Competition & Member Critique Assigned Subject Descriptions

MPC 2022-2023 Season

Black & White – A black and white image containing various shades of grey from black to white is considered to be a monochrome photo. A black & white work toned entirely in a single color will remain a monochrome work able to stand in the black & white category (e.g., sepia-toned).

Macro – Macro photography refers to taking pictures of small things at close range. Any small object, or a small portion of a larger object, can be a subject for macro photography. A good macro photo reveals details and textures in the object that can’t be observed with normal photography or by an undiscerning eye.

Street Photography – Street photography is a form of spontaneous photography that portrays everyday life as it happens on the streets and elsewhere. Street photography is not limited to bustling city streets, narrow alleyways, and busy urban centers. It can happen in any public space, with people or without. Street photography must capture a truly candid, unstaged moment that reveals some true aspect of society.

Abandoned Building(s) – A photograph that creates impact using an abandoned building(s) as the primary subject.  The building(s) must be visibly abandoned, not just old. The image can include part or all of a building or more than one building, and can be of the exterior or interior.

Architecture – A photograph that captures the beauty and impact of architectural structures.  The subject can be a part of a building, a whole building, or several buildings that are closely architecturally linked. The interiors of buildings also qualify. Wide cityscape images do not qualify well for the architecture category.

Action – An action picture should capture an activity being performed. Action photography can include capturing people, animals and objects in the midst of an action.

Abstract – An abstract picture does not have an immediate association with a specific object. It could be a composition that concentrates on the fine details of an object, such as patterns, textures, colors, lines, curves, and edges of elements, but not the object itself. An abstract could also be a scene or an object where the photographer removed the details to create a more conceptual image using creative methods during the capture or in post-processing. For example, distorted reflections, soft silhouettes of people, and multiple overlapping images.

Rust – By definition, it is the red or orange oxide coating that forms on the surface of iron when exposed to air and moisture. A photograph can capture the impact of rust in many ways, including but not limited to the patterns of or within the rust, rust’s depiction of an aging object and rust peeling off the underlying base metal

Things We Walk Past – The things we walk past can really be anything of interest that one walks by or passes by. A successful image may be taken of an every day and perhaps ordinary object or scene captured in a new and impactful way.

Open – The open category has no subject restrictions and can also be in the subject area of any of the assigned subjects.