This competition is available free of charge to all clubs belonging to PSA. Shirley Bormann is the Grand Photos Coordinator. There are three competitions annually. Each new competition year starts November 15, with the remaining competitions February 15 and April 15. For each competition, each club is encouraged to submit 6 different images from 6 different photographers depicting Photo Travel from any geographical area. Participants submit two 1400x1050 pixel photo travel images by email to the club coordinator at Shirley Bormann several weeks before the competition due date. Those participants or interested individuals will be asked to narrow down the images from each photographer to one image and they are voted on to choose the top six images to represent Grand Photos. When they are judged, they are awarded points which are cumulative for the club for the season and the winners are announced afterward.
The date when images need to be submitted to will be announced, generally two weeks before the submission due date of the 15th. Please contact the PSA Travel Competition Coordinator above if you have any questions.
2022/2023 Photo Travel Division Definition:
A Photo Travel image is a portrayal of the real world we live in, as it is found naturally. There are no geographic limitations.
Content guidance:
- If the image is predominantly or exclusively a land-, sea- or cityscape, these “scapes” must include characteristic, distinctive and recognizable physical features, although it is not necessary that the image identify the exact location;
- Images that predominantly or exclusively depict people and their activities must illustrate a distinctive culture of a country, region, or continent;
- Images that predominately or exclusively depict animal populations are allowed, if the animals are in their native environment and are characteristic of that country, region, or continent;
- Portraits or other close-ups of people or objects, in addition to meeting the above paragraphs as applicable, must include elements depicting some of the surrounding environment to make it obvious that the image was not taken in a studio setting;
- Images from events or activities arranged for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography, are NOT allowed.
- Time exposures are allowed, if they do not dominate the image as a special effect (star trails, for example, are a dominating effect).
- Highly distorted images such as those produced by fish eye lenses are NOT allowed.
Editing guidance:
Processing or editing must be limited to making the image look as close to the original scene as possible, except that conversion to grayscale monochrome is allowed.
Allowed editing techniques:
- Cropping, straightening and perspective correction.
- Removal or correction of elements added by the camera or lens, such as dust spots, noise, chromatic aberration and lens distortion.
- Global and selective adjustments such as brightness, hue, saturation and contrast to restore the appearance of the original scene.
- Complete conversion of color images to grayscale monochrome.
- Blending of multiple images of the same subject and combining them in camera or with software (exposure blending or focus stacking);
- Image stitching – combining multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively (panoramas)
Editing techniques that are not allowed:
- Removing, adding to, moving or changing any part of an image, except for cropping and straightening.
- Adding a vignette during processing.
- Blurring parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
- Darkening parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
- All conversions other than to complete grayscale monochrome.
- Conversion of parts of an image to monochrome, or partial toning, desaturation or over-saturation of color.