below, or downloaded from www.lymmfestival.org.uk/photocomp/ .

Note: It is advisable that where children are the main subject of an entry a signed disclaimer should be obtained from the responsible parent or guardian, who gives their consent for the image to be exhibited. In group images where there may be several parents the consent of each would be advisable. Where children are part of a larger scene or crowd, the matter of consent will be left to the discretion of the photographer. In no circumstances should children be clearly identified by name. Appropriate forms can be obtained from the organisers.

* Terms, Definitions and Notes

Amateur: Someone who makes less than 10% of their income from photographic work

Creative: Where the final image has been achieved through techniques which radically change the appearance of the original subject in front of the camera in terms of tone, form or colour either during the original exposure or during production of the post-exposure image. This may include composites of several images.

Digital Manipulation: Whilst it is understandable that entrants will use digital or darkroom techniques, to improve their final print, such manipulation should not be clearly obvious. If it is then the print can only be entered in the “Creative” category.

Location: Where the category mentions a place in the title, such as Lymm or Cheshire; then the view should show a recognisable location. For other categories, it is hoped that entrants will reflect local life and scenes.

Mounting: Entrants will almost certainly improve the presentation and impact of their prints by taking care over mounting. Mount it on stiff card so that you have a reasonable border around the print, with wider borders suiting the larger prints. The print should be positioned centrally within the mount, and the border colour should compliment the colours in the image.

Notes on Categories:

1) "Motion”: This is a fairly broad category, and can cover a wide range of subjects. Obvious ones would be Sports photography, Dance, and long exposure night shots. It would also cover flowing water, animals in motion, or anything which gives a sense of movement.

2) Lymm@Work: Any commercial, trade or industrial activity taking place in a recognisable local context.

3) Travel: Rather than ‘picture postcard’ shots of familiar locations, the organisers and judges will be looking for unusual interpretations of landscapes or people elsewhere in the UK or abroad. Basically – be creative, be different!

4) Creative: (see above)

5) Monochrome Print: Black and White or Sepia image.

Our Sponsors

At present, Córas IT have indicated that they wish to be associated with this event. It is hoped that other sponsors may be identified in due course.

L’Image, 32 Rosebank, Lymm Cheshire, WA13 0JH

June 29th to July 9th 2006