Photo Competitions
Challenge yourself with monthly themed competitions judged by professionals to improve your skills and gain recognition.
Current Competition
Monthly Competition
Check the calendar for the monthly competition themes which include: Pictorial, Nature, Journalism, Creative, Travel, Monochrome + Specialty Categories.
Competition Categories
Pictorial
Use of the photographic medium as an art form. The emphasis is on interest, visual impact, composition, and technical excellence. Images in the Pictorial category are not confined to any particular subject, type, or style of photography.
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 informative and nature story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality, while maintaining high technical quality.
Monochrome
A monochrome image refers to an image in black and white (grayscale), but also includes images made of tones of a single color. For example, sepia images, which display tones from light tan to dark brown, or cyanotype images (blueprints) are also monochrome.
Creative
Creative photography is producing an image through the use of imaginative skill or originality of thought including the altering of reality.
Journalism
Entries shall consist of pictures with informative content and emotional impact, including human interest, documentary and spot news.
Travel
A Photo Travel image must express the feeling of a time and place, and portray a land, its distinctive features or culture in its natural state. There are no geographical limitations. Close-up pictures of people or objects must include distinguishable environment.
Alternate Categories
N4C provides a calendar of different image themes on a rotation.
Rules & Instructions
Click thru to the full website. Complete competition rules are in the log-in user section. Images must fit in a 1920 x 1920 pixel box. See individual category rules for what adjustments can be made.
Recent Hall of Fame
Herb Gaidus
1000+ Gannets!
January 2026
Andrew Gaidus
Black Widow Spider
January 2026
Elizabeth Springs
The space in between
9.25
Maria Rodriguez
City Lights at Dusk
January 2026
James Wilson
Winter Storm
December 2025
Linda Park
Redwood Cathedral
December 2025
Submission Rules
- All entries must be original work by the submitting member
- Basic adjustments are allowed in all categories: exposure, color balance, sharpening, cropping and extensive edits are allowed in some categories (like pictorial, creative and monochrome).
- Maximum of three entries per person per competition
- Submissions due by midnight Wednesday the week before competition
- Maximum image size: 1920 pixels on longest side
Judging Criteria
Impact
The initial wow factor and emotional response the image evokes
Composition
How well the elements are arranged within the frame
Technical Quality
Exposure, focus, sharpness, and overall image quality