Entry to the competition is password protected. To apply to enter, please contact us here.
Introduction
This is an annual competition for current and former ADF Photographers with the winning entry receiving $1,000. It was conceived as a memorial to Mr Steve Given (4 July 1953 – 20 August 2020) whose tutelage and instruction has benefited so many of us in both our professional and personal lives.
The aim of the competition is to foster the values taught by Mr Given in the pursuit of excellence and innovation in photography. The winning image will not only need to be of excellent photographic quality but will also need to demonstrate a combination of pre planning, innovative techniques and co-ordination of execution.
Steve considered the process of capturing and processing the image as being as important, or perhaps more so, than the final image itself. He strove for excellence, not perfection. Steve maintained that a good photograph may be captured by accident, but a great photograph would always need to be thought about, planned and shot with intent.
‘With the final photo already visualised by the mind’s eye before the camera was ever taken out of the bag’.
Conditions for Entry (closing date 20 September 2025)
Only images taken between 20 Aug last year and 20 Aug this year to be submitted.
Image subject matter is totally up to you, but you must be the copyright holder (this will disqualify images taken by you for the military). The decision to not allow crown copyrighted submissions has been made as the legality of financially rewarding a government employee for work done during their employ is dubious.
Each entrant may submit up to 4 images for judgement, the following standards to apply:
• Images to be 14 inches longest side at 300 dpi (4200 pixel longest side) saved as jpg (level 10)
• Each image to be labelled (file named) with an appropriate title
• You are also to submit a document detailing your inspiration, intent and the execution of capturing and processing for each image. Environmental challenges, technical difficulties during capture and any interesting Photoshop techniques used should also be included.
• Unprocessed image(s) may also be required if advised by the judges.
