COMPETITIONS

At each meeting, members are allowed to submit up to three (3) digital images and up to three (3) print images as long as no more than 2 are in any one category. The categories to enter are PLANT LIFE, SCENIC, and WILDLIFE. The competitions are for our enjoyment only and are a way for NPPNW members to show off some of their photography. There are no prizes, but top scoring images will be displayed on the NPPNW website. Judges are volunteers from our club and are not professional judges. A different panel of judges is used for each of the three categories.

LIMITED HAND OF MAN – We will again use a “limited hand of man” rule. Any people or man made objects in the entry should not be a major or significant portion of the image. Images not meeting this criteria may receive zero points.

SUBMITTING THE SAME IMAGE
IN BOTH THE DIGITAL AND PRINT COMPETITIONS
IS NOT ALLOWED.

BEST OF THE NORTHWEST AWARDS

Best of the Northwest Awards will be awarded to the highest scoring images in each category that were taken in Washington or Oregon. In order to qualify for this award your image must have been taken in either Oregon or Washington and must have PNW at the start of the title, i.e. PNW Wildlife – Bald Eagle in Flight by John Doe.jpg

RULES

Here are the guidelines for both Digital and Print entries. For information on how your images will be judged, see the Judging Guidelines page. Note: You must be registered for the conference (either live or on Zoom) in order to enter digital images in the competitions.

GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL IMAGES

Deadline for Digital Images:
Midnight – Saturday, October 25, 2025

Send to:

Include text in your email message that indicates your images are for the DIGITAL Competition and be sure your files are labeled correctly. No watermarks (names or logos) on the images will be allowed. All images for the competition must be received by the deadline above.

Receipt: Once your images are received, a confirmation of receipt will be sent. If you do not receive a confirmation email by the deadline for submissions, please contact us at .

FILE SIZE

File size change for November 2025. Files must be jpegs. Please size your images to 1920 px on the long side at 300 dpi. The sRGB color space is recommended.

FILE NAMING REQUIREMENTS

The file names for submitted images must be in the following format: Category – Image Title by FirstName LastName.jpg We will not take responsibility for placing your images in the correct category if you fail to label them properly with the category name first.

Categories to enter are Plant Life, Scenic, and Wildlife.

Here is an example:
Scenic – Sunrise Over the Rockies by John Doe.jpg

You must follow these file naming guidelines:

Use spaces to separate each word and use proper capitalization. DO NOT use ALL CAPS and no_underscores.
Your images can be divided amongst the following categories: Plant Life – Scenic – Wildlife
It is your responsibility to be sure your image file is labeled for the proper category. We will not take responsibility for photos that are submitted to the wrong category.

WHY FILE NAMES ARE IMPORTANT:

File names will later become the Titles when we upload the winning images to the NPPNW web site. Your help in following these sizing and naming guidelines is greatly appreciated by the volunteers who ready your images for projection and for uploading to the website afterwards. Please do your best to make their jobs easier!

NEW GUIDELINES FOR PRINT IMAGES

Deadline for Print Images:
Midnight – Saturday, November 1, 2025

SUBMITTING THE SAME IMAGE
IN BOTH THE DIGITAL AND PRINT COMPETITIONS
IS NOT ALLOWED.

Members are encouraged to submit a maximum of three (3) prints, as long as no more than 2 are in the same category.

BEST OF THE NORTHWEST AWARDS

Best of the Northwest Awards will be awarded to the highest scoring prints in each category that were taken in Washington or Oregon. In order to qualify for this award your image must have been taken in either Oregon or Washington and must have PNW at the start of the title, i.e. PNW Wildlife – John Doe – Bald Eagle in Flight.jpg

NEW REQUIREMENT FOR PRINTS: You must send digital copies of the prints you will be entering to by the deadline date shown above and then bring the actual prints to the meeting. Indicate in your email that your images are for the PRINT Competition. Size for the digital copy of your image should be 1920 px at 300 dpi on the long side, no watermark.

Note: The format for print titles is slightly different than for digital images. The file names for submitted print images must be in the following format: Category – FirstName LastName – Image Title.jpg. We will not take responsibility for placing your images in the correct category if you fail to label them properly with the category name first.

Categories to enter are Plant Life, Scenic, and Wildlife.

Here is an example:
Wildlife – Jill Smith – Great Blue Heron.jpg

This will expedite the print checkin process and help us better display the winning images to the live audience at the meeting and to those on Zoom.

Receipt: Once your print images are received, a confirmation of receipt will be sent. If you do not receive a confirmation email by the deadline for submissions, please contact us at

SENDING DIGITAL COPIES OF YOUR PRINTS
IS NOW MANDATORY.

The print registration desk will open at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the meeting. No prints will be accepted after 9:45 a.m.

SIZE LIMIT FOR PHYSICAL PRINTS

The prints may be matted but not framed. Due to space limitations we must limit the height + width dimensions (including mat) to no more than 42 inches. i.e. a 16 x 20 inch print would total 36 inches. The categories for the print competitions are the same as those for the projected images: Plant Life, Scenic, and Wildlife. No watermarks (names or logos) will be allowed.