Electronic Image Competition (EIC)

North Bethesda Camera Club holds a monthly competition for electronic images - that is, photographic files originating from digital capture, scanned film, or scanned photographic prints. EIC is held on Competition Night along with the Print Competitions.

Submit Images

Electronic Image Competition entries may be submitted only by email. The EIC email address .

Before submitting, be sure to read and understand the latest Competition Rules, Electronic Image Submission Guidelines, and Electronic Image Archive Policy documents below. For answers, first check the Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ). Please direct further comments and questions to the EIC Coordinator for the month.

Read and understand before entering Electronic Image Competition

EIC Rules and Guidelines Competition Rules for NBCC The complete rules for all print and electronic image competitions, revised for 2007-2008 Electronic Image Submission Guidelines How to submit images for competition, including file and format requirements, revised September 2007

Other EIC Documents NBCC Electronic Image Archive Policy NBCC policies on retention and use of images submitted to Electronic Image Competition How to Prepare Images for Electronic Presentation Optimize your electronic images for projection or on-screen slide shows

History of EIC

In 2004, North Bethesda Camera Club under the leadership of President Bob Peavy embarked on a new course for the Club: Electronic Image Competition (EIC). A committee was chartered by the Board of Directors to study digital projection as a means of judging photographs. Members were Tom Field (chairman), Stu Mathison, Tom Sullivan, and Jim Oberthaler. The committee surveyed other clubs known to have tried EIC, conducted cost and trade studies, identified numerous issues, and proposed solutions.

The NBCC Board of Directors accepted the committee's final report, then authorized them to organize a demonstration "trial" competition for April 27, 2005. The committee drafted rules, wrote guidance documents, and generated publicity for the meeting. Tom Field wrote software to tailor Microsoft PowerPoint for elimination judging. The trial was very successful, with Kent Mason judging more than 100 photographs in 90 minutes.

The NBCC Board officially instituted the Electronic Image Competition (EIC) category for the 2005 - 2006 year. This required changes to the constitution and competition rules, as well as a significant capital investment in equipment. Club members were extremely generous with voluntary donations to the equipment fund. A Canon Realis SX-50 digital projector was selected for its excellent color reproduction and high resolution. With it was purchased an Acer notebook computer with DVI for optimal digital video. The system was profiled on the Da-lite matte white screen using a sophisticated photospectrometer calibration system.

EIC has been overwhelmingly popular in its first two years. With the patience of members and judges, and plenty of work by the competition team, all competitions have fair and timely. Sadly, participation declined in the traditional, film-only Color Slides category, so that competition was discontinued after the 2006-7 season.