WELCOME TO THE TACOMA PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY!

We focus on promoting fellowship among our members, improving our skills, and stimulating interest in all branches of photography.

  • Learn from experienced photographers and meet new friends!
  • Enjoy Photography outings, guest speakers, & presentations.
  • Improve your skills through the club's educational website pages!
  • Take your photography skills to the next level with optional camera settings, capturing, and editing suggestions/critiques.
  • Monthly print and projection competitions in-person & on Zoom.
  • Participate in PSA and NWCCC interclub & individual competitions.
  • Meetings are open to the public. All ages & skills are welcome!
  • TPS Annual Spring Fair Print Photo Contest open to PNW photographers.
  • TPS Annual Division Competition & Award Banquet--members only.

To join TPS or read more about a membership click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



To
see more competition results, log in and go to Competitions > Competition Results or click here.   A special "Thank You" to Ralph Reed, Bud Harris, Kristina Allums, Dawn Umstot, and Bruce Benson for contributing their photos to the top header of our website pages.

 



 2023 - 2024 Annual Division Competition Results

The Tacoma Photographic Society traditionally holds an Annual Division Competition and Awards Ceremony to recognize outstanding photographs and member accomplishments during the competition year. The competition consists of both projected/digital photos and printed photos that were submitted to the club's monthly projection or print photo competitions throughout the competition year of May 2023-June 2024. A panel of at least three judges is selected by the Awards Committee, none of whom may be TPS members. Outside judges are used so you can see what non-TPS members think about your photographs.  Photographer names and photo titles are not revealed. A special thanks to our Guest Judges this year:   Eric Bastin, Erwin Buske, Victor Dallons, Alan Moodie, and Tod Wolf. We appreciate the time and effort you put into our competition.

Please congratulate the following members for the placement award(s) they received:

 

  Projected/Digital Photos - Group A
Best Of Show
Russell Whittemore
Mt. Shasta Alpenglow
First Place
Ralph Reed
Mushrooms
Second Place
Maggie Tieger
Cape Buffalo Filling Up
Third Place
Kristina Allums
Anemone
Honorable Mention
Maggie Tieger
Quiet Time
Honorable Mention
Maggie Tieger
Eyelash Pit Viper
Honorable Mention
Russell Whittemore
Ebb Tide
Honorable Mention
Ralph Reed
Lower Spokane Falls At Night
Honorable Mention
Judi Kubes
Cool Sunset
Honorable Mention
Ralph Reed
Fur Bee
Outstanding Contemporary
Russell Whittemore
Assimilation
Outstanding Photo Journalism
Joe Tieger
Early Learning
Outstanding Use Of Tonal Contrast Or Color
Russell Whittemore
The Great Red Wall
Outstanding Landscape
Russell Whittemore
Mt. Shasta Alpenglow
Outstanding Creative
Judi Kubes
Rejoice For The Sunrise
Outstanding Nature
Ralph Reed
Rufous Hummingbird
Outstanding Floral
Kristina Allums
Anemone
Outstanding Wildlife
Ralph Reed
Fur-Bee
Judges' Choice
Joe Tieger
Hanging On
Judges' Choice
Russell Whittemore
Cannon Beach
Judges' Choice
Kristina Allums
Make A Wish B&W
Judges' Choice
Cheryl Thielhorn
Icicles
Judges' Choice
Judi Kubes
Rejoice For The Sunrise



 Projected/Digital Photos - Group B
First Place
Dawn Umstot
Spring Fling May - 2023
Second Place
Sal Ahmed
The Beauty And The Beast
Third Place
Julia Bradley
Look Up!
Honorable Mention
Cynthia Brandt
Yucca vs God
Honorable Mention
Maria DeKoker
Saw Blades
Honorable Mention
Cynthia Brandt
Solitude 2
Honorable Mention
Maria DeKoker
Music In The Dark
Honorable Mention
Dorinda Wills
Overhead View
Honorable Mention
Sal Ahmed
Anna Juvenile
Outstanding Foral
Dorinda Wills
Compassion
Outstanding Wildlife
Sal Ahmed
The Beauty And The Beast
Outstanding Landscape
Dick Knudson
Fallow Field And Woods
Outstanding Birds
Sal Ahmed
Anna Juvenile
Outstanding Portrait
Dawn Umstot
Oliver May - 2024
Outstanding Use Of Tonal Contrast Or Color
Julia Bradley
Slant On The Great Wheel
Outstanding Creative
Dawn Umstot
Spring Fling May - 2023
Outstanding Contemporary
Dorinda Wills
Overhead View
Judges' Choice
Cynthia Brandt
Handshake 2
Judges' Choice
Dawn Umstot
Hot Rod
Judges' Choice
Julia Bradley
Sun, Glass, And Stone
Judges' Choice
Dorinda Wills
Bomber 7788
Judges' Choice
Maria DeKoker
Jelly Fish


Print Photos
Best Of Show
Doug Hall
Tiniteqilaaq, Tiilerilaaw East Greenland
First Place
Maria DeKoker
Women's Restroom Ritzville
Second Place
Richard (Charles) Price
Forest Flowers
Third Place
Dorinda Wills
Bee Happy
Honorable Mention
William Harris
Dark Slot - 1
Honorable Mention
Maria DeKoker
Prairie Dog
Honorable Mention
William (Bud) Harris
Arizona Sunrise
Honorable Mention
Richard Thomas
At Georgetown
Honorable Mention
Maria DeKoker
Railway Car
Honorable Mention
Bruce Severeid
A Master At Work
Outstanding Creative
Maria DeKoker
Women's Restroom Ritzville
Outstanding Landscape
Richard (Charles) Price
Forest Flowers
Outstanding Wildlife
Maria DeKoker
Prairie Dog
Outstanding Birds
Bruce Severeid
Go Get Your Own Fish!
Outstanding Floral
Richard (Charles) Price
Leaves
Outstanding Monochrome
Doug Hall
Dreams Of The Past
Judges' Choice
William (Bud) Harris
Close Race
Judges' Choice
Richard (Charles) Price
Boat Dock
Judges' Choice
Richard (Charles) Price
Shadow
Judges' Choice
Russell Wittemore
Storm At Cape Arago

 

 


 Eric Bastin, Tod Wolf, Maria DeKoker, Richard Price, Doug Hall, Bill Jacobs, Maggie Tieger, Joe Tieger, Gordon Swetland, and Bruce Severeid 


 

          Digital Winners
         Groups A & B

          Print Winners
 
 

 

 

 

2024-2025 Field Trips
DATE
LOCATION
ORGANIZER
Postponed - TBA
Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle
Douglas Hall
October 6, 2024
Steilacoom 48th Annual Apple Squeeze Tedd Wilkinson
October 10, 2024
Mt. Rainier National Park Bruce Severeid
October 19, 2024
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
Tedd Wilkinson
October 28, 2024
Kubota Gardens in Seattle
Judi Kubes
November 12, 2024
Seattle Public Library
Rebecca Blackwell
November 22, 2024
Postponed - TBA
Tacoma Stadium District - Ride the T-Line Light Rail from the Tacoma Dome
Transit Station to the Tacoma Stadium District (free parking in the Park & Ride lot)

Rebecca Blackwell &
Julie Bradley

December 2, 2024
Postponed TBA
LeMay America's Car Museum in Tacoma
Maggie Tieger
December 6, 2024 and
December 13, 2024
Polson #70, a 100-year-old logging steam engine in Elb, WA (daytime & nighttime photography)
Gordon Swetland
December 17, 2024
Point Defiance Park Lights
Judi Kubes
January 7, 2025
Museum of Flight in Seattle
Douglas Hall
January 26-28, 2025
Olympic Coast - Beaches or Forests
Judi Kubes
More details will be sent to all members through the website email message system closer to the trip dates.  Dates are subject to change because of the weather and other factors. Don't miss out on the fun!  We look forward to having everyone attend!  Feel free to bring a guest(s)!  Don't forget to post your photos to the website Gallery page and to the TPS facebook page too at:  https://www.facebook.com/tacomaphoto


 

 

2024 Competition Dates And Theme Assignments

Monthly Themes are chosen to encourage people to explore outside of their comfort zone and try photographing something different.  They stimulate your imagination, creativity, and resourcefulness. They encourage you to look around and pay more attention to something you might not consider photographing.  It takes just a little effort to look for these specific subjects which, surprisingly, can be fun and interesting.  Some clubs call it a “Club Challenge”.  Are you up to these monthly challenges? Don’t just search through your image library for something that will make do.  Go out, explore, try something new, and have fun!

The more accurately the main subject in your photograph expresses the theme, while achieving high-quality photographic and technical standards, the more likely your photo will receive higher judges' scores. The Theme subject must be the main subject of interest.

Projection Meeting Dates
 Themes Print Meeting Dates
Wednesday, December 4
Still Life  Thursday, December 19
Thursday, January 9
Contrast/Opposites Thursday, January 23
Wednesday, February 5
Creative
Thursday, February 20
Wednesday, March 5
Macro or Tiny
Thursday, March 20
Wednesday, April 2
A Day In The Life
Thursday, April 17
Wednesday, May 7
Faceless Portraits
Thursday, May 15
Wednesday, June 4
Movement
Thursday, June 19
Starting with the September 2024 monthly competitions, Theme images will now be eligible to be entered into the Annual Division Competition in the Fall 2025.  Please note, the 10-month competition year has changed to September 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. We take the months of July and August off so our members may spend the summer enjoying photography.

   

 

 

 

Thursday, January 9 Projection Competition - January's Theme Is "Contrast/Opposites"

Please note the change in the day of the week from Wednesday to Thursday due to the holidays.  Meetings are open to the public on the first Wednesday of the month; however, you must be a club member to compete in monthly and annual print and projection competitions.

We are pleased to offer TWO ways to attend the monthly Projection Competition meetings--either in person or via Zoom! The Zoom link will be emailed to everyone before the meeting date and will be posted on the Calendar and this webpage. 

Starting with the September 2024 monthly competitions, Theme images will now be eligible to be entered into the Annual Division Competition to be held in the Fall of 2025.  Please note, the current competition year has changed to September 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.

Submit Images - Thursday, January 2 through Monday, January 6 at 11:30 pm

Judging & Voting - Tuesday, December 31 until Saturday, January 4 at 9 pm.

Review Meeting - Thursday, January 9 - The image review meeting will be held in-person with social time and optional critiques starting at 6:30-9 pm as well as, through Zoom with this link: TBA

Meeting Location - Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street, University Place, WA  98466.  Google map

Directions:  Turn into the small parking lot (by the reader board sign and the big rock).  There are also flagpoles by the main entrance.  Go to the outside door marked "Staff Development Room".

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 images on the website at:  Competitions > Submit Images For Print or Projection  OR  click here   
  • Please capitalize each word in your image titles & check your spelling.  The public will see your mistakes and we can’t correct them for you. 
  • DO NOT include your name or the file name in the photo titles.  The automated features of this new website will automatically insert your name into the proper place.
  • DO NOT include "For Comment" or "Not For Comment" in the title of your photos. The website will keep track of the options you choose.

Your images will be automatically placed into your private Image Library for future reference and use including submitting them to the Annual Division Competition, and PSA competitions! You will also be able to read all the helpful, educational 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 winning photos included in the slideshow, please contact Cheryl Thielhorn through the website email message system.  For more projection information and competition rules, click here.

Some Rules to Keep In Mind:

  • You may submit a photo only once to either a Projection Competition or to a Print Competition--not to both competitions. If you make substantial changes, you must re-submit the photo to the same competition it was submitted to the first time.  You can't submit a photo to a Projection Competition, make substantial changes, and then submit it to a Print Competition, and vice versa. No crossing over from one competition to the other. This applies to both the Open (subject) competitions and the Theme (specific subject) competitions.  Check your Image Library or Image History so you don't accidentally re-submit images: Membership > My Account > My Image History or My Image Library.  You will see all of the photos you have submitted to all competitions since September 2022.
  • The TPS is a club member of PSA; however, we do NOT compete according to PSA rules such as no signs of "hand of man" in Nature/wildlife photos.  You are allowed/expected to remove distracting objects from nature/wildlife photos. It's your choice to delete distracting objects in Photojournalism photos or not (sports, events, rodeos, etc.).

If you are not a member of the TPS and would like to start competing in Print and Projection Competitions, join the TPS by clicking here.  We hope to see your photos in our competitions and meet you at our two Projection and Print meetings.

 

 

 

December 19, 2024 Print Competition - December's Theme Is "Still Life"

Meetings are open to the public on the third Thursday of the month; however, you must be a club member to compete in monthly and annual print and projection competitions.

Starting with the September 2024 monthly competitions, Theme images will now be eligible to be entered into the Annual Division Competition to be held in the Fall of 2025.  Please note, the current competition year has changed to September 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.

Submit Images - Sunday, December 15 at 12 am until Wednesday, December 18 at 11:30 pm - You must submit your images online before the meetingPlease note that we no longer accept walk-in print registrations on the night of the meeting.  Therefore, please make sure you have pre-registered your prints on the website with a digital image of your print, before the cut-off date/time.  This change will allow the meeting to proceed on time, make the scorekeeping a smooth process, and creates less work for all of our volunteers.  Plus your photos will be stored in your private Image Library for future reference and use including submitting them to the Annual Division Competition, and PSA competitions.  Yes, our website is connected to the PSA organization!

Judge & Vote - Judging and voting are done in person at the review meeting.

Review Meeting - Thursday, December 19 - The meeting is at 6:30 pm to 9 pm with judging, voting, photo review, and optional critiques.  These meetings are in-person only (no Zoom meetings).

Location - Waller Road Grange, 2708 64th Street East, 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 square inches (e.g., 5″ x 7″) not including mounting. Maximum combined print and mount size shall be no larger than 320 square inches (e.g., 16″ x 20″).
  • Submit your images on the website: Competitions > Submit Images For Print or Projection  OR  click here.
  • Please capitalize each word in your image titles and use proper word spacing. Please check your spelling! Everyone 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.
  • DO NOT include "For Comment" or "Not For Comment" in the title of your photos. The website will keep track of the options you choose.

Award-winning photos will be placed in the Home Page slideshow.  If you do NOT want your photos included in the slideshow, please contact Cheryl Thielhorn through the website email message system.  For more print information and competition rules, click here.

Some Rules to Keep In Mind:

  • You may submit a photo only once to either a Projection Competition or to a Print Competition--not to both competitions. If you make substantial changes, you must re-submit the photo to the same competition it was submitted to the first time.  You can't submit a photo to a Projection Competition, make substantial changes, and then submit it to a Print Competition, and vice versa. No crossing over from one competition to the other. This applies to both the Open (subject) competitions and the Theme (specific subject) competitions.  Check your Image Library or Image History so you don't accidentally re-submit images: Membership > My Account > My Image History or My Image Library.  You will see all of the photos you have submitted to all competitions since September 2022.
  • The TPS is a club member of PSA; however, we do NOT compete according to PSA rules such as no signs of "hand of man" in Nature/wildlife photos.  You are allowed/expected to remove distracting objects from nature/wildlife photos. It's your choice to delete distracting objects in Photojournalism photos (sports, events, rodeos, etc.) or not.


If you are not a member of the TPS and would like to start competing in Print and Projection Competitions, join the TPS by clicking here.  We hope to see your photos in our competitions and meet you at our two Projection and Print meetings.

 


The Tacoma Photographic Society is proud to be a member of these two fine organizations:

 

   

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

           
 

Copyright © 2024 Tacoma Photographic Society - Pierce County, Washington

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

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