Photo Explorer is international contest of art photography, organized by Photo club Besa from Elbasan, Albania.

The contest is divided into following sections:
A. OPEN COLOR [color/monochrome digital]
B. OPEN MONOCHROME [monochrome digital]
C. NATURE [color/monochrome digital]
D. PHOTOJOURNALISM [color/monochrome digital]
E. CULTURE [color/monochrome digital]
F. WOMAN [color/monochrome digital]

Closing Date: 16 June 2024
All judging completed by: 26 June 2024
Score Reports sent by: 03 July 2024
Awards mailed by: 31 August 2024

Depending of the number of sections participant enters, the entry fee cost as follow:
• 20 € for any 3 sections;
• 25 € for any 6 sections;

Discount for groups:
• 5-10 participants = 10%;
• 11-20 participants = 20%;
• 21-30 participants = 30%.

Payment of entry fee can be made in the following ways:
- Through our web site: https://pcbesa.com/explorer/

Images from participants who did not pay entry fee will not be taken into consideration.

IMAGE AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: This exhibition is open to anyone; however, an entry may be rejected when the Sponsor or the Exhibition Organizers, in their reasonable discretion, believes the entry does not conform to exhibition rules and these ES-COE. Membership in any photographic organization is not required. Entry fees are not refundable in these circumstances.
Image creation and ownership
In all sections of the exhibition, images must originate as photographs made by the entrant. They may not incorporate identifiable images produced by anyone else (for example: clip art, replacement skies, or stock images). Images created in whole or in part by image creation software (frequently called ‘AI’ images) are not allowed.
Reproduction: The entrant permits the sponsors to reproduce all or part of the entered material free of charge for publication and/or display in media related to the exhibition. This may include low resolution posting on a website.
Entries will not be accepted from entrants who indicate that their images may not be reproduced in materials related to the exhibition. The exhibition assumes no liability of any misuse of copyright
Entry: An Entry consists of, up to and including, four (4) images entered by a single entrant into the same Section. An entrant may only enter a specific Section once. Entrants may not enter identical or similar images into the same section or different sections of the same exhibition. Similar is defined as almost identical in subject, composition, props, lighting, or technique so that a reasonable person viewing the entries together would decide the entrant has duplicated the previous image except for minor changes.
Titles: Each image must have a unique title that relates to the content of the image. Titles must be 35 characters or fewer. No titles may be visible to the judges, and nothing in the image may identify the entrant. Titles may not include file extensions such as .jpg or .jpeg (or any other camera capture filenames such as IMG 471). Titles may not consist of personal identifiers possibly augmented by a number; or include words such as “untitled” or “no title”. Titles may not consist solely of numbers unless those numbers are prominently contained within the image, such as a contestant number in a race.
Color and Monochrome:
Color and Monochrome images from the same capture that share substantial pictorial content in common will be considered the same image and must be given the same title.

Photographs must be in JPEG format, with dimensions horizontal 1920 x vertical 1080 pixels at 300 DPI, JPEG compression (if Photoshop used for export): 7-12, file size maximum 4 Mb. No file naming is needed. Digital images cannot be altered, including resizing in either direction, by the exhibition or by the exhibition’s equipment before or during judging.
The photographs of authors with the application are submitted in these ways:
- uploading thought our web site: https://pcbesa.com/explorer/

JUDGING METHOD AND TARGET RANGE
The judging will be done by remote online judging. All judges will be using equipment capable of displaying images at 100% of the image resolution. Judges will be using color calibrated equipment.

Ylber Idrizi (SECTIONS: A, B, C, D, E & F) (Albania)
Dimitar Risteski (Sections: A, B, C, D, E & F) (KMF NPU; North Macedonia)
Dragan Prole (Sections: A, B, C, D, E & F) (EFIAP/d2, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

At the international exhibition Explorer 2024 the following awards will be presented:

FIAP Blue Badge for the best Author
6x FIAP Gold Medals [1 per section];
12x FIAP Blue Ribbons [2 per section];
6x IAAP Gold Medals [1 per section];
6x IAAP Silver Medals [1 per section];
6x IAAP Bronze Medals [1 per section];
18x IAAP Ribbons [3 per section];

The organizer reserves the right to award the most successful authors of Explorer 2024 depend on the total number of the entrants

FIAP Definition of Monochrome
A black and white work fitting from the very dark grey (black) to the very clear grey (white) is a monochrome work with the various shades of grey. A black and white work toned entirely in a single colour will remain a monochrome work able to stand in the black and white category; such a work can be reproduced in black and white in the catalogue of a salon under FIAP Patronage. On the other hand a black and white work modified by a partial toning or by the addition of one colour becomes a colour work (polychrome) to stand in the colour category; such a work requires colour reproduction in the catalogue of a salon under FIAP Patronage.
PSA/FIAP Nature Definition
Content Guidelines
● Nature photography records all branches of natural history except anthropology and archaeology. This includes all as-pects of the physical world, both animate and inanimate, that have not been made or modified by humans.
● Nature images must convey the truth of the scene that was photographed. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the image and be satisfied that it has been presented honestly and that no unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the image. Images that directly or indirectly show any human activi-ty that threatens the life or welfare of a living organism are not allowed.
● The most important part of a Nature image is the nature story it tells. High technical standards are expected and the image must look natural.
● Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a nec-essary part of the Nature story.
● Photographs of human-created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated animals, human-created hybrid animals and mounted or preserved zoological specimens are not allowed.
● Images taken with subjects under controlled conditions, such as zoos, are allowed.
● Controlling live subjects by chilling, anesthetic or any other method of restricting natural movement for the purpose of a photograph is not allowed.

NOTIFICATION
Notification cards will be sent by email.

CATALOG
All entrants of the event (participants which submitted works and paid entry fee) will receive on-line PDF catalog of the photo event. The organizer will take all possible care while handling the emails, awards and catalogs, however will assume no liability for damages. It is understood that awards can be lost in shipment to the recipients.

Chairman:
Bekim Kupi
Rruga 11 Nëntori
3000, Elbasan,
Albania
Entry via webpage: https://pcbesa.com/explorer/
Exhibition e-mail: [email protected]