Themes

On the day of the Photo Marathon, you will be presented with a sheet containing 10 themes. You will then spend the next 4 hours taking photos of these themes IN ORDER. Having a digital camera, you are free to delete the photo you have just taken and re-take it as many times as you like until you are satisfied with the result.

However, at the end of the day (2pm), the card you bring back must have only 10 pictures on it, all in JPEG RGB format.

The Theme Sheet

The Theme Sheet will look as follows:-

Picture 1 - Entrant Number

The first picture is a picture of your ENTRANT NUMBER. This can be taken by you or someone else. It will not be judged but it must be clear to see. It will be used by the judges to identify whose pictures they are judging.

Pictures 2 - 10

Pictures 2 to 10 are the 9 themes which will only be revealed on the day of the Photo Marathon.

Confidentiality

Although the judges will know your ENTRANT NUMBER, they will not know your personal identity. This will only be known to the organisers.

What the judges are looking for

So, what makes a good photograph? How will they decide which pictures are the best? Well, there are a number of things which will impress them :-

• Technical
  The picture needs to be in focus and with the correct lighting effect. Sometimes, however, you may like to take a photo where part of the picture is in focus and the rest is blurred. This will give prominence to the part which is in focus. Also, creative use of lighting can produce some interesting and eye-catching pictures.
  
  
• Artistic Creativity
  There are hundreds of ways of taking the same shot. Some are plain and uninteresting while others really catch the eye and make unexpected parts of the picture stand out. Before the Photo Marathon, have a look at some glossy magazines and study the photos in there to see how the photographer composed te picture. Have a practice before the event and ask your family and friends to judge the results.
  
  
• Every Picture Tells a Story
  Sometimes a photo can capture not only the eye, but the imagination too. Again, a trip to the library or book shop to study books by professional photographers will help you to use your camera, not simply as a tool for taking shots, but more like an artist's paint brush, bringing to life the scene around you.

As one famous water colour artist, Alwyn Crawshaw, used to say on his TV programme, 'why don't you have a go, it's easier than you think'.