Competitions

BPIC is one of 23 camera clubs in Northern Ireland, all of which are members of Northern Ireland Photographic Association (NIPA), which is a regional representative body for amateur photography in Northern Ireland.

NIPA organises Inter-Club Competitions, an Annual Exhibition and many other photographic events/competitions, their programme can be found here.

NIPA Inter-club Competition

The Competition is held over the Club Season, and consists of 5 separate Rounds, with 3 sections in each: 

• Colour Prints

• Mono Prints

• Projected Digital Images (PDI)

For each round a Camera Club can submit:

• 4 Colour Prints

• 4 Mono Prints

• 4 Digital Images

The Club holds a selection evening, where entries to represent the club are chosen. At least one of the entries in each section MUST come from someone classified as a novice (Novice Definition). Individual club members are permitted to submit 2 images in each of above categories.

Prints should be displayed on mounts no larger than 40cm x 30cm.

Digital Images to be sized to a maximum of 1600 pixels wide and a maximum of 1200 pixels high. Any image which does not match the above pixel dimensions will be displayed with a dark grey border.  They should be in jpeg format and sRGB colour space. 

Some Rounds are open (i.e. any subject matter whatsoever) and other Rounds are themed.

For example: The subjects for the 'non-open' rounds of the 2025/2026 NIPA Inter-Club Competition are:

Round 2 - Macro

Round 4 - ICM

Each club submits its entries for each competition round, which are then independently evaluated by three judges. Each judge may award up to 5 points per image, resulting in a maximum possible score of 15. If a judge is a member of the club whose entry is being assessed, their score is omitted, and the average of the remaining two judges' scores is calculated and becomes the third judge's score.

Points awarded for each entry contribute to the submitting club’s overall score, which is used to determine the club rankings. Following the judging process, NIPA hosts a public adjudication, presented by one of its member clubs. During this event, the entries are showcased, and the three judges provide feedback on selected images.

Entries scoring 13 points or more in any round will be awarded a 'Star'. If a Novice receives a total of 2 ‘Stars’ they are promoted to the advanced category.

At the end of the Season, the Club with the most points wins the title of NIPA Top Club. There will also be a winner of each Section, Colour Prints, Mono Prints and Digital Images. 

All the starred images qualify for the Top Image Competition, where the best Print and Digital Image is chosen at the end of the Season.

Detailed instructions on entering NIPA Rounds can be found here.

Detailed rules can be found on the NIPA website.

Detailed information defining a Novice vs Advanced member can be found here.

NIPA Exhibition

NIPA holds an Annual Exhibition. Any Camera Club member can enter up to 4 Colour Prints, 4 Mono Prints and 4 Digital Images.

The prints must be displayed on a maximum mount size of 50cm x 40cm. All the entries are judged by an external Judge, who selects the Top 75 Prints and Digital images. These will be used for the Exhibition, which is normally held at the Waterfront Hall in December.

NIPA Novice Competition

NIPA holds an Annual Competition for Novice photographers. (as defined by the Rules on the NIPA website) Each member can enter up to 4 prints/images in each category, Colour Prints, Mono Prints and Digital Images. Receiving a 1st 2nd or 3rd in the NIPA Novice Competition is considered a ‘Star Equivalent’ and will count towards your 2 ‘Star’ maximum as a Novice.

Roy Finlay Natural History Competition

This is a Natural History Competition, consisting of any natural object or organism in its natural surrounds (i.e. cultivated plants, zoo animals or pets are not eligible). 

PAGB Inter-Federation Club PDI Competition

The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) is a membership organisation that coordinates activities for photographic Clubs in England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland (including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man). It does this in collaboration with 15 geographical Federations.

Each year, every federation in the PAGB chooses two clubs to represent it in this competition.  This competition is held in July each year, at the University of Warwick, and entries from NIPA clubs are needed in May. 

PAGB Inter-Federation Club Prints Competition

As with PDI’s above, every Year the PAGB holds a top Club Print Competition, with BPIC proud to have represented NIPA at the Competition in previous years. The Top Camera Clubs in the whole of the UK take part in this competition, and the quality is second to none.

The competition is held in October and the Club selects up to 20 Prints from at least 5 members. 

Celtic Challenge

This consists of print and PDI entries from each of the Celtic regions.  Each region can enter 10 Colour Prints, 10 Mono Prints and 10 PDIs. 

Fun Competitions

We also run some internal competitions more for fun than anything else!

Last edited; 31/07/25 by RWS