Help Needed For The TPS Annual Spring Fair Photo Contest! 

Saturday, April 8 – Assist with the judging process at Waller Road Grange 10 am to 4 pm (lunch provided).

Monday, April 10 – Set up from 1 pm-5 pm (any amount of time welcome!) at the Fairgrounds in the Showplex building.  Please visit the following page to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4DACA82DAAFFC70-spring1 or email Kristina at tpsmail22@yahoo.com with your name and email.  You can also sign up for other shifts to sit at the TPS table and talk with people who come in to see our display.  Spring Fair is April 13-16 & 20-23.

Monday, April 24 - Takedown from 1 pm-4 pm.

Volunteer today!  No experience necessary! You will receive free tickets to the fairgrounds the day of your shift and can take advantage of that time to enjoy the Spring Fair. 

Mark Your Calendar For These Important Upcoming Competitions & Events

• February 23-April 8 - Submit Images to the Annual Division Digital Competition at the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday, May 20.
• February 23-April 20/23 - Submit Images to the Annual Division Print Competition at the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday, May 20.
  
• March 18-March 25 - Submit Images to the Wednesday, April 5 Projection Competition (Zoom only).
  
• March 20 - Field Trip To Foss Waterway Seaport Museum 10 am to 2 pm. Open to Society and Division members.
  
• April 1 @ 5 pm - DEADLINE EXTENSION to submit images to the TPS Annual Spring Fair Competition displayed at the WA State Fairgrounds
  
• April 5 – Monthly Projection Division & Theme Competition - Zoom only.
  
• April 12 - Submit images to the Lakewood Gallery Exhibit of NWCCC images.
  
• April 20 – Monthly Print Division & Theme Competition.
• April 13-16 & 20-23 - TPS Annual Spring Fair Competition displayed at the WA State Fairgrounds. APRIL 1 @ 5 PM DEADLINE EXTENSION!!
• May 20, 2023 - TPS Annual Division Competition & Award Ceremony at the Emerald Queen Casino - April 8 digital & April 20/23 print deadlines.
  

For more information on the entry requirements and other important details, please read more about these competitions in the articles below.

Field Trip To Foss Waterway Seaport Museum

The TPS members were invited to photograph the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum on March 20. The maritime museum occupies a 100-year old building on Tacoma’s historic Foss Waterway. There are full-size boats, boat models, and many pieces of nautical equipment. The Seaport includes a working boat shop.

In exchange for free admission, the Seaport has requested that everyone share some images (edited) for their use, with credit, in their promotional materials. They are planning to create a calendar and need your images to help them.

The museum waived the entrance fee for this event and everyone was allowed to use a tripod.  The museum was closed to the public.

For more information, see their website at:  https://www.fosswaterwayseaport.org/

Please watch for more fun events in the future to enjoy!  Thanks to Joe Tieger for organizing this special field trip.

PSA Zoom Webinar "Making Competitive Nature Images"
March 30, 2023, 6:00 pm Eastern Time/3:00 pm PST

Webinar Speaker: Rick Cloran, HonFPSA, GMPSA, HonNEC

Rick is a well-known judge and lecturer having served in those capacities extensively in New England as well as throughout the US and Canada. He has been a member of the Greater Lynn Photographic Association since 1975. For his service to photography both in New England and at a national level he has been awarded the Honor of HonFPSA by the Photographic Society of America (PSA) and HonNEC by the New England Camera Club Council (NECCC). His success in exhibitions has earned him the GMPSA distinction.

Register in advance for this webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_srq5Ge3oR5WXU4lSNev0bg.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.  PSA Webinars are a benefit to PSA members at no cost, you will be required to enter your member number at registration.

PSA provides education, information, inspiration, and opportunity to all persons interested in photography.  To Join PSA https://psa-photo.org/page/membership 

If interested, or if you need more info, contact Bob Wills, PSA Representative, through the TPS email system. 

2023 Tacoma Photographic Society Annual
Spring Fair Photo Competition - 20^th Anniversary
April 13-16 & 20-23, 2023

THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS EXTENDED TO SATURDAY, APRIL 1 @ 5 PM

All Pacific Northwest photographers who derive less than 50% of their income from photos are invited to enter the Tacoma Photographic Society Annual Spring Fair Photo Competition.  All images are displayed at the Washington State Spring Fair in Puyallup, WA.  All subjects are accepted that are appropriate for a family fair.  All prints must be received by Saturday, April 1, 2023 no later than 5 pm.

To read more about the rules, how, and where to submit your photos, click here to go to the Spring Fair Photo Competition page of our website.  Download the Entry/Registration brochure in a PDF file format.

Your personal check or a PayPal receipt must be included with your entries. Please note:  There is a 5-print per-person limit.        

This competition is sponsored by the Tacoma Photographic Society--a local non-profit photography club since 1956. Special thanks to Dorinda Wills for her background photo "Flowering Pear Tree"!

2023 Tacoma Photographic Society
Annual Spring Fair Photo Competition - 20th Anniversary
April 13-16 & 20-23, 2023

Walk Through The Photo Exhibit With One Of The Judges

Learn all about what the judges look for in award-winning photos. The judges will critique several of the photos entered into the contest and will answer your questions. If time allows, they will be happy to give you advice about your photo.

Location:  Photo Salon on the 2nd floor of the Showplex Building. No appointment is required!

Special thanks to Dorinda Wills for her background photo "Tulips"!

 Spring Fair Competition Judges' Biographies

Alan Caddey - Walk with the Judges April 23, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Alan Caddey is an international award-winning photographer.  Alan judges international and local competitions, presents programs, teaches, and leads workshops. His photographs are in numerous permanent collections and have appeared in brochures, galleries, books, calendars, and magazines.

Ray Pfortner - Walk with Judges April 16, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Ray has worked in photography for over 20 years - as an educator, agent, editor, and photographer.  He teaches to all ages for the University of Washington, Bellevue College's Tombolo Institute, Bellevue Botanical Garden, and the Seattle Public Library among others.  He is a Fellow of the North American Nature Photography Association and his photography, which is most often used to support conservation and environmental issues, is represented by Getty Images.  Ray’s passion for photography is exceeded only by his passion for teaching and sharing his photography to make a difference.

Eric Bastin - Walk with the Judges April 22, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Eric’s entire career has been in the photography industry.   Eric studied as a professional photographer and laboratory technician.  He worked in studios for the first part of his career.  Eric is the past president of PCPPA and transitioned to photo equipment sales in the early 90s. In 2007 he became a manufacturer rep and currently works with PRO Distribution working with all camera stores west of the Rockies. He has been involved with the Northwest International Exhibition of Photography at the Washington State fair since 1983 and became Superintendent of the exhibition in 2007.

Tod Wolf - Walk with the Judges April 14, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Tod Wolf’s art origins are in technical theatre. This included lighting and design, which ultimately led to video and photos. While working in the camera equipment business, he took on the task of photo instruction and coaching. Now, with great pleasure, Wolf is able to see the results of boosting the enthusiasm and skills of others on a regular basis in the fine art printing business. Judging photography for various youth organizations, school groups, and ultimately regional competitions has brought all this experience full circle.

TPS Annual Division Competition & Awards Ceremony

Saturday, May 20, 2023

The TPS Annual Division Competition and Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2023 from 1 pm to 4:30 pm at the Emerald Queen Casino to recognize outstanding TPS photographs and member achievements. Light refreshments will be served. Members may bring one guest each. Please RSVP by Sunday, May 7 to Debbie Koslowski and indicate if you will be bringing a guest.  This event is free to members and their guests. This event is not open to the public.

Address: 2920 East R Street, Tacoma, WA 98404

Please review the March 2nd email sent to all members…but here are the main points:

Eligible Images:

Any photographs previously submitted in DIVISION/OPEN competitions (no Theme images allowed) from the following competition years:

• May 2019 to April 2020 - A Scorecard/Excel report has been emailed to all members
• May 2020 to April 2021 - This competition year's images will not be allowed in the 2023 multi-year Annual Division Competition.
  
• May 2021 to April 2022 - A Scorecard/Excel report has been emailed to all members
• May 2022 to April 2023 - No Scorecard/Excel report will be emailed to you - check your records, the website competition results, your private Image History and Image Library.
  

If you did not receive a Scorecard/Excel Report for two of the competition years listed above, contact Dick Knudson through the website email system. 

Your images do not have to have won a Popular Vote Award/Placement in order to be eligible for entry to the Multi-year Annual Divison Competition scheduled to be held in May or June of 2023 (dates are being negotiated at this time).

Images from the competition year of May 2020 to April 2021 are not eligible to be submitted to this multi-year Division Competition due to the fact that the majority of them were not judged during COVID.  Those images may be re-submitted into any future monthly competitions without substantial changes. The May 2020 to April 2021 competition year is the only exception to the otherwise strict re-submit rule.

Check your email for reports on the first two years; however, it is your responsibility to review your entries for May 2022-April 2023.  See My Account > My Image History or My Account > My Image Library if you registered your images online.  A list of the Print Competition images will be emailed to each member for May 2022-April 2023.

Submissions

• Maximum 15 digital images for the digital competition and 15 photographs for the print competition per person.
• All entries (print and digital) must be submitted online.
• If you need assistance, we are happy to help!
• Use the original title combined with the original month and year it was submitted.
• For example: Bird Bath - September 2021.
  
• No watermarks or identifying information on the image.
• Entries originally entered into Projection must stay in Projection; likewise, for Prints.
• The same image size and file format we use at the Monthly Print and Projection Competitions applies to the Annual Division Competition for digital images:  1920 px wide X 1080, px high in JPEG, sRGB & no larger than 16” x 20” including the mat for Print and no smaller than 8" x 10". 

Deadlines:

• Digital images must be entered online by Saturday, April 8.

• Print images (photograph and required info) must be registered online by Sunday, April 23.
  
  Please Note: Besides submitting print images online, the physical prints are due by Thursday, April 20 at the Print meeting unless they are being exhibited at the TPS Annual Spring Fair Competition. You are responsible for notifying the Awards Committee and Print Chair, Bruce Severeid if those prints are to be included in the Annual Division Competition.

All Prints must have a label on the back stating:

• Original Title, including the Month and Year it was originally submitted 
• Photographer’s First & Last Name
• Arrow indicating which way is up.  

Please note:  We use outside judges for this competition.  If your image did not win a placement in a past Print or Projection competition, that does NOT mean you won’t do well at the Annual Division Competition.  Different judges like different subjects and choose different images.

For more info, click here and watch your email for updates!

Lakeshore Gallery Exhibit of NWCCC Prints - Call For Art

The NWCCC Board has approved club participation in a Lakeshore Gallery Exhibit of juried NWCCC prints.  TPS needs to provide NWCCC with a list of members who plan to participate in this event.  Participants must be a TPS member and have captured the image.  Participants will initially enter digital images of up to 3 prints which, if selected by a jury, will then submit their framed prints.  There is no entry fee.

March 14:  If you would like your prints to be considered for this gallery exhibit, please send Maggie Tieger your name, email, how many prints (up to 3 max), and phone number.

April 12: Submission of digital images for jury consideration.  The digital submission may be a photo of your framed work or a digital image of the captured image.

April 26:  Notification of accepted art. If enough people show interest, NWCCC will consider holding a workshop on how to cut, mount, and frame prints inexpensively in time to support this event.

June 4:  Art drop.  Images that you may have already framed, with or without glass are acceptable but they MUST have wire hangers.  They can be for sale or not for sale.

June 4-October 1: Exhibit

Location: The Lakeshore, 11448 Rainier Ave S. Seattle, WA 98178

April 5, 2023 Projection Competition (Zoom only) - April's Theme Is "Minimalism"

Meetings are open to the public; however, you must be a club member to compete in all monthly print and projection competitions.

In an effort to accommodate everyone's individual needs, the TPS Projection Team has put considerable effort into creating new Hybrid meeting options. We are pleased to offer two ways to attend the  Projection Competition meetings--either in person or via zoom! The Zoom link will be emailed to everyone prior to the meeting date.  We are looking forward to seeing all of you in person!

Submit Images - Saturday, March 18 at 12 am - Saturday, March 25 until 11:59 pm

Judging & Voting - Sunday, March 26 -  Saturday, April 1 until 11:59 pm

Review Meeting - The April 5 meeting will NOT be an in-person meeting.  This will be a Zoom meeting only.

Location - Curtis High School - 8425 40th Street, University Place, WA 98466   Google Map

Submission Requirements:

• Export/Save your images in JPEG, sRGB, 80% quality, no larger than 1920 px wide x 1080 px high, and a 1.5 MB file size limit
• Submit your mages on this website at: Competitions > Submit Images For Print or Projection  OR  click here
• Please use initial caps on your image titles and use proper word spacing.  Please check your spelling! The public will see your mistakes which we can't correct for you.
  
• DO NOT include your name, the word "copy", or numbers in the image titles.  The automated features of the website will automatically insert your name into the proper place.
• Your images will be placed into your private Image Library for future reference and use! You will also be able to read all of the helpful critiques from our members.
  

Winning images will be placed in the Home Page slideshow with permission of the owner.  If you do NOT want your images placed in the slideshow, please contact Cheryl Thielhorn through the website email message system.  For more projection information and competition rules, click here.

If you are not a member of the TPS and would like to start competing in Print & Projection Competitions, join the TPS by clicking here.

April 20, 2023 Print Competition - April's Theme Is "Minimalism"

Meetings are open to the public; however, you must be a club member to compete in monthly print and projection competitions.

Submit Images - Tuesday, April 11. Please submit your images online prior to the meeting.  This speeds up the meeting and creates less work for all of our volunteers.

Judge & Vote - Judging and Popular Voting are done in person at the meeting.

Review Meeting - Thursday, April 20 - The meeting is from 7-9 pm with a social time, judging, voting, and an image review with optional critiques.

Location - Waller Road Grange, 2708 East 64th Street, Tacoma  Google map

Submission Requirements:

• Commercially made color prints shall be accepted in the Print Division competition.
• As stated in the Bylaws, Print Division entries shall be a minimum of 35 sq. in. (e.g., 5″ x 7″) not including mounting. Maximum combined print and mount size shall be no larger than 320 sq. in. (e.g., 16″ x 20″).
• Submit your mages on this website at: Competitions > Submit Images For Print or Projection  OR  click here.
• Please use initial caps on your image titles and use proper word spacing. Please check your spelling! The public will see your mistakes which we can't correct for you.
  
• DO NOT include your name, the word "copy", or numbers in the image titles.  The automated features of the website will automatically insert your name into the proper place.
• Your images will be placed into your private Image Library for future reference and use! You will also be able to read all of the helpful critiques from our members.
  
  

If you are not a member of the TPS and would like to start competing in Print & Projection Competitions, join the TPS by clicking here.

Copyright © 2022 Tacoma Photographic Society

All photos on this website are the property of club members and are copy-protected. By law, they can NOT be copied, saved, reproduced, distributed, or shared in any form or for any reason without written permission from the photographer who created the image.  Photography is protected under the same copyright laws as fine art, books, poetry, and music.

The Tacoma Photography Society is a proud member of these two exceptional photography organizations.

The TPS extends our sincere thanks to these local companies for helping us make our TPS Annual Spring Fair Photo Competition (displayed at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup each April) a great success for us, and especially for all of the PNW photographer entrants!