2026-2027 Challenge Topics and Schedule
Important information for this season:
- We will be holding two of our meetings ONLINE.
- We will once again use Chat GPT, an artificial intelligence program as a judge. AI has gotten a bad rap with fake photos and videos, but when used correctly, and legally, it is a powerful tool that references a huge database of knowledge, including what makes an excellent photo. Chat GPT made its appearance last season. We will be improving it's judging parameters based on what we learned.
Each monthly challenge will have one assigned topic and OPEN category. Digital images are submitted via our website. Prints are currently not part of the monthly Challenges.
To upload your images, go to "Challenges | Competitions" > "Submit Images to a Challenge".
September 15 - In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
One Dominant Color, judged by Greg D’Angelis
Build your image around one dominant color.
October 20 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
Fragments, judged by Robert Zurfluh
Show a partial subject or tell an incomplete story.
November 20 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
People at Work, judged by Mike Pillows
Show people engaged in work, craft, or labor.
ONLINE MEETING December 15 via Zoom 7:00PM
Three, judged by Denise Bush
Feature exactly three subjects or elements.
ONLINE MEETING January 19 via Zoom 7:00PM
Movement, , judged by Buddy Elazer
Illustrate travel through space or time. Take the viewer on a journey not to a destination.
February 16 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
Found Geometry, judged by Frank Smith
Find geometrical relationships in a scene through shapes, repetition, or symmetry.
March 16 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
Painterly, judged by Rich Lewis
Create a photo with painterly qualities through the use of light, shadow, composition, or in-camera effects. Painterly effects created primarily through the use of filters or painting software are not the intent of this challenge.
April 20 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
What Remains, judged by Jacki Dickert
Explore memory, leftovers, emotional residue, ruins or abandonment.
May 18 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
Against the Odds, judged by Don Schroder
Tell a story of persistence, resilience, or survival.
June 15 – In Person at Medford Leas 7:00PM
This Shouldn’t Work, judged by ChatGPT
Present unexpected combinations, visual contradictions, or elements that seem out of place together, yet somehow create a successful image.