We are delighted to announce that the SACC, in conjunction with the IPF (Irish Photographic Federation), will be hosting the Celtic Challenge competition this year.  The Celtic Challenge is an annual international photographic competition between federations from celtic nations.  The competition travels between countries and Ireland through the SACC finds itself once again in a position to host it this year.

The competition itself will be held in the Pembroke Hotel in Kilkenny City on Saturday, September 19th 2015 and we have organising a full weekend of activities as we look forward to welcoming visitors to beautiful Kilkenny and surrounding area. Take a look at this gallery from when we hosted the competition in 2013 in Cork!

The full schedule is outlined below, followed by the booking form. We’d be delighted to see you for any or all of the weekend, so book your spot now! Viewing the judging of the competition itself is free of charge! The competition features ten colour prints, ten monochrome prints and ten projected images from each federation. The federation receiving the highest overall score is announced as the winner!

Any questions or queries, please send them to us via the contact page on our website and we’d be delighted to respond!

• Friday, September 18th
  Join us for a visit to the Hook Head peninsula in Co Wexford which is approx 75 mins drive from Kilkenny. There one can visit one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world, dating back some 800 years. The area is also home to the historic Dunbrody and Tintern abbeys. The day will also include a stop for lunch and a visit to the pretty village of Inistiogue in Co Kilkenny and to the Woodstock Estate and Gardens.  Cost is €30. For those wishing to avail of the guided tour, please note this costs €6 extra – payable directly to the Visitor Centre at Hook Head.
• Saturday, September 19th
  A morning tour of Kilkenny city’s highlights including Kilkenny Castle, St Canice’s Cathedral and Rothe House and Gardens. Cost is €15.
  On Saturday afternoon we will have the judging of the images while on Saturday evening we will have a dinner in the Pembroke Hotel. Viewing of judging is free of charge. Dinner costs €30.
• Sunday, September 20th
  Free time for those who wish to explore Kilkenny further. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for suggestions!

Bookings close on Friday September 4th 2015!

There was a great attendance at last weekend’s SACC interclub competition in Kilkenny with 12 clubs taking part and around 150 attendees for the judges’ comments in the afternoon. Thanks to our judges for the day; Ciara Drennan AIPF from Portlaoise Camera Club, Paul Stanley FIAP EFIAP EsFIAP from Dublin Camera Club and Gabriel O’Shaughnessy FIAP MFIAP FRPS EFIAP/b from Dundalk Photographic Society. They did an excellent job and their helpful comments on the various panels were very well received.

Thanks to Kilkenny Photographic Society for hosting the event and the many club members who helped make the day run so smoothly. A big thank you is also due to Niamh Whitty and Jason Town from Cork Camera Group for their expert assistance on the day.

Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny proved to be an excellent venue for the competition and thanks goes to staff at the school for accommodating every request made of them.

Several of our existing trophies had reached capacity and were retired at this event and several new trophies were donated. We’ll write a full post later in the year regarding all of these. Suffice to say, thank you to all trophy donators, old and new.

Congratulations go to Cork Camera Group who completed the triple by winning the competition for the third year in a row.  Wexford Camera Club took second place overall and Blarney Photography, a club that’s only a few years old, were delighted to be announced as third overall.  Blarney also took second place in Monochrome print with Wexford taking third in Monochrome print and second in Colour print. Mallow Camera Club claimed third spot in Colour print and joint second in Projected section. This was shared with Carlow Photographic Society – in their very first SACC Competition!   Congratulations to all clubs and special thanks to the team in each club involved in the selection of club panels who help make this such a great competition.

The individual award winners are as follows – and again, our congratulations!

Best overall & best monochrome print: Barry Walsh with “Empire” from Wexford Camera Club
Best colour print: Vladimir Morozov with “Poppy” from Wexford Camera Club
Best projected image: Roger Jones with “Up and Over” from Carlow Photographic Society

All winning panels & images are shown below – click to enlarge.  These, along with presentation & other images from the day are now available over in SACC Interclub 2015 Gallery here on our website. For even more images from the day, take a look at some of the preparations over on our Facebook page (and be sure to ‘like’ the page while you are there!).

For full results, please go to our results page.

Thank you for your participation and we look forward to an even bigger event next year!

We look forward to another exciting competition this coming Sunday as we wait to see the panels competing for the title of SACC Interclub Champions 2015.  The competition will be held at Loreto Secondary School, Granges Road, Kilkenny.

Can Cork Camera Group retain the title and make is three in a row?  Will long-standing title holders Mallow Camera Club reclaim the title once again?  Do the host club Kilkenny Photographic Society have the winning panels this year having being so close in previous years?  Will the trophy be moving to the South East with Wexford Camera Club & Waterford Camera Club in the mix? Or will it be one of the newer clubs?!

The trophy pictured on the right was donated by Enniscorthy Camera Club and is the trophy that the overall winning club receives. We have several new trophies this year as some of the older trophies had filled up, and we’ll be introducing these on the day too.

There are also trophies and certificates on offer at club level for each section and also gold medals for best image in each section individually!

Please note that there is a general meeting of the SACC scheduled for 10.15am. Please attend and welcome the new committee in their introductions, hear the plans for the coming year and get involved with your suggestions.

For some helpful advise on preparing panels, please read this article!

We extend our thanks to the members of Kilkenny Photographic Society who are helping to host the event and to Limerick & District Photographic Society for the use of their panel boards.

The judges are listed below. Please note that no competing club or member is permitted to approach any judge with regard to any scores or decisions in relation to the competition.

•  Ciara Drennan AIPF, Portlaoise Camera Club
•  Paul Stanley FIPF EFIAP EsFIAP, Dublin Camera Club
•  Gabriel O’Shaughnessy FIPF MFIAP FRPS EFIAP/b, Dundalk Photographic Society

Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish all clubs the very best of luck.

The schedule for the day is outlined below and while we will do our best to ensure we follow it as closely as possible, please bear in mind that some parts of the day are always unscripted!  Please note that prints may not be removed from panel boards until the conclusion of the competition.  Each club will receive a printed copy of its scores at the end of competition – please be sure to pick up the copy for your club.

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Hello to all member clubs of the SACC!

The new committee is as follows:

Chair: Richie Dwyer
Secretary: David Barrie
Treasurer: Liam Cahill
Committee: Niamh Whitty, Ned Mahon and Eamon Wall

Firstly, our sincere thanks to the outgoing committee led by chairperson Bill Power, John Doheny, Niamh Whitty, John Hogan and Neily Curtin. They ran the SACC very effectively for more than two years and deserve the appreciation and thanks of all clubs and club members. We are delighted to have Niamh staying on the new committee. All members of the committee with the exception of Niamh are from Kilkenny Photographic Society.

Our task as the incoming committee is to follow the well established format for competitions over the course of the year. The first one up is the annual Interclub Competition which as you know takes place in Kilkenny on the last Sunday in March 2015. We look forward to welcoming you all to Kilkenny on the 29th.

We also have the Creative Photography competition, the Print & Projected Image and the Nature competitions. We would appreciate if clubs would volunteer to host the Creative and Nature competitions now so that everything can be put in place well in advance of the due dates. It is important that these competitions take place throughout the SACC area and not just be concentrated in a particular region year after year.

The Print and Projected competition will again take place in the Horse and Jockey Hotel on November 22nd and hosted by the SACC so put that date in your diaries!

We are also investigating the possibility of arranging lecture tours to SACC clubs by well known photographers and we will need a club or clubs to host these visits. We’ll have more details on this in a few weeks.

Finally, we would welcome suggestions from member clubs as to what you want from the SACC. Remember, this is your association so everyone should play their part in making it a success.

Now that we are well into spring and with the best part of the year ahead of us may we wish you all a wonderful photographic year. Do make the most of it.

Richard Dwyer, SACC Chairman

The SACC Interclub Comeptition 2015 will be held on Sunday March 29th at Loreto Secondary School, Granges Road, Kilkenny.

Rules and entry fees are unchanged since last year and may be viewed on this link. In summary, panels are presented as colour print, monochrome print and projected image. A club may enter one, two or all three panels with ten images per panel. No photographer may be represented more then twice on any given panel.  Prints MUST fit on the panel boards.
Entry fee remains the same as last year.

One panel: €20
Two panels: €30
Three panels: €40

What do my club need to do to enter?

• Step 1 – Register & Pay by March 19th

Due to the logistics involved in arranging access to and transporting the panel boards, we need all participating clubs to complete registration below by Thursday March 19th. So the first thing you need to do it to tell us you are entering (and which sections you are entering) and pay the entry fee either via Paypal or by sending a cheque to our treasurer Liam at his address below.

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Payment can also be made by cheque to Liam Cahill, SACC Treasurer at the address below. Please include club name, club website, contact name, contact number and contact email address with all correspondence.

Liam Cahill,
SACC Treasurer,
1 The Meadows,
Callan,
Co. Kilkenny

• Step 2 – Email completed entry form by March 27th

Entry forms (the details of the images being submitted – titles and authors) need to be with us by Friday March 27th. The entry form for 2015 can be downloaded via this link.  Please complete, save and mail a copy to interclub@sacc.ie by Friday March 27th 2015.  Please study the rules before submitting!

• Step 3 – Prepare

• Pack double-sided sticky velcro

Lots of it! You’ll need double-sided sticky velcro to attach your prints to the panel boards.

• Watch out for mount size

Maximum mount size is 20 x 16 inches. The dimensions of the panel boards are 8 x 4 feet (96 x 48 inches). Please note that if you are using the maximum size mount, and all mounts on any row are landscape oriented, they are not going to fit on the panel boards. You need to either adjust the layout of your panel, or use slightly smaller mounts.

• Hang panels

We’ll be announcing schedule for the day shortly.

• What to bring on competition day?

• For Print Panels:

• Prints & velcro. Measuring tapes, levels, laser pointers etc optional!
• Printed thumbnail view of each overall print panel layout – A4 print ideal on any kind of paper
• Jpg of thumbnail view of each overall panel layout on disc or memory stick
• Jpegs of each image on each print panel (sized to 1024 pixels on longest edge) on disc or memory stick

• For Projected Panels:

• Jpg of thumbnail view of projected panel layout (x2, one with name of club included, the other without) on disc or memory stick
• Digital jpgs of each image on projected panel (sized to 2400 pixels on longest edge) on disc or memory stick, numbered 1-10

For any issues or queries, please use the contact form on our website and a member of the committee will be in touch.

Please note that only members of paid up clubs will have access to SACC competitions and only paid up clubs will be eligible to enter SACC Interclub Competition. Please refer to fees page to pay your 2015 club fees and provide contact details for your club.

Our AGM takes place tomorrow, Saturday January 24th @ 10.30am sharp in Woodlands Hotel Waterford following the registration of prints for Nature competition.

Each club is expected to send delegates to the AGM – ideally two.

The SACC is your organisation; a federation of clubs to serve the needs of clubs and club photographers in the region.

Please ensure that your club is represented at the AGM on Saturday morning.

The current SACC Committee have reached the end of their two year term and will not be seeking re-election.

The AGM was originally announced for the date of the SACC PPI qualifying round in November, but due to time constraints on the day, a decision was made beforehand to defer it and notification was sent to clubs.

The SACC Regional Qualifier of the IPF National Nature Competition 2015 will be held on Saturday, January 24th @ Woodlands Hotel, Waterford.

This competition operates under the new FIAP nature definition.   Please study both it and the competition rules before entering.

Please note:

• Your images must be entered via this online system by midnight on Thursday January 22nd.  Projected images must be registered and uploaded, while print entries need to have their titles entered.
• Prints MUST be presented in 20″x16″ mount.
• Prints which do not qualify for finals may not be collected until released at the end of the competition day by SACC committee.
• It is your responsibility to read and understand the rules prior to entering. If you have any queries, please contact us via the contact page!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enter?

Entry & payment this is via online system which can be accessed here

When is the closing date?

Midnight, Thursday January 22nd.

Do I need a Paypal account to enter?

No. You can use Paypal as a guest user without creating an account.

What type of cards can I use with Paypal?

PayPal accepts the following cards:

• Visa / Delta / Electron
• MasterCard / Eurocard
• PayPal Top Up Card
• Maestro
• American Express

Debit cards (also known as bank cards) are accepted if they have a Visa or MasterCard logo.

What do I need to do if I’m entering projected images?

As well as registering your details and paying the entry fee, you need to upload the images as part of the entry process and provide titles for the images in the boxes provided. Jpgs only, sized to 2400 pixels maximum on longest edge.  If you are entering projected images only and no prints, once you have finished this process and paid online, you are all set.

I’m only entering prints in the competition. Do I still need to enter online?

Yes. For print entries, you need to register  your details along with the titles for the images and pay the entry fee. You do not need to upload a copy of the file. You need to bring the prints on the morning of the competition. Your prints must be clearly labelled on the back with your name, image title, competition category, level (intermediate/advanced) and camera club Minimum print size 10″x8″, however all prints must be mounted in a 20″x16″ mount. Please write details on the back to match the orientation of the image.

I’m not comfortable using computers or I don’t have internet access, can I get a friend/colleague to enter for me?

Yes.

I want to turn up and enter on the day of the competition. Can I do this?

No. All entries must be pre-registered by competition closing date.

I want to enter as intermediate rather than advanced because I think that’s the level I should be competing at. Is that ok?

No. The level you compete at is defined in the rules of the competition. If you meet ANY of the criteria for competing at Advanced level, then you must do so.  You may at any stage choose to compete at Advanced level (and therefore be eligible for prizes at that level), but at Intermediate, you must comply with rules.

Congratulations to Paul Reidy from Blarney Photography Club who was crowned the overall winner and recipient of the Seamus Scullane Memorial Trophy for his image ‘Old Wal’ at this years SACC Regional Qualifying Round of the IPF National Print & Projected Image Competition 2014/2015 in association with Canon.  Please note that we are unable to show you the wining images as the national final has not yet taken place.

SACC Chairman Bill Power pictured presenting Seamus Scullane Memorial Trophy for best overall image to Paul Reidy

The competition was held at the Horse & Jockey Hotel in Co.Tipperary on November 30th 2014 and was very well attended once again this year.  We wish all those who qualified from the SACC region the very best of luck in the finals.

We’d like to thank all involved in helping out on the day and particularly our team of judges; Ciara Drennan, Gerry Kerr and Paul Stanley who did a great job staying focused while judging hundreds of images.

Judges feeling mean.. just as well the competition is already over! Gerry Kerr, Ciara Drennan & Paul Stanley

Link to results
Link to presentation photos

The SACC is delighted to announce that it will be holding a further print sale for the Morgan O’Neill Fund this coming Friday and Saturday (Dec 12th & 13th) in Ballincollig Shopping Centre.

With a free gift wrap service and hundreds of stunning prints for sale, why not come along and grab yourself a Christmas bargain and all for a great cause!!

The SACC would like to thank the management of Ballincollig Shopping Centre for their support and assistance.

The Southern Association of Camera Clubs in association with 2nd Cork International Salon of Photography and Ballincollig Camera Club are delighted to present an evening with Bob Underhill AIPF APAGB.

Bob is visiting Cork this weekend as one of the judges of the 2nd Cork International Salon of Photography and we are really looking forward to his presentation at Oriel House Hotel in Ballincollig on Thursday December 4th. Doors open 7.45pm for an 8pm start with a €5 entry fee per person.  The information below is taken from the salon website and with such a wide range of interests, this is sure to be a very interesting evening.

“Bob has been interested in Photography since his school days and in 1964 he joined Smethwick Photographic Society, which is now the UK’s largest and most successful Photography Club. He has served on their committee for most of that time, including three terms as President.

He does not specialise in any one subject but takes all types of images, which he thinks will help him when selecting to be open and fair to all. During his time in club photography he has competed in competitions and exhibitions gaining many acceptances and more than his fair share of awards. He was a professional photographer for many years before retiring but he still finds no greater pleasure that from being out with the cameras looking for the next pleasing image and still getting that same old buzz.

For many years Bob has given talks to clubs and judged at all levels from small clubs to International Exhibitions. He enjoys the changing styles now being produced by many photographers, which helps to keep it interesting from the viewers prospective.”