PIEA - Photo Imaging Education Association

Contest Rules, Entry and Fees Forms and Procedures

2010 PIEA International Student-Teacher Photo Exhibition & Competition

The purpose of the competition is to discover and recognize talented students, faculty, and staff. Approximately 100 photographs will be selected from all classifications and will be mounted for exhibit at the PMA International Convention and Trade Show in Anaheim, Calif., February 21-23, 2010. Those images will then form two traveling exhibitions that will tour schools, colleges, and museums globally, for as many as three years. They will also be posted on the PIEA website at http://pieapma.org/ and presented in various PIEA™/PMA^® publications.

If you have questions about the contest, please contact Stan Godwin, PMA Consultant for the Photo Imaging Education Association, at contestdirector@pieapma.org .

Who May Enter

Students
Any student studying with a photography or digital-imaging teacher may compete. The student must be officially enrolled in a course, enrolled in a workshop, or taking part in a school-sponsored photo-graphic/imaging activity between January 2009 and the entry deadline. Exceptions: A working professional photographer who is enrolled as a part-time student or who enrolled only in a workshop is not eligible. Adult education students with a high school diploma should enter the College & University category. All entries require teacher participation, although the teacher listed on the entry form does not need to be a member of PIEA. Single images entered must have been produced during calendar year 2009. Portfolio images may have been produced anytime during the student’s academic career (with the exception that images submitted in previous PIEA competitions are ineligible).

Faculty and Staff
Any faculty or staff administering, teaching, or assisting with a school-sponsored photographic/imaging activity is eligible to compete in the Faculty/Staff category. Single images and portfolio images may have been produced at any time during the faculty or staff member’s teaching career (with the exception that images submitted in previous PIEA competitions are ineligible). Faculty-produced digitally constructed photographic images should be entered in the Faculty/Staff Single Image category. Faculty portfolios may contain digitally constructed photographic images.

Entry Categories

Grades 9 and Below (Single Images only)
Grades 10, 11, 12 (Single Images and Portfolios)
College & University (Single Images and Portfolios) - including adult education students with a high school diploma
Faculty/Staff (Single Images and Portfolios)
Digitally Constructed Images (Single Images only) - Students only. Entries are to be submitted in one of two divisions: Up to Grade 12 and College & University (Faculty digitally constructed photographic images should be entered in faculty/staff categories)

What May Be Entered
For the categories below, enter prints only. Do not submit images in any other form.

Single Images
Photographs created by either digital capture or wet darkroom photographic techniques can be entered in this category. Such images must have been produced as a class project, in relation to a course, or in connection with a sponsored school/college activity. Judges suggest that entrants make the best prints possible, since print quality is considered important in the judging process.

Portfolios
A portfolio must include a minimum of five (5) images and be limited to a maximum of ten (10) images. NOTE: The judges of past competitions encourage entrants to edit their portfolios carefully – especially keeping in mind the principle that more (images) is not always better! The judges recommend consistency of theme, visual style, print quality, and presentation. Photo sequences, photo essays, and picture stories should be entered in the appropriate portfolio category.

Digitally Constructed Images
This category features only single images and is open to students only. It is limited to photographic images that have been constructed by means of computer software. This category is not meant for images that were made simply by use of a digital camera or printed via a computer. Images must have photographic elements (such as originally from a digital camera, film image, scanned materials, still-video frame, etc.); entries that are composed solely of graphic-arts elements are not eligible.

Print and Image Size Requirements
The image size (NOT paper size) of all prints must not be smaller than 5 inches (12.5cm), nor larger than 14 inches (35.5cm), on ALL sides. (For example, the smallest acceptable image is 5x5 inches and the largest is 14x14 inches.) IMAGES TOO SMALL OR TOO LARGE WILL NOT BE JUDGED. Prints must be unmounted and have at least a ¹/2” white border outside the image area. Images selected for exhibition will be mounted by PIEA for display and traveling. PIEA will affix identification tags with the name of the photographer, the school, the teacher listed on the entry form, and the category of entry.

Return of Work
Images not selected for exhibition will be returned as soon as possible after judging as long as the appropriate return shipping fees have been included. Entries that do not include return shipping fees will be destroyed. PIEA will strive to return all images to the schools of origin but cannot assume liability for any that may be lost or damaged at any stage in the process of sorting or shipping. Entrants need not include any return packaging and are encouraged not to use reusable cases. Images selected for exhibition will not be returned. The top four award winners in Single Image and Digitally Constructed Photographic Image categories are required to provide second prints for the traveling exhibits.

How to Enter

(Please read carefully and follow all instructions.)

Procedure
The entrant must complete all lines (including the home address, phone and preferred computer platform of the entrant) on the Entry Form and sign the Release Agreement at the bottom. PLEASE PRINT NAMES CLEARLY IN CAPITAL LETTERS. (Winners’ names will be announced as listed on entry forms.) The Entry Form may be reproduced. Include one Entry Form per entrant with the prints. Do not paper clip, tape, glue, or staple the Entry Form to the print. Complete one Fees Form for each package.

The name of the entrant, the school and the classification of the image (e.g., “Grades 10, 11, 12 – Single Image”) must be PRINTED on the back of each print (WE RECOMMEND USING A SOFT LEAD PENCIL or ULTRA FINE MARKER – be sure the marker does not show through on the photo). No identification should appear on the front of the image. Please do not affix ID stickers, or other kinds of labels, to the back of images as they interfere with proper mounting. If the image has a formal title or a working caption you use to identify it, include that with the other information on the back of the print. **ALL PRINTS WITHOUT THE ENTRANT’S NAME, SCHOOL AND CATEGORY PRINTED ON THE BACK WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Finally, print the word “TOP” at the appropriate position on the back of the image (see example on the entry form). This will ensure that the image is correctly displayed if it is chosen for exhibition. A caption may be printed on the back if desired. An example of this can be found on the entry form.

Deadline
Work must be received at PIEA in Jackson, Michigan, no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, December 4, 2009. (Entrants are cautioned to allow adequate time for mail delivery, and be advised that overnight shipments to Jackson, Michigan are often unworkable since the city is not a major metropolitan area.) Images that arrive after the deadline, but which were postmarked by Tuesday, December 1, 2009 (indicating a good-faith attempt at timely shipping) will be accepted.

Packing and Shipping
Entries should be shipped in mailers that will adequately protect them for transit. All entries from a school should be sent as a group, in one shipment; PLEASE do not submit entries on an intermittent basis. PIEA cannot accept C.O.D. or postage-due shipments. Also, PIEA will not be responsible for late, lost, damaged or misdirected entries. Please pack the prints so that the entry forms are layered with their entries, that is, all of John Smith’s entries are together with his entry form on top, then all of Jane Simpson’s entries are together with her entry form on top, etc.

Shipping Address
PIEA Photo Exhibition & Competition
c/o PMA
3000 Picture Place
Jackson, MI 49201 USA

Tel: 1-517-788-8100

Judging
Judging is scheduled to take place in January 2010. The intent will be to highlight the creativity, talent, and art of students and teachers. However, since the PMA International Convention and Trade Show is an open trade event, judgment will be exercised to select an exhibition that is deemed suitable for presentation to a diverse international audience.

PIEA reserves the right to manage all aspects of the competition for the benefit of the field. This shall include, but not be limited to, the authority to determine entrant eligibility, to advise the judges in instances where they request counsel on various aspects of the contest, and to make any on-the-spot rulings as may be necessary during the judging process.

Notification and Publication/Exhibition of Winners
A list of all award winners and exhibitors will be posted on the PIEA website by February 2010. A notice of results will be sent to all teachers who had students, or were themselves, participating. The teachers should in turn notify their students. This notification will occur as soon as possible after the judging. The images of all the award winners will be published in the PIEA Gallery of Winners.

Prizes
An entrant may win only one award. Winners will be awarded the prizes assigned to each award classification and to the schools of the top award winners. Prize assignment will occur after all prize contributions have been received. (Every effort will be made to balance the prizes from the standpoint of equity; however, entrants are asked to recognize that prizes cannot be perfectly matched due to inherent differences in the items being donated.) PIEA makes no guarantee about the ability to deliver prizes to all winners. Government-imposed trade or shipping embargoes may affect our ability to deliver prizes to particular countries around the world. Prizes may not be substituted or exchanged and have no cash value. All taxes are the responsibility of the prize winners, and a properly completed IRS form and/or withholding may be required. All prizes must be claimed and required documents received by PIEA by March 24, 2010 or the prize will be forfeited.

The initial 2010 list of prizes will be announced in September 2009 and is expected to grow during the following months. Distinctive Certificates of Award will be sent to all award winners and exhibitors in the exhibition.

Special Note - Save on Entry Fees
Teachers who wish to save on entry fees and help speed paperwork may do the following:

Provide a typed list containing the correctly spelled names of all persons entering, with the complete school name and the teacher’s full name typed at the top of the list. This will help ensure correct student certificates.
Indicate the number and classification of the image(s) being entered after the name of each entrant. EXAMPLE: Tommy Smith (2 -Single Image,1 -Portfolio, 3 -Computer)
Deduct 15 percent from the total entry fees owed by the group. Do not deduct the 15 percent from the return postage fee.
Package entries with the student’s entry form on top with their entries below it, then the next student’s entry form with their entries below, etc. Place the typed list of all names on top.
PROPERLY COMPLETED ENTRY FORMS ARE STILL REQUIRED FOR EACH ENTRANT.

Entry Fees (all fees in U.S. funds - USD)

For Student Entries
PIEA Members' Students	$1.00 per image	$5.00 per portfolio

Non-Members' Students*	$3.00 per image	$15.00 per portfolio

For Faculty/Staff Entries

PIEA Members	$2.00 per image	$10.00 per portfolio

Non-Members*	$6.00 per image	$30.00 per portfolio

*Teachers: Everyone Saves on Entry Fees if You Join PIEA

If you are not a PIEA member and you and/or your students are entering several entries, you should consider that PIEA dues are just US$35 per year. You and your students will save on entry fees if you join, and you will also receive all the benefits of PIEA membership. (Note: Only teachers may become members of PIEA.) To join PIEA, just check the box above and fill out all the teacher and school information on another Entry Form and include a separate dues payment. Then all your entries may pay PIEA member entry fees. It’s that easy!

You may also join online at http://services.pmai.org/online/membership.aspx .

Return Shipping Fees
Participants must include return shipping fees if entries are to be returned. To simplify handling, return postage is based on the following table and should be included with entry fees:

1-50 prints entered (this includes the total number of prints in portfolios) – US$10.00 for return shipping
over 50 prints entered (this includes the total number of prints in portfolios) – US$20.00 for return shipping
entries from outside North America – US$40.00 for return shipping

Entries that do not include return shipping fees will not be returned and will be destroyed.

One check, money order, or credit card charge should be used to pay the fees for all entries submitted by a school, including the Return Shipping Fee. Entries submitted without payment of correct fees (member vs. non-member) will be ineligible. PIEA cannot send out billings or contact entrants regarding fees that are not fully paid at the time of entry submission. Entry fees are non refundable. Checks should be made payable to “Photo Imaging Education Association.” Major credit cards are accepted.

Checklist:

All entries are properly labeled on the back with name, school and category and the “Top” of the image is also designated.
All images are at least 5”x5” and no larger than 14”x14” and have a 1/2” white border on all sides.
Each entrant has filled out an entry form with all requested info.
All entries from the school are packaged together and the instructor has provided a written list of all entries for a 15% discount.
The package is layered as entries, entry form, entries, entry form, etc.
The school has completed one Fees Form for the package.
Return shipping has been included if the entries are to be returned.
Entries have been mailed to arrive in Jackson, Michigan by December 4, 2009.

PIEA reserves the sole right to interpret these rules and to make decisions as necessary for the reasonable conduct of the contest, including the selection of the winners. All decisions are final. Michigan Law applies. All entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue in Jackson, Michigan, for any legal proceedings regarding this contest.