Competitions

MAPV hosts a Nature Competition and a Photo Art Competition. They are a central part of our annual photography expo, offering structured, juried opportunities for photographers from member clubs to showcase their work. Awards include “Best in Category”, “Best in Show”, and “People’s Choice”

2026 Competition Schedule

• Wednesday, August 5 – Nature and Photo Art Competitions Open
• Wednesday, August 26 – Rejected images submitted after this date cannot be replaced
• Wednesday, September 2 – Last day to submit images
• Friday, September 4 – Judging begins
• Wednesday, September 23 – Judging ends
• Monday, September 28 – Accepted images announced

General Rules

Upload Information

Images uploaded will be reviewed for appropriate content and to ensure they are submitted according to the rules of the competition.

File Format: JPEG (JPG)
Max Width: 1400 px
Max Height: 1050 px
Max File Size: 2MB
Recommended Color Space: sRGB

Eligibility

You must be a member in good standing of one of the following clubs to submit images.

• Loudoun Photography Club (LPC)
• Manassas Warrenton Camera Club (MWCC)
• Chinese Culture And Community Service Center Photo Club (CCACC)
• VA Photo Club (VPC)
• North Bethesda Camera Club (NBCC)
• Northern Virginia Photographic Society (NVPS)
• Reston Photographic Society (RPS)
• Vienna Photographic Society (VPS)

Membership in multiple clubs does not confer the right to make more than six Nature entries and six Photo Art entries.

Requirement to Volunteer

By submitting your images for digital judging you agree that if any of your images are selected for display (in either the Nature or Photo Art Exhibits) you will volunteer for at least one shift of two hours during the weekend of the MAPV Expo. If none of your images are selected, you are not required to volunteer.

Image Standards and Review

The photography standards of the MAPV Expo are extremely high. Photographers are asked to be selective, submitting only their superior photographs.

All photographs juried into the Nature or Photo Art Exhibits become ineligible for consideration in a future juried exhibit. Images juried into any MAPV predecessor exhibits are also ineligible for consideration. Photographers who violate this prohibition will be not be allowed to submit images to the following year’s competitions.

Images containing nudity or thought to be overtly graphic, controversial or otherwise inappropriate for public display to an audience of all ages will be removed. Images containing copyright notices or unphotographed borders will also be removed. All submitted images will be reviewed to ensure they comply with the Nature or Photo Art rules, as appropriate. Up until one week before the deadline for contest submissions photographers will be notified of rejected images and replacements may be submitted for as long as online uploads are being accepted. Due to the high number of submissions in the last week before the deadline we cannot review submissions and request replacements during this period.

Common Guidance for Images Accepted for Display in the Nature and Photo Art Exhibits

Image/Mat Size

There is no minimum print size. Maximum outer dimensions are 16″ x 20″ (including matting). Exception: Panoramas may be up to 24 inches on the longest side. Other than pixel dimensions and sharpening, printed images must be identical to the digital images submitted for judging.
Photos must be two-dimensional. Three dimensional photo collages are not permitted.

Labels

A label securely affixed to the back of each image is to include the photographer’s name, club affiliation, category in which photograph is entered, and image title. Additional information may be provided (photo description, photo location, photographer bio, price if for sale, etc.) The label’s text will serve to indicate the correct orientation of the photo.

Signature

At the photographer’s discretion a signature may be added to the bottom edge of the mat.

Titles

Titles are NOT allowed on the cover window mat or the print. Your MAPV club representative will add a label to your print listing the competition category, image title, your name, the selling price (or NFS) and the club’s name.

Matting/Mounting

Framed photos are not allowed.

All mats and backing materials must be white. They must also have white cores.
Cover window mats are required. Single matting is preferred. Double matting is permitted. If an image is double matted, both mats must be the same white color and the same texture. Triple matting is NOT permitted. Floating photos (where a white or colored border appears between the print and the cover mat) ARE ALLOWED.

Backing

The cover window mat must be securely affixed on all four sides to a firm backing of at least 3/16 inch foam core or similar material. Mat board is unacceptable backing. Failure to comply may result in the disqualification of the image for inclusion in the Exhibit.

Borders

A minimum 1.5 inch cover window mat border (along all sides of the image) is required for photographs up to 8×10 inches. A minimum 2 inch cover window mat border (along all sides of the image) is required for photographs larger than 8×10 inches. The border width need not be the same on all sides.

Waiver of Liability

Submission of an image for inclusion in any MAPV competition or exhibit, constitutes the photographer’s assumption of all risk. Every precaution will be taken to safeguard photographs. However, it is expressly stated that the participating camera clubs, juror(s), sponsors, lecturers and volunteers accept no liability in the event of loss or damage.

Right to Use

By submitting images to this competition you agree that Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions may use the submitted image(s) only for exhibit at the MAPV Expo and for promotional purposes in printed and online media.

Nature Competition Rules

The Nature Competition accepts entries in August and September each year. Subject matter is related to birds, wildlife, macro, water, grand landscapes, and intimate landscapes.

Submit Images here: https://midatlanticphotovisions.visualpursuits.com

Each club member may submit up to six (6) photographs in the Nature competition.

Theme

The theme is nature photography, which is defined as photographic images of natural scenes, animals and plants. Studio shots (images generally created indoors under carefully controlled conditions) run counter to the spirit of the competition. Although there are no absolute restrictions on where a photograph may be taken, obvious studio shots are discouraged and the judges will be asked to reflect this in their scores.

Processing Rules

Computer manipulation such as spot removal, contrast and level adjustments, conversion to monochrome, color and saturation adjustments, and cropping are permitted.

Focus stacking, HDR composites, stitched panoramas and similar procedures that combine multiple images of the same scene are allowed, however, traditional multiple exposures of a changing scene, or scenes, are not allowed.

Minor cloning to remove extraneous elements such as trash, telephone wires, etc. is also permitted; but cloning or other techniques that relocate, replace, or remove significant pictorial elements are not permitted.

In addition techniques that artificially create or add image elements not in the original scene are not permitted; this includes textures, whether created or purchased and whether applied directly by the maker or with the use of a plugin such as Topaz Texture Effects.

Creative digital filters that manipulate existing photographic pixels (e.g., to produce brush strokes, surface texture, added noise) are permitted. However, images processed using generative fill are unacceptable.

Rules about Human Elements

Human elements shall not be present – this includes, but is not limited to: people, objects constructed by humans (buildings, vehicles, roads, bridges, etc.), and evidence of human activity (obviously plowed or cultivated fields, obvious garden or park scenes, etc.).

Images of hybrid and cultivated plants and trees, or captive or domesticated animals, are allowed as long as human elements are absent. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible or may be cloned out.

Judging Categories

Participants may enter their images in the category(ies) of their choice.

There is no limit to the number of images an individual may enter in a category as long as the total number of entries for the Nature Exhibit does not exceed six.

Abstract nature images (including traditional multiple exposures and camera swoops) shall be submitted to the Photo Art competition only.

The choice of the category into which an image is submitted is up to the artist. If the judges feel that an image is not submitted to the proper category, they may, at their discretion, reflect this in their scores.

If you are unsure of the category to which you should submit your image, please check with your photography club’s Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions representative for guidance. Some overlap between categories is unavoidable (e.g., images with water and land in equal proportion) and you should use your best judgement as to the proper category.

Categories:

• Birds – All types of birds. Images in this category would feature birds such as songbirds, hummingbirds, owls, eagles, other birds of prey, etc.
• Wildlife – All animals other than birds. Images in this category would feature animals such as: zoo animals, wild animals, pets, marine life, etc.
• Macro/close up/other – Subjects could include insects, spiders, snakes, flowers, lilies, frogs, etc. Macro/close-up images are generally taken with a narrow/small field of view, where the subject matter is specifically identified. The use of a macro lens is not required.
• Water – rivers, lakes, waterfalls, oceans, ponds, streams. Generally, images submitted in this category will have a medium field of view. The water element must be the overwhelmingly predominant feature and clearly be the subject of the image. As an example, the image must be of a waterfall, not an image with a waterfall.
• Grand Landscapes – The images submitted in this category will generally be of a broader field of view and would include all large vista images of expansive landscapes, skyscapes and weather (cloud formations). If you are submitting a larger ocean or lake vista, it should be submitted in the Water category.
• Intimate Landscapes – The images submitted derive their subject matter from smaller details within a larger scene. The image breaks the scene down into smaller elements (i.e., shapes, objects, lines, color, texture, patterns, light) highlighting the aspects of the landscape that resonate with the photographer. Examples are: a part of a mountain or other natural feature; an image of one or more trees, bushes or flowers; the way the light hits a particular set of dunes. While the sky isn’t always shown, it can be present in the image. As reminder, abstract nature images should be submitted to the Photo Art competition.

Photo Art Competition Rules

Photo Art Competition

Submissions can be made to the Photo Art Competition in August and September of each year. If an image conforms to the Nature competition rules, it may not be entered into the Photo Art competition.

Submit Images here: https://midatlanticphotovisions.visualpursuits.com

The Photo Art competition aims to provide a place for photographers to enter non-nature images (people, architecture, street scenes, still life, abstracts, etc., etc.) and the judge(s) will be asked to reflect this purpose in their scores.

There is no specific theme for the Photo Art Competition.

Each club member may submit up to six (6) photographs in the Photo Art Competition.

All elements of the final image must originate as one or more in-camera photographs taken by the submitter.

If textures are used they must be from images photographed by the submitter; the use of smartphone apps or programs (e.g., Topaz Texture Effects) that apply their own built-in textures is not allowed.

All manipulations, including digital filters that alter the original pixels (e.g., blurring, distorting, colorizing, etc.) are allowed in post-processing. However, images processed using generative fill are unacceptable.

Judging Categories

There is no limit to the number of images an individual may enter in a category as long as the total number of entries for the Photo Art Competition does not exceed six.

The categories are:

• Architecture/Agriculture/Industry: This category includes images of buildings and other man-made structures and images of their interiors or parts. Also included are images of cityscapes, agricultural scenes (cultivated fields, terraced hillsides, garden landscapes, etc.), industrial installations, and machinery.
• Abstracts/Altered Reality: Abstracts are images in which the object being photographed is not readily identifiable or has been made unidentifiable by software or other manipulation. The emphasis in abstracts is on patterns, textures, tones, shapes, colors, etc. Images submitted as Altered Reality may be of any subject, and it may be identifiable, but images should display a change in natural color, form, shape or any combination of these so that the subject obviously does not appear as it naturally does. Simple conversion to monochrome does not constitute Altered Reality.
• People – This category includes Documentary Photography, which chronicles events happening in the world and conveys information about them, as well as Street Photography, which typically records everyday life in a public place. Street photos are usually candid and capture moments that might otherwise go unnoticed. Portraits of people should also be submitted to this category.
• Studio Photography: This category includes images of smoke trails, water drops and other studio techniques. It also includes Still Lifes which are images of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects such as fruit in a bowl or flowers in a vase. Still Lifes may be of an arranged or a found subject.
• Sports/Action/Adventure – Images of sports or other types of action showing someone or something in motion, as well as images of other adventurous activities. Images of animals must not conform to the Nature rules.
• Other – Images that don’t fall into any of the above categories and do not conform with the Nature competition rules.

The choice of the category into which an image is submitted is up to the artist. If the judges feel that an image is not submitted to the proper category they may, at their discretion, reflect this in their scores.

If you are unsure of the category to which you should submit your image, you may wish to check with your photography club’s Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions representative for guidance. Some overlap between categories is unavoidable and you should use your best judgment as to the proper category.