(photo by Matt Cashore) Above, 2019 Annual Print Competition judging at the Symposium at Grand Valley State University. This link is the most up-to-date information on contest deadlines, rules and entry specs and procedures.
Editor's note: To paraphrase David Bowie, these are indeed strange times, but we will turn and face them! Normally by 6 days into a new month I'd be nagging someone to do a MIC Q&A blog article on the image voted Best in Show in the April 2020 Monthly Image Competition. But the upheavals due to the COVID-19 outbreak have resulted in changes to the MIC...and the Symposium...and unrelated to the pandemic, the UPAA Board of Directors voted to change the Annual Print Competition to an online photo competition. In lieu of a MIC Q&A, this blog article collects and reiterates the various announcements of the past few days, weeks and months. -MC
2020 DIGITAL SYMPOSIUM
(photo by Nate Edwards) Experience the beauty of Utah virtually
The 2020 Symposium will now be free on Zoom. Click here for details.
ANNUAL PRINT COMPETITION BECOMES ANNUAL PHOTO COMPETITION
During the general business meeting at the 2019 Symposium the membership made clear that making prints has run its course, and at its mid-year meeting the Board of Directors voted to change the Annual Print Competition to The Annual Photo Competition (APC). This competition is the flagship competition of the UPAA. Judging the APC will take place online. In past years only those present at the Symposium had the opportunity to vote. The APC will allow all members to have a voice in choosing the very best in higher ed photography. It also ensures consistency and understanding of the effort required to make an exceptional photograph. The APC and the Monthly Image Competition combine to determine the highest award of the UPAA-the Mark A. Philbrick Photographer of the Year (POY). The POY is chosen by the Board based on the scores in both the APC and the MIC, 65% APC and 35% MIC.
Click here for an updated guide to rules, category descriptions, and tech specs including new specifications for the photo essay category. This link has a complete list of contests and deadlines, with further links to categories rules and other relevant information.
APRIL 2020 IS FINAL MIC OF 2019-20
April 2020 MIC results will be announced following the APC and POY announcement at the 2020Digital Symposium. The following is a copy of the email sent to members on 4/23/20:
The MIC will conclude for this academic year at the close of voting on April 30th. Because the results play into the outcome of the Photographer of the Year winner (determined by a combination of the MIC and APC results) they will not be posted until the conclusion of the Annual Photo Competition, which will still take place digitally in June.
We feel this is the fairest way to address the work restrictions that now exist due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of our members have been unable to shoot anything for their institutions since mid-March which puts them at a disadvantage, and may render certain categories such as Sports Action meaningless with few entries.
For the members who are still producing images, we don’t want that important work to go unrecognized, so images shot in April and May will be allowed in the first competition of the next MIC cycle that begins September 1st. They will also be allowed in this year's APC competition.
Thank you and stay safe,
~The Board