2023-24 O3C Open Challenge

The Ontario Council of Camera Clubs Open Challenge is an annual competition among individuals of the member clubs. Each club member is able to submit up to 12 photographs total, to be divided between eleven categories. Categories include: Nature Animals, Nature Birds, Nature Botany, Nature Landscape / Geology, Expansive Views, People, People in Action, Architecture, Pictorial, Creative Vision and the Theme Topic, this year’s being Food and Drink. The individual member is able to divide their photographs between the categories in any way they choose as long as the photo matches the category.

Images are pre-screened by four judges and approximately 30 per cent of the images entered proceed to the final round of competition. From those images first, second and third placed images are selected for each category. Below this are “honourable mentions”, images that scored highly but did not make the final top three and account for approximately 10-15 per cent of the accepted images. There are also “specialist” awards for the individual having the highest cumulative score within a category, and a Diversity Winner (Photographer of the Year) who must enter at least one image into ten of the eleven categories one of which must be in the Theme category. Each Club is eligible to be recognized as winner within each category providing there are sufficient member entries into that category. Further there is the Stuart Freedman Trophy, awarded to the top scoring club in the overall competition.

The Guild did quite well this year, having fifteen brave souls entering a total of 180 images. Many had one or more images make it to the final round. Among the entrants Janice Balesic had one image receive an Honourable Mention and Gordon Carothers received “Specialist” in the Expansive View category.

The Guild also did well in the Stuart Freedman Trophy competition, coming in seventh out of ten clubs. Although this might not seem to be outstanding, the Guild only qualified to have scores counted in six of the eleven categories. Within the six categories we placed third in two and fourth in two.

Congratulations to all who entered and to Janice and Gord for their excellent performances,

Below are the top two scoring images for each of the entrants with scores out of 30.

Janice Balesic