Each month there is a category for competition. You can view this years categories HERE
Competition Info
You must be member of SDUPS and you may submit one entry for photo and/or video per person per
competition
Your Class is determined by accumulated points over the time of your membership.
New members may pick their initial Class level
Advancement between classes occurs at the end of each year
Points are awarded for placement in the competition. (In case of a tie, all tying photographers will be awarded the corresponding point value of their placement.)
- 1st Place – 5 points
- 2nd Place – 3 points
- 3rd Place – 1 point
The Photographer of the Year award shall be given to the member in each division who earns the most points during the year. The award shall be given to the member in that division who earns the most points during that calendar year at the Holiday Awards Party in December.
Voting for the winning images is by secret ballot at each meeting. The Secretary/Historian is solely responsible for tallying and keeping an accurate record of all members current point status, and is available for any questions arising on this topic.
How to Enter
Submit your photo and/or video by clicking on the button below. Max upload size in 100mb. If you are submitting both photo and video, and your files exceed 100mb together, please send as 2 separate entries.
Photo Modifications
ALLOWED
Cropping, Sharpening, Color Adjustments (Levels, Hues, Color Balance, Dodge, Burn), Contrast Adjustments, Backscatter Removal.
NOT ALLOWED
Alterations of Image Content, Removal or Addition of Subjects or Material.
Photo Submission Rules
- Submit .jpg files (not .jpeg)
- Size images to 1920 x 1080 (16:9) or 1024 x 768 (4:3) resolution
- Name your file with your class, first inital, & last name (ie: adv_mpoirier.jpg)
nov=novice ama=amateur adv=advance - Provide your camera settings, location, subject and any info on the photo you want to share
- Please submit without watermarks
- Files are due the first Sunday of every month by midnight (for virtual voting set-up) unless stated otherwise by the current President. See current month’s competition announcement post for official due date.
- Aquarium, pool and tank shots are not permitted
Video Submission Rules
- Media Types: .mp4 preferred
- Name your file with vid_ then first inital, & last name (ie: vid_mpoirier.jpg)
- Video files are due the first Sunday of every month by midnight (for virtual voting set-up)
- All videos must be under 30 seconds. There can be multiple clips in the video. Any video over the 30 second RULE will be disqualified.
- The video is to be the same subject as the still competition for the month.
- Point scale and awards are the same as the Photo Competition
- Files are due the first Sunday of every month by midnight (for virtual voting set-up) unless stated otherwise by the current President. See current month’s competition announcement post for official due date.
- Music must be royalty free music. You can find music resources HERE
- Aquarium, pool and tank videos are not permitted
Environmental Awareness for All Photos & Videos
Marine life should never be stressed or endangered for the sake of a photo or video.
Entries in our monthly competitions or film festival entries exhibiting the following behavior will be disqualified:
- Diver visibly damaging (ie. gear dragging into) environment
- Animals with signs of diver induced stress (ie. puffed puffers, inking octopus)
- Animals moved to an unnatural environment or risky location
- Animals being fed artificial food from divers (ie. chum visible in image)
- Marine life being harassed (ie. touching corals, seahorse tails, etc.)