SPS Bylaws:(Revised 11/13/08)


ARTICLE I: Dues and Assessments


A. Dues shall be fifty dollars ($50.00). Membership is extended to the Spouse and any dependent children (when all reside at one address). Dues for new membership obtained after June 30 shall be twenty five ($25) dollars. Dues for full time students shall be ten ($10) dollars. Dues are payable annually on or before January first.

B. All dues and assessments shall be paid to the Treasurer on the due date or on demand, as the case may be.


C. Dues shall be considered in arrears after the 30th day of January. The Treasurer shall give written notice to any member whose dues are unpaid and unless paid to the Treasurer within thirty (30) days from the date of said notice,the member shall automatically be dropped from active membership.

ARTICLE II: Membership

A. After a candidate for membership has paid current dues and assessments, he/she is granted Provisional Membership. Provisional Membership entitles the member to all rights and privileges except the right to vote in any meeting of the society. The Provisional period will be for thirty (30) days. Members of the Society having objection to admission of the candidate to the Society may cast a negative vote within the 30 day period. If no more than three negative votes are cast, the candidate shall be considered elected to membership. If four or more negative votes are cast, the candidate shall be rejected but may re-apply after two months.

B. Members shall be considered in good standing and eligible for the rights and privileges of the Society only when all dues and assessments as defined in ARTICLE I are paid currently and in full.

C. Any member of the Society may be dropped from active membership due to lack of interest, lack of participation, or unsatisfactory conduct by votes of two thirds or more of the remaining members present at a scheduled meeting. Notice of impending action must be given to all members at least 30 days prior to the meeting. This vote is to be by secret ballot. Notification of dropped membership and return of pro rata dues and assessments will be sent to the member within 30 days.

ARTICLE III: Annual Business Meeting

A. The Annual Business Meeting shall be held on the date set for the second Thursday in November.

B. The membership shall elect a chairman and a recording secretary to serve for this meeting only.

C. The Annual Business Meeting shall be conducted in general accordance with the Parliamentary Procedures of Robert's Rules of Order.

D. A quorum consists of at least five (5) current members.

E. Additions or Amendments to the BY-LAWS and COMPETITION RULES to be considered during the Annual Business Meeting will only be heard if those changes, or amendments have been received in writing by the Board of Directors. Additions or Amendments must be submitted to the Board of Directors no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting night so that proposed revisions can be sent to the membership one week prior to the meeting night.

ARTICLE IV. Election of Officers

A. At the Annual Business Meeting a nominating committee appointed by the President shall propose to the membership a slate of officers for the next year. Other nominations may be made from the floor. The terms of office in each case shall be for one year.

B. The Officers of the Society and their duties shall be as follows:

1. The President and Chairman of the Board shall be vested with the authority to represent the Society, to call and preside at meetings of the membership and of the Board, to appoint, assist and coordinate the committees and their activities. He shall at all times endeavor to carry out the policies as set forth by the membership. He shall have no vote in any matters except to break a tie vote in board meetings.

2. The First Vice-President shall assist the President in the operation of the organization and shall assume the President's duties whenever necessary to conduct or carry on a meeting or activity of the Society. The First Vice-president shall be in charge of all programs and chairman of any committee appointed to work with programs.

3. The Second Vice-President shall assist the President in the operation of the organization and shall assume the duties of the President or First Vice-President whenever necessary. The Second Vice-President shall be directly responsible for any and all print and slide competitions, and all other activities concerning entries from the Society as a group to other organizations or activities. The Second Vice-President shall be responsible for all records concerning such activities.

*4. The Secretary / Treasurer shall be responsible for all records, correspondence, and notices to the members. The Secretary shall be responsible for all minutes necessary for the records at all meetings of the members and of the Board of Directors and shall be responsible for all of the financial records of the Society, the collection of dues and assessments from the members and proper notification of each member as to his or her financial standing with the Society. He shall at all times keep a complete and up-to-date record of all payments and disbursements made to and for the Society.

*5. Webmaster / Public Affairs Director shall be responsible for all publicity to the public via the official SPS web page. The Webmaster shall be the primary liaison for the release of information to the public from members and officers.

C. All elections shall be held by secret ballot or a show of hands from all members in good standing present at the Annual Business Meeting, provided that a quorum is present.

ARTICLE V: Board of Directors

*A. The Board of Directors shall consist of six members, five of whom must be the currently elected officers plus one elected at large.

B. The members of the Board shall be elected by the membership at the Annual Business Meeting. Vacancies occurring in the Board of Directors and between Annual Business Meetings shall be filled by vote of the remaining Directors.

C. A majority of the board members shall constitute a quorum of any regular meeting of the board.

ARTICLE VI: Committees

A. Committees generally shall consist of a chairman and two members, as may be appointed by the President.

B. The President may appoint any committee or committees that he deems necessary and expedient for the proper conduct of the activities of the Society, or may disband any such committee upon completion of its duties or at such times as the committee is no longer necessary.

ARTICLE VII: Monthly Business

A. New business shall be directed to any Board Member for discussion and/or action at the Board Meeting.

B. A report of the Board meeting shall be presented at the second monthly meeting of the membership to inform all members present of the business of the Board and resolve any unfinished business. Time for this report and or business activity is limited to ten (10) minutes.

C. A quorum for this meeting is as defined in ARTICLE III, Paragraph D.

D. The Board of Directors will correct flaws in Bylaws and Competition Rules as needed during any scheduled Board meeting. Corrections of flaws are limited to grammatical errors, typing errors and layout improvements that improve the quality of the document, but do not change the meaning or intent of the original statement. This will eliminate the need for formal amendments to make minor corrections.

COMPETITION RULES:(Revised 11/13/08)

*Member entry into print competition in monthly meetings of the Shreveport Photographic Society (SPS) is governed by the following rules, which were adopted at the annual business meeting held November 8, 2007, and supersede the rules for the calendar year 2007, and all previous years. Any member of SPS in good standing may submit images for monthly competition in accordance with the following:

1. To be eligible for judging, images must be presented to the Competition Chairman, or in his/her absence the presiding officer, before 6:30 p.m. the night of the competition. This will allow the meeting to begin as scheduled. Members who wish to submit entries for competition but cannot attend the meeting or will arrive late are encouraged to send their images via another member.

The maker of a possibly controversial image must inform the Competition Chairman in advance that such image is being submitted. The Competition Chairman shall have sole authority for deciding whether such image will be allowed in competition.

2. Any member entering a monthly print competition may submit up to four (4) prints (which may be commercially printed) in each of the seven stated categories. Frames are not permitted.

*A. OPEN, Black & White (maximum image size 576 square inches with mat or longest print side not to exceed 24 inches). Any black & white print is eligible for entry in the OPEN, Black & White category.

*B. OPEN, Color (Maximum image size 576 square inches with mat or longest print side not to exceed 24 inches). Any color print is eligible for entry in the OPEN, Color category.

*C. NATURE (maximum image size 576 square inches with mat or print longest side not to exceed 24 inches). Color and Black & White shall be combined in this category. NATURE is defined as the use of the photographic process to depict all observations of facts and phenomena from all various branches of natural history in such fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify to its honest presentation. Human elements, if present, must be unobtrusive and enhance the nature story. Photographs depicting cultivated plants, domestic animals, mounted specimens, museum habitats or still life studies are ineligible. EXCEPTION: Detailed micro, or macro photographs. Derivation or any form of photographic manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement are ineligible and should not be submitted. Scientific banding visible on wild animals will not disqualify entries. Descriptive titles are recommended for Nature images.

*D. NONTRADITIONAL (maximum image size 576 square inches with mat or longest print side not to exceed 24 inches). Color and Black and White shall be combined in this category. Nontraditional images are those using more manipulation than the usual enhancements to produce painting-like images as well as commercial and graphic art type images. Infrared photography, solarization and other nontraditional wet lab techniques are included in this category.

*E. PORTRAITURE (maximum image size 576 square inches with mat or longest print side not to exceed 24 inches). Color and Black & White shall be combined in this category. This category includes portraits of animals as well as people.

*F. SMALL PRINTS, Color (maximum image size of 100 square inches, can be mounted up to 12x16).

*G. SMALL PRINTS, Black & White (maximum image size of 100 square inches, can be mounted up to 12x16).

A series of prints will not be allowed unless all prints are mounted on the same mat or mounting. Total dimensions of all prints are not to exceed image square inch rule.

3. Scoring. Images will be scored as applicable to the individual category by three judges on a 5-point system.

A. Points will be scored using the following criteria:

1: Never should have been entered.
2: One or more defects obvious to most photographers in:
a. Exposure
b. Composition
c. Color Balance
d. Focus
e. Subject Interest
f. Tonal Range
3: Average impact; good by most standards; a quality image with defects obvious only to critical photographers.
4: Immediate impact; high subject interest; minor defects obvious only to a highly critical photographer, which are debatable. Worthy of annual competition.
5: Superior in all respects.

B. If one of the three scores is two or more points different from the other two judges’ scores, there will be a brief reexamination of the print and a second scoring. The second score stands.

C. Eleven (11) points must be scored to qualify for annual competition.

D. *Each image receiving the proper score for annual competition must be uploaded to the Club Gallery and be placed in the Monthly Gallery in which the image was entered.

1. The uploaded file must include the maker’s name, same title as entered and the score. Other information is optional.

2. Uploading the images is the responsibility of the maker, or a representative.

3. The Competition Chairman will make a list of eligible entries only from those images found in the Monthly Galleries. Qualifying entries not found in the Monthly Galleries will not be sent to annual competition.

4. At the beginning of each competition meeting the Competition Chairman shall select 3 judges and 1 critiquer from the membership. Judges and critiquer will evaluate:

A. Immediate Impact. Does it move me? There should be an emotional rather than an intellectual reaction.

B. Technique. It should be technically satisfactory: exposure, focus, printing, etc.

C. Balance. The subject matter and the technique should balance. One should not overpower the other.

D. Style. It should have an individuality that makes it distinguishable from other images.

E. Message. It should have a meaning. Does it say something?

F. Composition. Is it well composed and well designed?

G. Does it hold my interest? – After all the above evaluations are made is it still interesting? Does it have secondary impact? Once these items have been addressed, the critiquer is free to provide personal commentary.

5. In order to prevent lengthy and verbose comment or discussion, the critique will be monitored and time managed by the Competition Chairman. If time is called, the next image will be shown.

6. In the event of a malfunction of the score counting machine, competition will resume with the use of numbered pads or cards.

7. Participants will bring their images marked with title, category, and maker’s name. Prints will be marked on the rear, top left corner, with labels furnished by SPS or of equal design. To label a print, lay the print in front of you in the viewing position and flip it horizontally. Looking at the back, apply the label to the top left corner. The print will be shown for competition using the label as indicative of placement in the viewing box.

8. Before the evening’s end, the Competition Chairman will make a written list of all entries eligible for annual competition and turn it over to the Secretary or Public Affairs Chairman. The eligible list will be posted on the web site.

9. Images accepted for annual competition may not be entered in another monthly competition. Images not qualifying for annual competition may be reentered the following calendar year or later.

10. Images selected for annual competition may not be altered in any way prior to being judged in annual competition.

NOTE: Any member having a question concerning the proper category for an image should consult the Competition Chairman. The criteria of the categories in SPS competition comply with the guidelines of the Photographic Society of America (PSA). They are generally stated in Rule 2.

Note: * denotes a change.

Criteria for Print Exhibit Entries:

Prints can be color or Black and White.
All prints shall be over matted.
Mats will be White or Black.
Frames will be metal.
Frame colors are Black, Silver, or Gold.
Frames must be affixed with a wire for hanging.
Prints shall be framed with glass.
Print sizes including the mat shall be a minimum of 11 X 14 or 154 sq. inches and up to a maximum of 24 X 24 or 576 sq. inches.*

Subject matter is the maker’s choice, however the print exhibit chairman will have the final decision as to the suitability of the image and will determine if the prints show or not.


NOTE:
The print size is written as to allow flexibility in frame sizes. As written, square and non standard frame dimensions are allowed.