SOMONI 2023
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY
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Today: Wednesday 04 Dec 2024
Closing Date : Wednesday 30 Aug 2023

Rules of Salon


Download Rules in PDF


Ismoil Somoni was the Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892–907) and Khorasan (900–907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the eponymous ancestor of the Samanid dynasty.


 

CONTACTS

Exhibition Chairman: Pazoki L., Soroosh Baynolmelal, filarmonia Palace, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Exhibition & Chair email: SomoniExhibition@gmail.com


Rules & Submission: www.SomoniExhibition.com

 

Image Size: Photos must be in JPEG, RGB file format, maximum 2 MB.

Maximum Dimensions: 1920 pix. Horizontal side and 1080 pix. Vertical side.

 

PDF CATALOGUE & Certificate of Acceptance/Award is downloadable from the Result Page of the site.


 

SECTIONS

The Salon will consist of 6 sections, all digital:

  1. Open Monochrome - (Monochrome Only) - PSA PIDM
  2. Open Color - (Color Only) - PSA PIDC
  3. People Monochrome - (Monochrome Only) - PSA PIDM
  4. Landscape Color - (Color Only) - PSA PIDC
  5. Portrait Color - (Color Only) - PSA PIDC
  6. Photo Travel (TRAD) (Color/ Greyscale Monochrome) - PSA PTD

 

Monochrome images may not be entered in Color sections.

Each entrant may submit a maximum of 4 images in each of the 6 sections.


 

ENTRY FEES

Single Entrants: 1, 2 or 3 Sections: $15 USD & 4, 5 or 6 Sections: $17 USD

Group Entries - Discount Rates (% of Total Fee): 5-9 Entrants: 10 %, 10-20 Entrants: 15 %, 21-40 Entrants: 20% & 40+ Entrants: 25 % Discount

Entry fee can be paid with PayPal through our web site. Login and go to “Pay Entry Fee” in the left menu.

NON PAYMENT OF FEESEntries for which no fee is received will not be judged.


 

CALENDAR

  1. Closing date: 30 August 2023
  2. All judging completed by 06 September 2023
  3. otifications sent by 20 September 2023
  4. Awards mailed by 04 November 2023
  5. On-Line Gallery posted by 23 September 2023
  6. Catalogs posted by 04 November 2023
  7. Public Showings of Projected Images by 04 November 2023

JURY (All Sections)

  • Asghar SAMETI, EFIAP/b-Iran
  • Milan VUKICEVIC, EFIAP-Serbia
  • Sadiye YILMAZ BILIR, GPU-Aphrodite-Türkiye

AWARDS

Totally 121 Awards!

Best Author Award: FIAP light Blue Badge

Awards in Each Section:

1-FIAP Gold Medal

1-PSA Gold Medal

1-Salon.Photo Silver Medal

1-Salon.Photo Bronze Medal

2-FIAP Ribbons

14- Salon eHM (PDF Honorable Mention Certificate)

e-HM is Honorable Mention Certificates (PDF certificate). e-certificates will not be posted. Entrants are responsible for downloading and printing their e-certificates.


CATALOGUE

PDF CATALOGUE & Certificate of Acceptance/Award is downloadable from the Result Page of the site.


PARTICIPATION

IMAGE AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS This exhibition is open to anyone; however, an entry may be rejected when the Sponsor or the Exhibition Organizers, in their reasonable discretion, believes the entry does not conform to exhibition rules and these Conditions of Entry. Membership in any photographic organization is not required.

Penalties: Entries will not be accepted from any entrant who has put 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 name changes or relocating to another country. Using one’s name differently in different exhibition exposes the entrant to the risk that many of their acceptances may not be recognized by PSA Star Ratings.


Image Creation: Entries must originate as photographs (image-captures of objects via light sensitivity) made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or acquired digitally.

Certification: By virtue of submitting an image, the entrant certifies the work as his or her own.  Images may not incorporate elements produced by anyone else (for example: clip art, images or art by others downloaded from the Internet). Aliases are not allowed.


 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.  The Photographic Society of America (PSA) may request specific permission from entrants to reproduce entered images in its educational materials. The terms of that permission will be mutually agreed 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 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.

Alteration and Computer Generation Subject to Divisional restrictions (particularly Nature, Photo Travel, and Photojournalism) images may be altered, either electronically or otherwise, by the entrant; adjustments to enhance images or creatively modify images are allowed providing the underlying photograph is retained in a way that is obvious to the viewer.  Images may not be constructed entirely with a computer, and must be the sole work of the entrant


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 recognised 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. An entrant may only enter a specific Section once. Entrants may not enter identical or similar images into the same section or different sections of the same exhibition.


Titles:Each image must have a unique title that is a description of the image. That unique title must be used for entry of that image or of an identical 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 filenames such as IMG 471). Titles may not consist of personal identifiers possibly augmented by a number; or 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.


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.


NOTIFICATIONS

Notification of results will be sent by email. Entrants should ensure that they provide an active email address and that spam filters are set to accept emails from Result@Salon.Photo. Notifications will not be sent by post. Also you may download a PDF certificate of acceptance/award and an Excel file of your results from your account. Just login to your account and go to "My Results" page on the left menu. There is an available option to resend your report card to your email by yourself, too.


Submission of works:

Rules & Submission: www.SomoniExhibition.com

 

Image Size: Photos must be in JPEG, RGB file format, maximum 2 MB.

Maximum Dimensions: 1920 pix. Horizontal side and 1080 pix. Vertical side.

 

Images and a completed entry form must be submitted on line using the exhibition website.

You MUST use only the English alphabet and numeric (A-Z, 0-9) when submitting an entry. Don’t use special characters such as - _!? & @ İı Şş Ğğ Çç Ññ Õõ Àà Ää Ââ Éé Èè Êê Ëë Óó Òò Ŏŏ Öö Øø Ôô Ùù Ûû Üü ....

AN AUTHOR MAY NOT ENTER IDENTICAL OR SIMILAR PHOTOGRAPHS INTO DIFFERENT SECTIONS.

All images are to be submitted in JPEG format. It is recommended that images should use RGB Color Space. Smaller images are acceptable but will be projected smaller on the screen. Please check all image sizes before submission, images with sizes greater than specified will be rejected. The projection background is black, Please DO NOT fill empty space with/or add large borders. Any borders should be no greater than 3-5 pixels wide.


ORGANIZATION

The Exhibition will be conducted in accordance with the rules of the PSA, FIAP & Salon.Photo.

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.


JUDGING METHOD

Judging will be ONLINE and the Salon Chairperson will ensure the PSA Guidelines regarding how the judges view the images are followed.

Award session will be done at the video conference by the jury viewing the images together.

Judges will be using equipment capable of displaying images a 100% of the image resolution.

The monitors will be color-calibrated for the judges during judging.

FIAP does not permit acceptances rates higher than 25%.

The jury's decision is final and it cannot be changed in any case.


DATA PROTECTION

By entering this exhibition, you are explicitly consenting to the personal details you have supplied, including physical addresses, email addresses, being held, processed and used by the exhibition organizers 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 shall be made public in exhibition gallery, exhibition catalog. You also agree and accept the policies regarding Breaches of Rules of the PSA. And FIAP.


SUBJECT MATTER AND SECTION DEFINITIONS

All entries shall conform to the stricter of these definitions for acceptances and awards to be validated by all the International Organizations granting recognition or patronage.

 

1. Salon Definitions

 

In open sections, entrants can enter photos with any kind of theme: for example: portrait, people, nature, wildlife, landscape, architecture, still-life photography, digital imaging, HDR photos, etc. All acceptance eligibility shall be in accordance with the PID Star Ratings or the Galaxy/Diamond Ratings requirements as appropriate.

Monochrome images may not be entered in the Color Sections. The color and monochrome versions of same image, regardless of title, cannot entered in different sections of this Salon.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections.

 

People Definition: Photos must be monochrome only. People in all situations, such as daily life, street photography, traditions, portrait, people at work, social events, human relations and etc. The main subject in the photo must be one or more humans.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections.

 

Landscape Definition: Photos must be color only. A landscape photograph is broad and may include rural or urban settings, industrial areas or nature photography. It commonly involves photography of natural features of land, sky and waters, at a distance, though some landscapes may involve subjects in a scenic setting nearby, even close-up.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections.

 

Portrait Definition: Photos must be color only. The portraits must be only from humans.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections.

 

2.FIAP Definitions

 

FIAP Monochrome Definition

A black and white work fitting from the very dark grey (black) to the very clear grey (white) is a monochrome work with the various shades of grey. A black and white work toned entirely in a single color will remain a monochrome work able to stand in the black and white category; such a work can be reproduced in black and white in the catalogue of a salon under FIAP Patronage. On the other hand, a black and white work modified by a partial toning or by the addition of one color becomes a color work (polychrome) to stand in the color category; such a work requires color reproduction in the catalogue of a salon under FIAP Patronage.

 

FIAP Traditional Photo Definition

A traditional photograph maintains the original image content with minimal adjustments which should not alter the reality of the scene and should appear natural. Rearranging, replacing, adding to or removing any part of the original image except by cropping is strictly forbidden.

 

3. PSA Definitions

 

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, injured or stressed 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, drones, helicopters, low flying aircraft. These should not cause any interference with other individuals or animals which causes a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupt the way any individuals or animals interact 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 these policies.  The content of images must comply with the General Conditions and with the Division and Section definitions listed in these conditions. Images that - in the sole opinion of the judges or the Exhibition Organizers - do not comply, will be disqualified so the entrant may be aware of the problem when considering entry into other exhibitions with PSA recognition.

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 grey which can include pure black and pure white) OR it gives the impression of being a greyscale image that has been toned in one color across the entire image. (For example by Sepia, red, gold, etc.)  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 coloring does not meet the definition of monochrome and shall be classified as a Color Work.

Greyscale Monochrome images may be entered for Nature, Photojournalism and Photo Travel but toned images are not permitted for these sections.

Monochrome images may not be entered in PID Color Sections.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections.

 

Editing Guidelines for Nature, Photojournalism and Photo Travel

 

These sections require images to be truthful records, so there are limits on the amount of manipulation allowed.

Editing Guidelines

Processing or editing must be limited to making the image look as close to the original scene as possible, except that conversion to grayscale monochrome is allowed.

Allowed editing techniques:

  • Cropping, straightening and perspective correction.
  • Removal or correction of elements added by the camera or lens, such as dust spots, noise, chromatic aberration and lens distortion.
  • Global and selective adjustments such as brightness, hue, saturation and contrast to restore the appearance of the original scene.
  • Complete conversion of color images to grayscale monochrome.
  • Blending of multiple images of the same subject and combining them in camera or with software (exposure blending or focus stacking);
  • Image stitching – combining multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively (panoramas);

 

Editing techniques that are not allowed:

  • Removing, adding to, moving or changing any part of an image, except for cropping and straightening.
  • Adding a vignette during processing.
  • Blurring parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
  • Darkening parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
  • All conversions other than to complete grayscale monochrome.
  • Conversion of parts of an image to monochrome, or partial toning, desaturation or over-saturation of color

 

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.

PSA Photo Travel Definition

A Photo Travel image is a portrayal of the real world we live in, as it is found naturally. There are no geographic limitations.

Content guidance:

  1. If the image is predominantly or exclusively a land-, sea- or cityscape, these “scapes” must include characteristic, distinctive and recognizable physical features, although it is not necessary that the image identify the exact location;
  2. Images that predominantly or exclusively depict people and their activities must illustrate a distinctive culture of a country, region, or continent;
  3. Images that predominately or exclusively depict animal populations are allowed, if the animals are in their native environment and are characteristic of that country, region, or continent;
  4. Portraits or other close-ups of people or objects, in addition to meeting the above paragraphs as applicable, must include elements depicting some of the surrounding environment to make it obvious that the image was not taken in a studio setting;
  5. Images from events or activities arranged for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography, are NOT allowed.
  6. Time exposures are allowed, if they do not dominate the image as a special effect (star trails, for example, are a dominating effect).
  7. Highly distorted images such as those produced by fish eye lenses are NOT allowed.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections and to the Editing Guidelines for Nature, Photojournalism and Photo Travel


BREACHES OF RULES

 

FIAP

By the sole act of submitting his/her images or files to a salon under FIAP Patronage, the entrant accepts without exception and with no objection the following terms:

- that the submitted images can be investigated by FIAP to establish if these obey to FIAP regulations and definitions even if the entrant is not a member of FIAP,

- that FIAP will use any means at its disposal for this undertaking,

- that any refusal to cooperate with FIAP or any refusal to submit the original files as captured by the camera, or failure to provide sufficient evidence, will be sanctioned by FIAP,

- that in case of sanctions following the non-compliance with FIAP regulations, the name of the entrant will be released in any form useful to inform the breaches of the rules.

IMPORTANT: Concerning digital entries, FIAP recommends that authors should preserve intact, with no alteration, the original metadata of images. In case of contestation for incompliance with FIAP regulations the fact of not being able to access this important data could mean that the author could be sanctioned.

Each author whose image shows any suspicions about the compliance with FIAP regulations or definitions can be requested by the organizer or by FIAP, to submit the original file (file containing the data recorded by the sensor, if so, the RAW file) plus the file of the image immediately before and immediately following the questionable image. If he/she failed to provide what is required, he can be sanctioned.

Persons who are found guilty of plagiarism are excluded lifelong from FIAP activities.

It is recommended to leave the EXIF data in the submitted files intact in order to ease eventual investigations. If at any time, it is determined in the reasonable discretion of the exhibition organizer or the judges before, during, or after the judging of an exhibition that an entrant has submitted entries where one or more images may fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, including the stated definitions, the exhibition organizers reserve the right to delete the entry from the exhibition and void any or all acceptances or awards in connection with the exhibition. Fees may be forfeited or refunded in these circumstances. The entrant acknowledges that the decision of the exhibition organizers or the judges is final.

 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: PICTURES CREATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THIS SALON! It is reminded that all parts of the image have to be photographed by the author who is holding the copyright of all works submitted. Offenders will be sanctioned for life!

PSA

Entrants are strongly advised to look at the PSA Ethics Policy which can be found at https://psa-photo.org/page/ethical-practices.

If, at any time, it is determined in the reasonable discretion of the exhibition organizer or the judges before, during, or after the judging of an exhibition that an entrant has submitted entries where one or more images may fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, including the stated definitions, exhibitions, on behalf of the judges, are allowed to request unedited or raw files of the submitted image

In order to ensure that images comply with the Conditions of Entry and definitions, the exhibition organizers may carry out reasonable measures to verify that:

  1. a) the images are the original work of the entrant and
  2. b) the images comply with the rules and definitions as set out in these Conditions of Entry

These steps include, but are not limited to, questioning any entrant, requiring the submission of RAW files or other digital files representing the original capture of the submitted image(s), confronting the entrant with evidence that one or more submitted images fails to comply with the Conditions of Entry (also known as Entry Rules), and offering the entrant a reasonable opportunity to provide counter evidence to refute the exhibition organizer’s evidence by a set deadline. Such entries that are not cleared or are still questionable after the entrant has presented evidence may be considered in breach of these Conditions of Entry, and declined. Such entries may be referred to PSA for further investigation of possible ethics violations

PSA, on receiving reports from exhibitions of possible breaches, retains the right to investigate in any way all complaints/suspicions of breaches of entry conditions, impose penalties if deemed necessary, void the acceptances of any image found to violate the PSA rules, include the entrant’s name on the list of sanctions provided to Exhibitions, and share such investigations with FIAP. Entrants automatically agree to these terms by the act of entering the Exhibition and agree to cooperate with any investigation.

If another party is submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to these Conditions of Entry (Entry Rules) and will be subject to penalties for any violations to these Conditions of Entry and PSA’s Statement of Ethics that may result.

If another party is processing images for an entrant or submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to all Conditions of Entry including the specific conditions in the relevant definitions.

PSA NOTICE: When entrants fills in the Entry Form to submit an entry they will see the following feature to affirm they have read these Conditions of Entry

“I hereby confirm that I have read, understood and agree to the Conditions of Entry of this exhibition. I have read 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 breaches of these Conditions of Entry”.

FIAP NOTICE: “I hereby expressly agree to FIAP document 018/2017 « Conditions and regulations for FIAP Patronage » and FIAP document 033_2021 « Sanctions for breaching FIAP regulations and the red list ». I am particularly aware of chapter II « Regulations for International photographic events under FIAP patronage » of FIAP document 018/2017, dealing under Section II.2 and II.3 with the FIAP participation rules, the sanctions for breaching FIAP regulations and the red list.”

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


AGREEMENT

SUBMISSION OF AN ENTRY SIGNIFIES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE CONDITIONS