The international exhibition of art photography Illusion is exhibition of art photography organized by Photo cinema club Pixel from Kichevo, North Macedonia.

The contest is divided into following sections:
A. OPEN (monochrome) ⊫ PSA PID MONOCHROME
B. OPEN (color) ⊫ PSA PID COLOR
C. Portrait (monochrome and color) ⊫ PSA PID COLOR
D. Travel (monochrome and color) ⊫ PSA PTD
E. Photojournalism (monochrome and color) ⊫ PSA PJD
F. Nature (monochrome and color) ⊫ PSA ND
G. Landscape (monochrome and color) ⊫ PID COLOR
H. City Life (monochrome and color) ⊫ PSA PJD
I. People (monochrome and color) ⊫ PSA PTD

Each photo can be presented in only one section.

I. Acceptances in PID recognized Color sections shall be credited towards PID Color Star Ratings and Who’s Who Color listings. Monochrome images accepted in PID recognized Color sections shall only be credited towards PID Color Star Ratings.
II. Acceptances in PID recognized Monochrome sections shall be credited towards PID Monochrome Star Ratings and Who’s Who Monochrome listings.
III. All acceptance eligibility shall be in accordance with the PID Star Ratings or the Galaxy/Diamond Ratings requirements as appropriate.

Closing date: 11 JUL 2021
Judging date: 19 JUL 2021
Notification date: 25 JUL 2021
Delivery of the catalogues and awards to the authors by 31 AUG 2021.

Depending of the number of sections participant applies, the fee cost as follow:

15€ for any 3 section;
20€ for any 6 sections;
25€ for all 9 sections.

The fee can be paid via PayPal through our web site: http://photogroup8.com/illusion/
The works of the authors who did not pay the fee would not be taken into consideration.

The contest is open to anyone (amateur and professional photographers from all over the world); however, an entry may be rejected when the sponsoring organization or its agent, in its reasonable discretion, believes the entry does not conform to the contest rules and conditions.
Entries must originate as photographs (image-captures of objects via light sensitivity) made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or acquired digitally. By virtue of submitting an entry, the entrant certifies the work as his own (aliases are not permitted). 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. Note: Entrants who indicate that their images may not be reproduced or used “will not be eligible for awards” or inclusion in audio-visuals of the exhibition “and could be subject to disqualification” by the exhibition sponsors.
By submitting an entry, the entrant certifies legal Age, and own all rights to these images, including copyright or parents or guardians gives permission on his/her behalf if he/she is not of Legal Age. The exhibition assumes no liability of any misuse of copyright. Images may be altered, either electronically or otherwise, by the maker. All final work must be on photographic film, or on electronic file, or on photographic or electronic print material, mounting excepted.
No title or identification of the maker shall be visible anywhere on the face of an image, print mat or mount.

Each image must have a unique title. Once an image has been accepted in a PSA Recognized exhibition, that same image, or a like “in camera” or a “reproduction” duplicate of that image:
i. May not be entered or re-entered in any section of the same Division Star Ratings class in that exhibition regardless of media, format, or title.
ii. May not be re-titled for entry in any other PSA Recognized exhibition, including translation into another language.
Words such as “Untitled” and “No Title” are not acceptable as part or all of an image’s title, nor are camera capture filenames.
An image may be entered in only one section where acceptances of that image in multiple sections would be eligible for the same star path.
An entrant’s images will not be presented to the judges consecutively. An entrant’s four images will be distributed throughout four rounds of judging in that section. Distribution of images shall be in the same round order as submitted by the entrant.
PSA Statement on Subject Matter
There is one hard and fast rule, whose spirit must be observed at all times and applies to all sections offered in PSA recognized exhibitions.
The welfare of the subject is more important than the photograph.
This means that practices such as baiting of subjects with a living creature and removal of birds from nests, for the purpose of obtaining a photograph, are highly unethical, and such photographs are not allowed in any PSA exhibitions.
There is also a PSA policy on the use of aerial photography - aircraft, helicopters and drones. This policy can be found at https://psa-photo.org/index.php?psa-policies#drone.
The purpose of this policy is to prevent any interference with other individuals or animals which will or may cause a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupt the way any individuals or animals interact with their environment. Entry in this exhibition requires exhibitors to agree to this and other PSA policies
The content of images must comply with these General Conditions and with the Division and Section definitions listed in these conditions. Images that - in the sole opinion of the judges or the Exhibition Organizers - do not comply are likely to be disqualified so the entrant may be aware of the problem when considering entry into other PSA recognized exhibitions.

Photographs must be in JPEG format, with dimensions 1920x1080 pixels at 300, 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 exhibitions equipment before or during judging.
The photographs of authors with the application are submitted in these ways:
- uploading thought our web site: http://photogroup8.com/illusion/

NOTICE: When an entrant fills in the Entry Form to submit an entry the entrant will see a feature to affirm he or she has read these Conditions of Entry when he or she fills out the entry form. If the entrant does not so affirm the entry will not be submitted.

To participate at this contest entrants will apply with black white or color works. Maximum number of photographs per section is 4. No title or identification of the maker shall be written anywhere on the face of an image.
Photographs must be sent in digital form, as a picture file with dimension 1920x1080 pixels at 300 dpi. The contest is not allowed to resize the pictures sent by the entrants. The works will be projected on Acer H6510BD FHD 1920x1080. No file naming is needed. Maximum file size is 4 Mb.

PROTECTION
By entering this contest, you are explicitly consenting to the personal details you have supplied, including email addresses, being held, processed and used by the contest organizers for purposes associated with this contest. You also explicitly consent to such information being sent to organizations that have accorded official recognition, patronage or accreditation to this contest. You acknowledge and accept that entering this exhibition means that the status and results of your entry may be made public.

BREACH
If the contest determines before, during, or after the judging that an entrant has submitted entries where one or more images fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, including the stated definitions, the contest reserves the right and discretion to delete the entry from the exhibition and void any or all acceptances or awards. Fees may be forfeited in these circumstances.
In order to ensure that images comply with the Conditions of Entry and definitions, the exhibition may carry out checks on the images to make sure that:
a) the images are the original work of the entrant and
b) the images comply with the rules and definitions as set out in these Conditions of Entry.
This may involve asking the entrant to provide originally captured image(s), with EXIF data intact, by a set deadline. The questioned image(s) of any entrant failing to comply with such a request for the original image(s) may be considered in breach of these Conditions of Entry, and declined.
Such entries may be referred to PSA for further investigation of possible ethics violations. PSA retains the right to investigate in any way all complaints/suspicions of breaches of entry conditions, impose sanctions if deemed necessary, include the entrant’s name on the list of sanctions provided to Exhibitions, and share such investigations with FIAP.
Entrants automatically agree to these terms by the act of entering the Exhibition.

Silvana Retter (Germany)
Pandula Bandara (Sri Lanka)
Buket Ozatay (Ciprus)

At international exhibition of art photography ILLUSION there will be awarded these medals:
9x PSA Gold, 18 ribbons;
9x IAAP Gold, 9x Silver, 9x Bronze medals and 27 ribbons;
9x NPUM Gold, 9x Silver, 9x Bronze medals and 27 diplomas;
The organizer reserves the right to award the most successful authors of ILLUSION depend on the total number of the entrants.

All entries shall conform to the stricter of these definitions for acceptances to be validated by all the International Organizations granting recognition or patronage.

[MONOCRHOME]
An image is considered to be monochrome only if it gives the impression of having no color (i.e. contains only shades of gray which can include pure black and pure white), or it gives the impression of being a gray-scale image that has been toned in one color across the entire image, example by sepia, red, gold, etc. A gray-scale or multi-colored image modified or giving the impression of having been modified by partial toning, multi-toning or by the inclusion of spot coloring does not meet the definition of monochrome and shall be classified as a Color Work.
A black and white work fitting from the very dark gray (black) to the very clear gray (white) is a monochrome work with the various shades of gray.
A black and white work toned entirely in a single color 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 catalog 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 color becomes a color work (polychrome) to stand in the color category; such a work requires color reproduction in the catalog of a salon under FIAP Patronage.
Monochrome images may be entered in PID Color sections but will only be eligible towards PID Color Star Ratings if accepted.

[NATURE]
Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation.
The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality
Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves.
Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible.
Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.
No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted.
Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning.
Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed.
Stitched images are not permitted.
Color images can be converted to greyscale monochrome.
Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not allowed.
Images entered in Nature sections meeting the Nature Photography Definition above can have landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.
Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections

[PHOTOJOURNALISM]
Photojournalism entries shall consist of images with informative content and emotional impact, reflecting the human presence in our world. The journalistic (story-telling) value of the image shall receive priority over pictorial quality. In the interest of credibility, images that misrepresent the truth, such as those from events or activities specifically arranged for photography or of subjects directed or hired for photography, are not eligible. Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. The only allowable modifications are removal of dust, scratches or digital noise, restoration of the existing appearance of the original scene, sharpening that is not obvious, and conversion to gray-scale monochrome. Derivations, including infrared, are not eligible.
Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections.

[TRAVEL]
A Photo Travel image expresses the characteristic features or culture of a land as they are found naturally. There are no geographical limitations. Images from events or activities arranged specifically for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography are not permitted. Close up pictures of people or objects must include features that provide information about the location.
Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. The only allowable adjustments are removal of dust or digital noise, restoration of the appearance of the original scene, and complete conversion to greyscale monochrome. Other derivations, including infrared, are not permitted. All images must look natural.
Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections
DRONE POLICY: The Board approved a new policy on the use of drones and it is available here https://psaphoto.org/index.php?psa-policies&a=view&faq_id=1632. The policy has a legal section which basically requires members to follow whatever laws exist in the country in which they are using a drone. There is also an ethical component to the policy and it states: One of the tenets of photography, is that the safety and well-being of the subject, photographer and surroundings is of paramount importance over the capturing of the photograph. The purpose of this section is to prevent any interference with other individuals or animals which will or may cause a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupt the way an individual or animal interacts with its environment.
1. May not fly a drone above people for the purpose of photographing their activity, unless permission is granted in writing
2. May not fly or photograph animals in their natural habitat, especially nesting areas and locations where the animal is already under stress (winter survival, migratory feeding, protecting young). Photographing scenery/landscapes is permissible.
3. May not fly or photograph in any designated wilderness area.

Notification cards will be sent by email.
All entrants of the contest (participants which submitted works and paid entry fee) will receive on-line PDF catalog of the photo contest.
The organizer will take all possible care while handling the emails, awards and catalogs, however will assume no liability for damages and loses during shipment.

Chairman:
Jovan Naumoski
6250 Kicevo;
North Macedonia
www.photogroup8.com