Definition
The idea in this competition is for photographers to use colour as a vibrant medium, pushing the boundaries of creativity, to create stunning images. Monochrome, black and white, and infrared images are not permitted.There are five themes into which images should fit, and note that hand of man is permitted in all five:
- Still Life: CAPA is looking for skilfully crafted arrangements of vibrant objects and textures. Experiment with lighting, angles, backgrounds and props. The following are some examples of a possible story: the beauty of flowers, the allure of food, nostalgia for old toys, the wisdom of books, the elegance of fabric, the charm of collectibles, romance of hand tools ...
- Dramatic Contrast & Shadows: create bold graphic images using silhouette, high or low-key effects, selective lighting and other effects to create dramatic renderings of everyday people, buildings and objects in colour.
- Action and Motion: convey excitement, speed and movement in colour. Panning, fast shutter, slow shutter, multiple exposures, lens zoom and other techniques can all portray movement of subjects like birds, animals, dancers, athletes, vehicles and other potential moving objects.
- Nature's Beauty: mesmerizing plants, enchanting animals, and vibrant landscapes can all inspire a sense of wonder. Use drones to broaden the spectrum of possible images. Domestic animals are allowed.
- Travel: images from anywhere in the world that convey a fresh and revealing location are welcome.
Photographers must treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Images depicting individuals experiencing homelessness, infirmity, or people in crisis will not be accepted. CAPA feels that exploiting the misfortunes of others for the sake of photography demonstrates a disregard for others.
Open Editing
All different in-camera, on-camera and post-processing techniques can be used except those using AI generative technology. All elements contained in the submitted images including replacement skies, textures and added elements must have been taken by the submitting photographer. Elements contained in an image can be removed. No digital frames or mats are permitted. Triptychs are permitted.
CAPA's permitted machine learning AI rules continue to evolve. As of May 28, 2024, CAPA has identified 8 post-capture processors which use AI generative technology: Canva, Lightroom, Luminar Neo, Photoroom, Photoshop, Picsart, Pixlr, and Stylar AI. The generative features in these applications are not permitted.
AI machine learning features which ARE permitted include (as of May 28, 2024): Luminar Neo's "AI Structure", "AI Sky Replacement", and "AI Skin Enhancer"; ON1 Photo Raw's "AI Auto Enhance", "AI Match Batch Processing", and "AI No-Noise"; DxO PhotoLab's "DeepPRIME denoising, sharpening and PRIME deblurring"; Topaz Labs AI's "Gigapixel AI", "DeNoise AI", and "Sharpen AI"; and Photoshop 2024 tools that DO NOT trigger the Firefly algorithm, including "Spot Healing Brush", "Remove Tool", "Healing Brush Tool", "Patch Tool", "Content-Aware Move Tool", "Re-eye Tool", "Clone Stamp Tool" and "Pattern Stamp Tool". If in doubt, review CAPA's updated web site.
The latest Lightroom Classic release (13.3.1) now has a "generative remove" tool where there was once the "Heal" Tool, and which is now called the "Remove" Tool. As a "generative" AI tool that uses Adobe Firefly, it falls into the list of Disallowed tools. Also in the latest Lightroom Classic, the new "Lens Blur" is permitted as it is not an AI generative tool.
Images created totally electronically with no photographic origin, including renderings generated via text prompts, are prohibited. Images must be captured in either British Columbia or the Yukon, by a light-sensitive device or surface and recorded on paper, film or in a digital format. Post capture treatments using artificial intelligence and third party pre-sets may not add or generate textures or elements not captured by the photographer. The original RAW or JPEG of Potential winning images may be requested. CAPA uses a variety of techniques and proprietary algorithms to detect generative AI.
Submissions
Club members may submit up to two photos by January 28, 2025 for consideration for the VC Club entry of 6 images by different members. Individual CAPA members may submit up to 3 images to CAPA for the Individual portion of this competition, which closes February 28, 2025.
Results
2025
Results are in on CAPA Colour Inspiration 2025. VCC won the Silver Medal in Colour, scoring 148 points. 51 clubs entered. Congratulations to Christy Grinton (Martin) for "Rufous Hummingbird in Blooms", 27 points, PLUS 3rd Merit - Nature award, Lori Moilanen for "Blaze Spark Smolder", 25 points, PLUS 3rd Merit - Dramatic, Peter Kolbleitner for "Painted Stork Grooming", 25 points, Lynn Page, "Glorious Light, Sagrada Familia", 24 points, Normand Marcotte, "Spiralling in Colour", 24 points, and Jim Fowler, "Fireworks Cat with Blur", 23 points. See Gallery to the Right.
2024
VCC won an Honour Award in the CAPA Colour 2024 Club Competition, with pictures by Christy Grinton (Martin), "The Colours of Costa Rica" (25.5 points), Bob Ianson, "Aztec Warrior Warcry" (24.0 points), Alec Lee, "In Search of Nectar - Hewitson's Longwing Butterfly" (24.0 points), Heather Thompson, "The Incense Shop" (23.5 points), Jerome Rozitis, "Blue Domes Over Rooftops" (23.5 points), and finally Jim Fowler, "Cat in the Doorway" (21 points), for a Club total of 141.5. Congratulations to VCC, but wait, there's more.
Kathryn Delany won the Gold Medal in the Individual Competition, scoring two images at 26.5 and a third at 23.5. Kathryn also won 2nd and 3rd Merit for those 2 images in a run-off with another 26.5 nature image. Wow, Kathryn, Gold Medal and 2 Merits! In addition, Christy Grinton (Martin) won the Bronze medal with scores of 25.5, 25.0 and 23.0 points for her three images. 183 contestants entered 541 images in this Canada-wide competition, so this is a fabulous achievement, Gold and Bronze.
See the gallery.
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Specifications
- Images should be in JPEG format, maximum 1400 pixels on the horizontal x 1050 on the vertical in size.
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Note: One of the dimensions must be exactly the maximum allowed size (either 1400 or 1050 pixels).
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For example, a portrait image would have a vertical dimension of 1050 pixels, the maximum allowed for the vertical dimension. A square image would be 1050 x 1050 pixels so as not to exceed the vertical maximum.
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sRGB colour space is recommended, with a maximum file size of 1.8 MB
- Maximum number of submissions per VCC member is two.
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Please preserve your image’s original RAW or JPEG formatted files, should CAPA request them.
See 2025 Colour Inspiration Competition for More Information
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