EMERALD 2025

ORGANIZERS

Photo Club EMERALD, Sligo, Ireland

CONTACTS

a.         Chair:                                         Aleksandar Sasic

                                                              F91HH33, Sligo

b.         Exhibition Email address:         office@photoclubemerald.com

c.          Website:                                   https://photoclubemerald.com

d.         Location of Entry Form: Authors must fill out an online entry form

                                                             https://photoclubemerald.com

SECTIONS

- There are 5  sections, all digital:

A)                  OPEN COLOR (color only) PID-C  

B)                  WOMAN (color only) PID-C  

C)                  LANDSCAPE (color only) PID-C  

D)                  OPEN MONOCHROME (monochrome only) PID-M

E)                  PORTRAIT MONOCHROME  (monochrome only) PID-M

ENTRY FEE

12 EUR for 1, 2 or 3 sections

18 EUR for 4 or all 5 sections

No Discounts

Possible ways of payment:

-       PayPal transfer (office@photoclubemerald.com) – Cash, Checks and IRC are not accepted.

-        the works of the authors who did not pay the fee will not be taken into consideration.

CALENDAR

Closing date:                                            15.05.2025

Judging:                                                      20.05.-12.06.2025.

Notification:                                                19.06.2025.

Awards mailed by:                                      11.08.2025.

On-Line Gallery posted by:                        15.06.2025.

On-line PDF Catalog posted by:                11.08.2025.

REPORT CARD NOTIFICATION

All participants will receive report card notification via e-mail.

The results of the exhibition will also be published on the website: www.photoclubemerald.com

EMAILS SPAM BLOCKING:

Confirmations of entry submittals and Report Cards will be sent to entrants. Please be sure that this email address gets included in your “safe” email addresses to assure receipt of these emails instead of having them blocked by your security system. Also check your Junk E-Mail or Spam folder to see if your email software placed any messages from the exhibition there.

JUDGES

Brian HOPPER EFIAP/d2, ARPS, FIPF, Ireland

Ian ENGLISH, EFIAP/d1, GMPSA, Australia

 PSA Rules for the Judging Process

• The exhibition will be conducted in accordance with the rules of the PSA.
• An entrant’s images will not be presented to the judges consecutively.
• An entrant’s four images will be distributed throughout four rounds of judging in that section.
• Distribution of images will be in the same round order as submitted by the entrant.
• At no stage will a judge be able to view all the entrant’s images together.

AWARDS

PSA Gold medal in each section (5 altogether)

SALON Gold, Silver, Bronze medals in each section (15 altogether)

+ 3 SALON e-honorable mention in each section download/print (15 altogether)

DPA Badge for the best Author 

Medals will be posted. E-awards will be downloadable from the exhibition website.

CATALOG

PDF Downloadable from web site by exhibitors on our web site: www.photoclubemerald.com 

DIGITAL ENTRIES

AUTHOR MUST FILL OUT ENTRY FORM AND SUBMIT PHOTOS ONLINE

Photos must be in in JPG file format, Max image width (horizontal) is 1920 pixels. Max. image height (vertical) is 1080 pixels.in 300 dpi. Compression 7-12, max 2Mb

ACCEPTANCES AND AWARDS

Judging Method

Remote judging of images will be with calibrated computer monitors (minimum 19 inches) or high definition TV screens at exactly 100% of the submitted pixel size (1920x1080 pixels).

Equipment will not resize any submitted images or change the aspect ratio of the original image to “Fit to screen” or to “Fill screen” by monitors or HDTV equipment.

Exhibitions are not allowed to resize images. In such cases the entrant is required to resubmit their entry with properly sized images.

Target Acceptance Range 

- The target acceptance rate will be no more than 30% in each section.

- No image may receive more than one individual award in a section, but in circuits an image may receive an award in different salon sections. Only one award can be given to an entrant in any one section.

- For sections with more than 230 images, no more than 10% of the acceptances can receive medals/awards.

EXHIBITION REQUIREMENTS

Image And Entry Requirements: This exhibition is open to anyone; however, an entry maybe rejected when the exhibition chair believes the entry does not conform to exhibition rules and these ES-COE. Membership in any photographic organization is not required.

 Neither awards nor acceptances will be granted to any entrant who is on the PSA Penalties List for Ethics Violation. Entry fees are not refundable in these circumstances.

 PSA Star Ratings: To receive proper star ratings credit from PSA, entrants must provide their names and country exactly the same way in each exhibition. Aliases are not permitted. Please contact PSA in the event of a name change or relocation to another country. Using one’s name differently in different exhibitions exposes the entrant to the risk that many of their acceptances may not be recognized in PSA Star records.

Reproduction: The entrant permits the sponsors to reproduce all or part of the entered material free of charge for publication and/or display in media related to the exhibition. This may include low resolution posting on a website. PSA may request specific permission from entrants to reproduce entered images in its educational materials. The terms of that permission will be mutually agreed upon between the entrant and PSA except in the circumstances where the entered image is found to breach the PSA Ethics Policy. In those circumstances, the image may be reproduced by PSA without the entrant’s further permission, for educational purposes, or to illustrate serious exhibition rule violations. For those reproductions, the entrant’s name will be withheld.

Entries will not be accepted from entrants who indicate that their images may not be reproduced in materials related to the exhibition. The exhibition assumes no liability of any misuse of copyright.

Re-use of accepted images: Any image that has been accepted in this exhibition, past or present, may not be entered again in the same division star ratings class in any future instances of this exhibition. It may, of course, be entered in any other PSA recognized exhibitions but must always have the same title. Re-titling in another language is not allowed.

Entry:

An entry consists of up to and including four (4) images entered by a single entrant into the same section. The same image can receive no more than a total of twenty (20) acceptances (per star path). Identical or similar Images shall not be allowed in the same section or different sections of the same exhibition as determined by the judges or exhibition chair. Similar images are those which are practically equivalent, as defined on this page: https://psa-services.org/pdf/Practical-Equivalence.pdf  When a group of similar images is uploaded by the entrant, all similar images in all sections will be disqualified. Be advised: while similar images may be entered in different exhibitions, these images and acceptances may be disallowed by the separate review process associated with applications for stars, diamonds and galaxies. To avoid disappointment, do not enter images that are practically equivalent.

Titles:

Each image must have a unique title that relates to the content of the image. That unique title must be used for entry of that image into any and all PSA-recognized exhibitions. Titles must be 35 characters or fewer. No titles may be visible to the judges, and nothing in the image may identify the entrant. Titles may not include file extensions such as .jpg or .jpeg (or any other camera capture file names such as IMG_xxxx). Titles may not consist of personal identifiers possibly augmented by a number; and may not include words such as “untitled” or “no title.” Titles may not consist solely of numbers unless those numbers are prominently contained within the image, such as a contestant number in a race. When entering titles, exhibitors may use Latin1 or Latin2 character sets (ISO-8859-1 or ISO-8859-2) which allow diacritical marks (é, ñ, ü, ą, ę, ś, etc). While text written in non-Latin writing systems (Hanzi, Cyrillic, Arabic, Devanagari, etc) might be accepted by exhibition software, this practice is discouraged because it may yield unpredictable results in galleries, catalogs and may be rejected in Star applications.

Color and Monochrome: Color and monochrome images from the same capture that share substantial pictorial content in common will be considered the same image and must be given the same title.

DATA PROTECTION

By entering this exhibition, you are explicitly consenting to the personal details you have supplied, including physical addresses and email addresses being held, processed and used by the exhibition chair for purposes associated with this exhibition. You also explicitly consent to such information being sent to organizations that have accorded official recognition, patronage or accreditation to this exhibition. You acknowledge, agree and accept that by entering this exhibition your participation status which includes your first and last name, name of the country used during registration at the exhibition, number of sections entered, and number of photos entered in those sections will be made public in a published status list, and that the results of your entry will be made public in the exhibition gallery and exhibition catalog. You also agree and accept the policy regarding non- compliance to the rules of PSA.

SUBJECT MATTER AND DEFINITIONS

Image creation and ownership

In all sections of the exhibition, images must originate as photographs made by the entrant.

They may not incorporate identifiable images produced by anyone else (for example: clip art, replacement skies, or stock images). Images created in whole or in part by image creation software (frequently called ‘AI’

images) are not allowed. Editing or alteration of images is permitted within the limits specified in the relevant section definitions that are available here https://psa-photo.org/page/division-definitions

Any person submitting or attempting to submit a totally AI generated image that does not begin with a light capture from the maker to any Photographic Society of America exhibition, social media, event, or publication, other than for editorial purposes, shall be prohibited from PSA for a period of from 3 years to Life.

Statement on Subject Matter - applicable to all sections

The fundamental rule that must be observed at all times and applies to all sections offered in exhibitions with PSA recognition is that the welfare of living creatures is more important than any photograph. This means that practices such as baiting of subjects with a living creature and removal of birds from nests, for the purpose of obtaining a photograph, are highly unethical, and such photographs are not allowed in any exhibition with PSA recognition. Under no circumstances may a living creature be placed in a situation where it will be killed or injured for the purpose of obtaining a photograph. Images that show live creatures being fed to captive animals, birds or reptiles are not permitted under any circumstances.

There are also concerns about the use of aerial photography, using drones, helicopters, or low flying aircraft. These should not cause any interference with other individuals or animals which causes a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupts the way any individual or animal interacts with their environment. Entrants in PSA recognized exhibitions should comply with all relevant laws and regulations associated with aerial photography in the country in which the image was taken.

Entry into PSA recognized exhibitions is conditional on accepting the above policies. The images must comply with the division and section definitions listed on the PSA website and other conditions. Images that do not comply will be disqualified by the judges.

PSA Color Definition

The Image category for PID color must be a color image. A greyscale or multi-colored image modified or giving the impression of having been modified by partial toning, multi toning or by the inclusion of spot color on a monochrome image is considered a Color Image.

PSA Monochrome Definition

An image is considered to be monochrome only if it gives the impression of having no color (i.e, contains only shades of gray which can include pure black and pure white) or it gives the impression of being a grayscale image that has been toned in one color across the entire image (for example by sepia, red, gold, etc.) A grayscale or multi-colored image modified or giving the impression of having been modified by partial toning, multi-toning or by the inclusion of spot coloring does not meet the definition of monochrome and shall be classified as a color work.

• Monochrome images may not be entered in color sections of PPD or PID.

Pictorial Image Division Definition

PID includes open or general subject photography. There are no limitations on subject matter or techniques used for image capture or post processing other than the restrictions described in the PSA Statements on Artificial Intelligence, Image Creation and Authorship, and Subject Matter, which apply to all divisions. These restrictions include prohibited image elements not authored by the entrant (for example textures, replacement skies from third party software, clipart or stock images).

Open sections have unrestricted subject content and may include creative images. PID theme sections have specific definitions which assist both the judges and entrants.

Landscape Definition (Color Only) PID C

This category is typically a photograph that captures the presence of nature and may include sea/oceans/water/underwater.
It can have man-made features (e.g. city skylines) or disturbances of landscapes, with or without people on photography.
Representational landscapes (more natural and realistic), an impressionistic landscape or abstract landscape photographs are allowed.

Woman Definition (Color Only) PID C

The closest definition of Woman section, photography where the only condition is that the subject is female.

Portrait Monochrome Definition (Monochrome Only) PID M

Our definition of the Portrait section: a photograph of a person or group of people who are aware they are being photographed. Only monochrome images allowed in this section.

EXHIBITION SPECIFIC RULES:

Borders

For the purpose of this exhibition any border added to a digital file must be a single border of white or grey, no greater than 3-5 pixels in width.

License agreement:

By submitting an entry, the entrant certifies legal Age, and own all rights to these images, including copyright or parents or guardians gives permission on his/her behalf if he/she is not of Legal Age.

The exhibition assumes no liability for any misuse of copyright.

PSA RULES

Non-compliance

See the PSA Ethics Policy at https://psa-photo.org/page/ethical-practices

See the PSA statement on Subject Matter, Statement on Artificial Intelligence, and Image Creation and Authorship at https://psa-photo.org/page/division-definitions

If an entrant submits an image that appears to be non-compliant, the chair or judges may request the unedited or raw file of the submitted image to verify compliance, including authorship. For composite images all files are required. Such entries may be referred to PSA for further investigation of possible ethics violations. Entrants who do not respond to this request or who do not cooperate with the investigation team may be penalized.
PSA retains the right to investigate all complaints, impose penalties if deemed necessary, void the acceptances of any image found to violate the PSA rules, and add the entrant’s name to the PSA Penalty List which is shared with PSA and FIAP chairs. Entrants automatically agree to these terms by entering the Exhibition.

Agents and other indirect submissions:

• Agencies and third-party entities who process or submit images on an entrant’s behalf must register with Exhibition Services. This is to ensure both the agency and the entrants are aware of the rules prior to submitting images. Agencies who frequently submit images which incur violations may also be penalized.
• Entrants will be held responsible for adhering to the entry rules and will be subject to penalties for any violations to these Conditions of Entry or to PSA’s Statement of Ethics, regardless of whether they submit images through a third party or not.

NOTICE: When entrants fill in the entry form to submit an entry they will see the following feature to affirm they have read these COE

“I hereby confirm that I have read and understood and agree to the Conditions of Entry of this exhibition. I have read and understood the PSA document to be found at https://psa-photo.org/resource/resmgr/pdf/exhibitions_/exhibition-entrants-agreemen.pdf

I am aware that PSA may apply penalties for non-compliance to these Conditions of Entry”

Failure to agree will mean that the application will not proceed.