Hidden Earth
National Caving Conference

BCRA Photographic Competition 2008

The information on this web page is only a summary of the rules and guidelines. You are advised to download an entry form, which contains a fuller description of the competition.

In 2007 we introduced some changes, as follows...

The maximum number of entries in the Mono Print, Colour Print and Projections categories has been increased from five to seven per person.
There is a new category for 2007: The Mike Moore prize for the best mining photo. This now means we have two "sponsored categories", Mike Moore and Speleo Technics.
The Cave Life category will now be judged separately to the main competition, alongside the other "special categories" of Mike Moore, Speleo Technics, and Fun Shot. Each of these categories has a maximum of three entries per person.

The changes mean...

People can enter the Premier Trophy competition with a portfolio of five prints and will be able to enter a further nine prints in the main competition (provided the limit of 7 colour and 7 mono is not exceeded).
People can enter the main competition with up to 14 prints and still enter a further three in the Cave Life competition if they so wish. However, they cannot have their Cave Life entries judged in the main competition unless they specifically double-enter them.

	List of Competitions	A summary of the Hidden Earth competitions, with links to further information.
	BCRA Photographic Competition 2008	A brief introduction to the Photo Salon
	Photo Salon Special Prizes	Information about this year's special prizes, which include the Mike Moore prize for the best mining photo and the Speleo Technics prize for the best photo of a speleo Technics product in use
	Competition Entry Forms	Here you can download an entry form for the Photo Salon, as well as all the detailed rules and guidelines

The British Cave Research Association invites photographers from the UK and over-seas to enter its annual Photographic 'Salon' and Competition. The event will be part of the annual caving conference - Hidden Earth. The purpose of the competition is to encourage both new and experienced cave photographers. The photographs will be judged on their technical, artistic and aesthetic qualities, and BCRA hopes that photographs covering all aspects of caving will be submitted.

Digital Showcase

We want the Photo Salon to live up to its description of being a 'salon' where you can display your work. Consequently, the photo salon features a 'digital showcase' section. Your images will be displayed in sequence on a monitor in the exhibition area. The work will not be included in the competition, but images entered into the usual competition categories can also be submitted to the showcase.

Guidelines for Digital Showcase. Images in the slideshow will be shown in alpha-numeric order of file name so you can take advantage of this to provide a title image. The title file-name just needs to come before the picture file-names, and all files should use a common prefix to avoid other photographers' files coming in between (e.g. call your files smith001.jpg, smith002.jpg;, with the title image as, say, smith000.jpg). The application we will be using supports all common image formats, so title slides could be GIF, TIFF or BMP format if needed. They just need to meet the resolution and file size limits that we specify for performance reasons, which are 1280 ´ 1024 and 2MB. It you want your name or any other information to be shown with individual images then please make it part of the image itself. We'd rather not display a separate title slide for each image or the slideshow would get rather tedious.

Competition Categories

The competition categories and a list of other prizes awarded at the conference is given below.

Standard Categories

Premier Trophy
A portfolio of five prints in colour or black & white. One entry per person. One prize. All non-winning entries in this category will be entered in the appropriate print category below, which must not cause the specified number of entries per person to be exceeded.
Colour Print, Monochrome Print, Projected Image
Up to seven entries per person in each of these three categories, (including any entries transferred from the Premier Trophy above). One 'first prize' in each category, plus a number of 'distinction' and 'merit' prizes. Monochrome Prints: Sepia and other toned monochrome prints are acceptable in this category. Projected Images: 35mm transparency or digital files. Further information, including file formats is given on the Entry Form.

Special Categories

The following prizes are also awarded at the caving conference. Other Prizes may be awarded too; the judges will consider all work that is submitted. You are advised to read the guidelines for these categories, which are part of the Entry Form

British Newcomer
Awarded to a British Isles 'newcomer'. Winner chosen from the entries in the above-listed competition categories. One prize.
Cave Life
Each cave life picture should be accompanied by a written description of its location and the environmental conditions where the specimen was found, together with the name of the species and any behaviour being exhibited. This documentation will form part of the entry. Up to three entries per person. One prize. Entries also eligible for distinction' and 'merit' awards. See Photo Salon Special Prizes.
Fun Shot
A single or short sequence of projections (see 'file formats') with caption(s). Judged by the 'laughometer' at the conference closing ceremony! Up to three entries per person. One prize. Entries also eligible for distinction' and 'merit' awards.
Moore Books prize for best mining photo
Sponsored by Mike Moore Books moorebooks.co.uk; a £100 voucher for mining books for the best colour or monochrome print with a mining or man-made underground theme. (£20 of mining books for runner up). As well as mining in the strictest sense, this includes quarrying and other man-made tunnelling activities. Up to three entries per person. One prize. Entries also eligible for distinction' and 'merit' awards. See Photo Salon Special Prizes.
Speleo Technics Prize
Sponsored by Speleo Technics www.speleo.co.uk, manufacturers of high-performance caving lamps and chargers; a single cash prize of £100 for the best colour photo (print, transparency or digital file) of a SpeleoTechnics product in use. The sponsor may use the winning entry for advertising purposes. Up to three entries per person. One prize. Entries also eligible for distinction' and 'merit' awards. See Photo Salon Special Prizes.
Giles Barker Award
This annual award is given jointly by Morgannwg CC and Red Rose CPC in recognition of excellence in any aspect of cave photography.

Competition Rules

Eligibility. Anyone may enter the competition, whether or not they are a member of BCRA. Winning entries from previous BCRA photographic competitions may not be entered. Entries cannot be released for lectures.
Judging will be by a panel of three judges, independent of BCRA, whose decisions are final. BCRA reserves the right not to award a prize if, in the opinion of the judges, the entries in any particular category are too few to constitute a proper competition.
Borders and Frame Size. The maximum dimensions of the mount/frame that we can accept without prior arrangement are 400mm x 500mm. Because of space restrictions, we cannot guarantee to accept work that exceeds those dimensions and, if you wish to submit oversize work, it is a condition of entry that you contact us in advance to enquire about its acceptability.
File Formats. Digital files must be submitted in JPG or TIF formats on a PC-compatible CD-ROM and should be less than 2MB in size. File names and discs must adequately identify the entrant. (See guidelines below). BCRA cannot accept any responsibility for discs that are unlabelled or unreadable by our computer.
Copyright & Reproduction. The copyright of all entries will remain with the authors. Entries may be copied for display at the closing ceremony; and digital files may be copied for display during the weekend. No further use will be made of any copies without permission, although BCRA encourages entrants to allow their photos to be published in Speleology. No rights will be conceded to sponsors or other parties without permission of the entrants. The winner of the Speleo Technics prize will be expected to make suitable arrangements with the sponsor (see guidelines below).
Loss, Damage & Insurance. Every care will be taken of the entries, but BCRA cannot accept responsibility for any damage or loss. The organisers will not be insuring the photographs and, if required, entrants should make their own arrangements.

How to Enter

You can enter in advance or on the day. If entering in advance, entry forms - accompanied by your work - should be sent to the address below, at least a week before the conference. Entries on the day should be delivered to the exhibition area by midday on the Saturday of the conference. They will be available for collection after completion of the awards ceremony on the Sunday afternoon. If you are not attending the conference you may send your work by post at your own risk and cost. If you want your work to be returned by post you must provide sufficient postage, packing material and customs charges.

For 2008, send competition entries in advance to David Gibson, 12 Well House Drive, LEEDS, LS8 4BX. competitions[at]hidden-earth.... If you are reading this form in subsequent years please check with the organisers for the address of the competition co-ordinator and any other changes to the rules.

The Entry form, which includes additional information and guidelines, is available as a PDF download, here. In the event that you are unable to download this form, please contact us and ask for a printed version to be sent to you.

Entry Form

Back to Competitions Summary Page