NANAIMO CHAPTER SUMMER JURIED SHOW
July 23 - August 21

NANAIMO CHAPTER SPRING JURIED SHOW
MAY 1 - 15, 2010

There were 51 entries in total. 31 paintings were juried i to the show – 15 qualifying, and 16 non- qualifying.
In total, 25 paintings were hung and 220 people viewed the show.

Best in Show - Judith Madsen
Second Prize - Judy Brayden
Third Prize - Regina Seib
Award of Excellence - Norma Jackson
Award of Excellence - Barbara Ann Scott
Award of Excellence - Rich Williams

FCA Vancouver Shows

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Image Specifications (from FCA, Vancouver)

1. Must be a true copy of the original art work in values, intensity and colour.

2. File format must be JPEG (.jpg) only. Non-JPG files will NOT be converted by the Gallery.

3. Name file as follows: last name, first name or initial, title of work, size, and medium. Example - Smith, R, Fresh Flowers, 10x20, Acrylic.jpg

4. Minimum 24-bit true colour or 8-bit gray scale for black & white images.

5. Image resolution must be at least 4” x 5” (1200 pixels x 1500 pixels) at 300 ppi. This high resolution is required for publishing work in Art Avenue magazine.

6. Recommended maximum image size is 2000 pixels on the largest dimension (either height or width).

7. Images must be cropped so that only the picture is visible. Use a photo or image editing program to remove unwanted parts.

*Note: Poor quality images will be returned without being considered by the jury. Poor quality includes anything other than the art showing in the digital image. i.e. no frames, mats, easels, steps, etc. showing; images that are not square, over or underexposed, or with excessive glare from sun or flash.

BEFORE YOU START...

Before taking digital photos of your artwork, you should be to be able to do the following with your camera:

a) Set the image quality to the Highest setting available on your camera.
b) Adjust the white balance setting.
c) Turn the flash off.
d) Transfer the images stored on your camera to your computer.

The user manual that came with your camera should have instructions for all of these operations.

Once you have taken your your photos and transferred them to your computer you will need to edit them and save them in the .jpg format.

This is done in an image editing program.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is relatively inexpensive, extremely versatile, and is available for both Mac and PC. Arcsoft Photo Studio is also available for PC and Mac, and is slightly less expensive than PhotoShop Elements. These are just two of many. Most digital cameras come with image editing software that you can install on your computer, as do some scanners. You may also already have software on your computer

Adobe Photoshop Elements information http://www.adobe.com

No matter the program you have on your computer, you should be able to do the following with it..

a) crop your image
b) adjust the colour, brightness and contrast if necessary
c) set both the size (pixels) and resolution (ppi)
d) save at a high quality (low compression) in the .jpg format

TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH...

1. Ensuring that your image is IN FOCUS is extremely important. Use a tripod to reduce camera shake and give you a sharper image.

Most displays on digital cameras are too small to accurately check for focus. Don't be surprised if the image that looked perfect on your camera display looks slightly out of focus on your computer screen.

2. Avoid using the built in flash on your camera. Set your camera for no flash. If you are unable to change the flash setting, ensure the ambient light is bright enough that the automatic flash does not go off.

3. If working outdoors, try to take your photographs on a bright, overcast day. Don't photograph in direct sunlight.

4. Adjust the white balance on your camera to match the light conditions. Most digital cameras have settings for shade, cloud, sun, florescent light, incandescent light etc. Take some test photographs of your artwork at different settings and view them on the display on your camera. Pick the setting that gives you the truest colours.

*Unless you are an experienced photographer, let the camera pick the shutter speed and aperture for you. This means selecting one of the automatic settings. Your user manual should guide you in choosing the most appropriate setting.

5. Set your camera to the LARGEST/HIGHEST file size and resolution.

6. Make sure your camera is centered on the artwork, and try to get the artwork as square as possible to the camera. Use your camera display. If it looks crooked in the display, it is. Try to correct the alignment before you take the picture.

7. Avoid getting too close to the artwork. This can cause distortion (usually a fisheye effect). This differs from camera to camera (and in fact, from lens to lens), so you really need to experiment and find your own camera's perfect distance.

8. Avoid photographing works under glass. Photograph these works before they are framed if at all possible. This also applies to varnished oils and acrylics.

*If the work is already under glass, you can try photographing it on an angle to reduce glare and reflection, and correct the angles later in Photoshop.

EDITING YOUR IMAGE...

Once you have taken your photographs, transfer them to your computer and open them in your image editing program.

1. Correct camera distortion if necessary.

2. Adjust colour (remove colour cast... too blue, too red etc..) and brightness / contrast if needed.

3. Crop everything out of the picture so that all that remains is the artwork. Remember to also remove frame and mat if they have been included in the photograph. All that should be left is the actual image.

4. Adjust the size of the image: This is two step process...

a) Set the Resolution to 300 ppi (ppi = pixels per inch)

b) Set the size. FCA guidelines require that the longest dimension of your image be a maximum of 2000 pixels, and a minimum of 1500 pixels. It doesn't matter if this is the height or the width. Just choose whichever is longer.

Make sure that you maintain the relative dimensions of the image. In Photoshop, select "Constrain Proportions". In PhotoStudio, select "Keep Aspect Ratio".

It is important that the original image file (from your camera) is large enough to do this, so ensure that your camera is set to take images at the highest quality and size setting before taking your pictures. You can't go back and fix this later in Photoshop.

5. Save your file... (also a multi step process)

a) Follow the FCA guidelines when naming the file... last name, first name or initial, title of work, size, and medium.
Example - Smith, R, Fresh Flowers, 10x20, Acrylic.jpg

b) Choose file type. Most image editing programs will offer numerous file types. Ensure that you choose ".jpg". If you don't select .jpg, the file may be saved in whatever the image editing software defaults to.

c) Set image quality to 100% or maximum file size. In some programs, this might be called compression. If that is the case, set compression to "0".
(more compression = poorer image quality)

* make a note of where on your computer your image files are saved to so you can find them later when attaching them to an e-mail.

6. Once the file is saved, check the file size. When FCA guidelines are followed, most image files should be between 1MB and 3 MB (megabytes). If they are smaller than 1 MB or larger than 3MB, they may not have been saved at the correct size or resolution. Files larger than 3 MB can become difficult to e-mail.

E-MAILING YOUR IMAGES...

Some e-mail programs resize images for sending. Ensure that your e-mail program is sending the image at full size. You can determine this by checking the file size of the attachment. It should be roughly the same size as the saved image file.