I know this is me being really pedantic but I have had to clarify the rules in the recently announced RHS Garden Photography Competition. One of the first things I do when considering whether to enter a competition is to paw over the rules. In this case it was Rule 11 that I felt the need to clarify what was meant:
Rule 11: Digital prints must be clearly marked as such on the reverse...now I think you mean any print created from a digital file using a computer and printer. Does this include film images that have been scanned into a computer and then printed?
Rule 11: ...if any digital enhancement techniques have been used they must be declared. What does this mean? Does it mean that I have to declare on each print that I have corrected the colour in an image and removed any blemishes that might appear on the sensor of the camera? Or does it mean that I only have to declare if a I manipulated an image if I have cloned out/removed items from the photograph? Also what if I have only cropped the image - does this need to be added to the any declaration?
Now I think I know what they are after - if you have corrected the image with software, such as Photoshop, it needs to be declared. However, I feel the wording is rather woolly and clearly open to misinterpretation. And what about the category for 'abstract' which as their website says '...is open to interpretation...'.
It really can be a minefield setting rules for competition - especially know that the digital genie is out of the bottle. However, many of the techniques that can be done with Photoshop can be done in a darkroom. It is just easier to do with Photoshop.
My I am a pedant!
Simon Marchini LRPS
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@simonmarchini
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