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40th Annual Frederick Camera Clique Juried Exhibition – Now Virtual!

The Frederick Camera Clique is pleased to announce the 40th Annual Juried Exhibition, which is once again virtual for 2026. A virtual exhibit means there is no need to print, frame, or deliver work to Frederick, thereby allowing photographers from both near and far to enter without additional expense if their work is accepted!

Entries may include the full range of photography including landscape, cityscape, architecture, travel, people, street, sports, macro, abstract, fine art, figure, composites, wildlife from insects to elephants to birds to fish to frogs, and pretty much anything else you can put in front of your lens.

WHEN:

Submissions Accepted February 15 – March 15, 2026, via an online entry system.

Notifications will be emailed on or about April 1, 2026.

The exhibition will be on display in our virtual gallery beginning April 8, 2026, for an indefinite period. AWARDS:

  • Best in Show $500

  • Best Color Image $300

  • Best Monochrome Image $300

  • Best Person $200

  • Best Place $200

  • Best “Creative Concept” $200

  • “Creative Concept” is a new prize category, which may include intentional camera movement (ICM), multiple exposure, composites, abstracts, etc.  The juror will make the final interpretation of what qualifies for this prize.

  • Three Honorable Mention Awards, $25 each

Winners of all awards and prizes will be highlighted in a special showcase on our website. 
 Click here to see last year’s winners

OUR JUROR, Melissa Needle:

Melissa Needle is an award-winning Colorado-based fine art photographer who has been teaching in person and online classes and assisting her husband Charles with workshops since 2010. She is now a sought-after speaker for programs with national and international audiences, including the Royal Photographic Society (UK), Camversation, Garden Club of America, New England Council of Camera Clubs (NECCC) annual conference, NH Audubon Society, and numerous camera clubs. She enjoys literal image making but really loves exploring her creative side with various postprocessing methods. She is a full-time professional photographer whose journey began at the age of 12 with the family camera. Her career has blossomed from her passion for sharing knowledge with others.

Melissa has received numerous awards and honors over the past 40 years. Some of her notable awards include: Gold Key and Blue Ribbon awards for “Postcard Dreams” from The Boston Globe Art Show, cover features in Cape Cod Guide magazine, MUSC Humanitas, Neuroscience, and Cancer Research, blue ribbons in the Greater Lynn Photography Association (MA) camera club monthly contests, and recognition in the Mobile Photography Awards Contest and NANPA Showcase Competition, where she won a prestigious Top-24 Image Award in 2020. In addition, Melissa’s work was selected to appear in three books: Charleston: A Photographic Portrait, Savannah: A Photographic Portrait, and Massachusetts: A Photographic Portrait. She currently leads the Greater Lynn Photographic Association (MA) smartphone specialty group and was awarded the title MNEC, Master Member of NECCC in 2022.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

  • This show is open to all photographers living anywhere.  There is no need to be a member of the Frederick Camera Clique.

  • Submitted photos must be the original work taken at any time by the photographer identified on the entry.

  • Photos that have been accepted into this show in previous years may not be entered into this competition.

  • Photos will be submitted in digital form but may be digital or film in origin.

  • Images should not be watermarked in order to protect the anonymity of the photographer during the jurying process.

  • Using artificial intelligence (AI) to create all or any portion of an image via a text-based generative tool or app is not allowed.  

  • All decisions by the juror and exhibition management are final and binding.

HOW TO ENTER:

  1. There is a limit of six (6) images per photographer. The cost per image entered is $6 for Frederick Camera Clique Members, active military, and students, and $10 for non-members.  Payment is collected via the online entry system.

  2. Prepare your images per the guidelines in #4 below prior to starting the application process.

  3. Images should contain no watermarks or copyright information that may identify the photographer on the photo itself.

  4. Images must be submitted in jpg format with a long side dimension of 1500 pixels, and an optional resolution of 72, quality 100%.  It is recommended that files be at least 500 kb but no larger than 5 mb in size.  It is also recommended that the files be saved using the sRGB color space. 

  5. Assistance in resizing files to meet these guidelines is available at this link Resizing Images or by emailing cam.miller@comcast.net; she will be happy to help.

  6. All photographs should have a title, which does not need to be part of the filename, but which is entered into the title field in the entry system.

  7. The photos in the exhibit will not have a sales price, nor will the Frederick Camera Clique handle sales or take a commission.  There will be a statement on the exhibit gallery stating that if someone wants to purchase an image, they should email the Frederick Camera Clique, and they will be put into contact with the photographer.  It will then be up to the photographer and the interested buyer to work out the details of a sale.

  8. If you'd like to join the Frederick Camera Clique before submitting an entry, you may do so by visiting our membership page and signing up.

  9. Acceptance notices will be sent out via email on or about April 1.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY WORK IS ACCEPTED?

If your work is accepted for the show, you will not need to do anything else to your image(s), since the submission guidelines are already designed to best prepare the files for display in the virtual gallery.  All you need to do is to spread the good news that you have had work accepted in the show! A

Opening of Show, Reception, and Announcement of Prize Winners

The show will open online on Wednesday, April 8, with a hybrid reception starting at 7 pm at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St, Frederick, MD.  All photographers who entered the exhibit will be sent a Zoom link to the reception if they choose to attend virtually.

The juror will make remarks regarding the jury process and image selection, as well as announce the awards.  Winners of all awards and prizes will be contacted via email prior to the reception so that they may make a special effort to attend, and their winning images will be showcased in the virtual gallery after the reception.  Award winners not present at the reception will receive their checks in the mail.

GET STARTED:

You can submit your entries online with our entry system below. If you have any questions regarding the entry process, please contact info@frederickcameraclique.org