CONTACTS
Salon Chairman:         Mr. Subrata Kar, AFIP, AFIAP
Salon Secretary:         Mr. Amit Dey
Email Address:            himalayancameraclub@gmail.com
Salon Website:            www.himalayancameraclub.com
Webmaster Name:     Pixelclash
Webmaster Email:      raju@stintsolution.com

SECTIONS
Five Digital Sections
[A] OPEN COLOR (C)
[B] OPEN MONOCHROME (M)
[C] NATURE (N)
[D] WORLD IN FOCUS (WIF)
[E] PEOPLE AND STREET (C / M)

CALENDAR
Extended Closing Date:                     15^th November 2025
All Judging Completed By:               24^th November 2025
Score Reports Sent By:                      3^rd December 2025
On-Line Gallery Posted By:               25^th December 2025
SDAS:                                                   3^rd January 2026
Exhibition:                                           17^th & 18^th January 2026
Awards Mailed By:                              31^st January 2026

FEES
1 to 3 Sections: Rs 350.00, 4 to 5 Sections: Rs 500.00
Discounted price for FIP Recognised Clubs: Rs 400 per member (All Sections) Minimum 5 members.
Entries without paid fees will not be judged.

BANK DETAILS
CURRENT ACCOUNT NUMBER:        44071135018
ACCOUNT HOLDER’S NAME:            Himalayan Camera Club
BANK:                                                  State Bank of India
BRANCH:                                             NBU Campus Branch
IFSC CODE:                                         SBIN0002096

 

JURY TEAM FOR COLOUR SECTION
Adit Agarwal
EFIAP/p, FRPS, Hon.FIP, Hon.PESGSPC, Hon.EFMPA, Hon.FTPAS, Hon.YPS

Suniel Marathe
APSA, GMPSA, EFIAP/d2, ARPS, GAIUP, GAPU, GPU-Hermes, GPU/CR-4, cMOL, MS.CPE, MCPE, GMAPS, FFIP, FPSI/Mono, FPSI/Color, SESAP, FSoF, ESoF, Hon. GMGNG, Hon. MTPAS, Hon. FAVAA, Hon. GPA-PESGSPC, Hon. CPE, Hon. FAIM

Abhijit Dey
FFIP, EFIAP, Hon.IUP

JURY TEAM FOR MONOCHROME SECTION
Dr. B.K. Sinha
MFIAP, EFIAP/p, ARPS, GMPSA, AIIPC, ESFIAP, Hon FIAP, Hon FIP, Hon FIP (N)

Akhil Hardia
EFIAP, EFIP-Gold , FIIPC, FIP 4Star, Hon.PESGSPC, GPA.PESGSPC,Hon WPAI ,  Hon.DCC, Photo Journalist

Suniel Marathe
APSA, GMPSA, EFIAP/d2, ARPS, GAIUP, GAPU, GPU-Hermes, GPU/CR-4, cMOL, MS.CPE, MCPE, GMAPS, FFIP, FPSI/Mono, FPSI/Color, SESAP, FSoF, ESoF, Hon. GMGNG, Hon. MTPAS, Hon. FAVAA, Hon. GPA-PESGSPC, Hon. CPE, Hon. FAIM

JURY TEAM FOR NATURE SECTION
Dr. B.K. Sinha
MFIAP, EFIAP/p, ARPS, GMPSA, AIIPC, ESFIAP, Hon FIAP, Hon FIP, Hon FIP (N)

Abhijit Dey
FFIP, EFIAP, Hon.IUP

Suniel Marathe
APSA, GMPSA, EFIAP/d2, ARPS, GAIUP, GAPU, GPU-Hermes, GPU/CR-4, cMOL, MS.CPE, MCPE, GMAPS, FFIP, FPSI/Mono, FPSI/Color, SESAP, FSoF, ESoF, Hon. GMGNG, Hon. MTPAS, Hon. FAVAA, Hon. GPA-PESGSPC, Hon. CPE, Hon. FAIM

JURY TEAM FOR WORLD IN FOCUS SECTION
Dr. B.K. Sinha
MFIAP, EFIAP/p, ARPS, GMPSA, AIIPC, ESFIAP, Hon FIAP, Hon FIP, Hon FIP (N)

Adit Agarwal
EFIAP/p, FRPS, Hon.FIP, Hon.PESGSPC, Hon.EFMPA, Hon.FTPAS, Hon.YPS

Akhil Hardia
EFIAP, EFIP-Gold , FIIPC, FIP 4Star, Hon.PESGSPC, GPA.PESGSPC,Hon WPAI ,  Hon.DCC, Photo Journalist

JURY TEAM FOR PEOPLE AND STREET SECTION
Adit Agarwal
EFIAP/p, FRPS, Hon.FIP, Hon.PESGSPC, Hon.EFMPA, Hon.FTPAS, Hon.YPS

Abhijit Dey
FFIP, EFIAP, Hon.IUP

Akhil Hardia
EFIAP, EFIP-Gold , FIIPC, FIP 4Star, Hon.PESGSPC, GPA.PESGSPC,Hon WPAI ,  Hon.DCC, Photo Journalist

ALTERNATE JURY
Dwiparna Kumar Datta
MFIP (Nature), EFIAP/g, ARPS

AWARDS
Best Club Award:                                  A Trophy + Rs. 12000.00 + Certificate
2^nd Best Club Award:                           A Trophy + Rs. 10000.00 + Certificate
3^rd Best Club Award:                           A Trophy + Rs. 8000.00 + Certificate

The Best Club Awards to be awarded to the clubs with the highest number of total acceptances in divisions of the Salon. In case of a tie, it will be awarded to the clubs with the highest number of points from all the sections in this Salon. In case of a tie, the club who won the most awards shall be declared the recipient.

Best Entrant Award (As per FIP rules)                 :               A Medal + Rs 5000.00 + Physical Certificate
FIP Medal                                                                   :               1 per section + Physical Certificate
HCC Gold Medal                                                         :               1 per section + Physical Certificate
HCC Silver Medal                                                       :               1 per section + Physical Certificate
HCC Bronze Medal                                                     :               1 per section + Physical Certificate
Chairman’s Choice Medal                                         :               1 per Section + Physical Certificate
FIP Ribbons                                                                :               4 per Section + Physical Certificate
HCC Ribbons                                                              :               3 per Section + Physical Certificate
Best Portrait Award (Colour/Monochrome)            :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Landscape Award (Colour/Monochrome)      :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Creative Award (Colour/Monochrome)          :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Still Life Award (Colour/Monochrome)           :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Macro Award (Nature)                                      :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Bird Award (Nature)                                          :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Wild Action (Nature)                                         :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Story Award (People and Street)                     :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Event Award (WIF)                                            :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate
Best Cultural Perspective Award (WIF)                   :               A Medal + Rs 1000.00 + Physical Certificate

Physical Certificates will be provided to all the award winners.
All the Medals will be sent via post.

CATALOG
PDF downloadable from website www.himalayancameraclub.com by exhibitors.

SALON RULES

• The salon is open to all photographers in INDIA. It is organized under the patronage & approval of FIP.
• There are 5 sections. Entries are limited to only 4 images (digital files) per section, i.e., 20 number of Images in Total.
• Digital files will be projected without any change by the organizers.
• Awards will be mailed by registered post with proper reasonable care, but we will not be held responsible for any damage, loss or theft.
• Organizer reserves the right to reproduce selected entries in the catalogue, press and project publicly.
• Submission of entries implies acceptance of all conditions of the Salon.
• All the work must be entirely the work of the exhibitor on photographic emulsion or digital file. Images may be altered either digitally or otherwise by the maker and artwork or computer-generated graphics by the maker are allowed provided the photographic content is predominant and only in Open Sections of the Salon.
• The decision of the Panel of selectors is final and binding, no further appeal will be entertained.
• All jury members and salon committee members will not participate in the salon.
• Each image must have a unique title with maximum 35 characters. File name should be as you would want it to appear in the catalogue (same as title name). Untitled or No title images will not be accepted.
• All Paid Entrants will receive online PDF CATALOGUE.
• All Acceptances are eligible for statistics applicable to FIP DISTINCTION.
• ENTRIES WILL NOT BE JUDGED WITHOUT ENTRY FEE and Entry will be disqualified for judging.
• The Author must accept the conditions of the salon.
• Entrants must fill out an Online Entry Form and submit entries online at himalayancameraclub.com
• The images, jpgfiles, can be uploaded directly on our website. Digital Images must be in a compressed [JPEG] format with a maximum size of 1920 pixels horizontal x 1080 pixels vertical and a resolution of 300 DPI, regardless of portrait or landscape orientation. The maximum file size must be less than 2 MB.
• The Exhibition will be conducted in accordance with the rules of FIP.

ACCEPTANCES AND AWARDS
Judging Method

• The judging will be done by remote online judging. An award session will be held on-line by the judges viewing the images together.
• An entrant’s images will not be presented to the judges consecutively. An entrant’s four images will be distributed throughout four rounds of judging in that section. Distribution of images will be in the same round order as submitted by the entrant. At no stage will a judge be able to view all the entrant’s images together.

EXHIBITION REQUIREMENTS
Pictures created by artificial intelligence are not allowed in this salon. All parts of the image must be photographed by the author who is holding the copyright of all works submitted. Offenders will be sanctioned for life!

Images accepted in previous HCC Salons, or images considered by the organizing committee to be substantially the same, are ineligible for entry in any of the sections.

Nudity: Images containing nudes will not be accepted into this salon. This includes pictures of women/men in partial or full nudity that may be inappropriate for viewing by children.

FIP DEFINITION OF DIVISIONS AND SECTIONS
PID Colour Definition:
The subject matter is unrestricted for PID images in separate colour and monochrome section. All elements of the image must have been shot by the author.

“Pictures created by artificial intelligence are not allowed in this salon! All parts of the image have to be photographed by the author who is holding the copyright of all works submitted. Offenders will be sanctioned for life!”

All parts of the image including graphics must be photographed by the author holding copyright of his submitted works. Use of some filters available on net is permissible. Same images either colour or mono in two different sections of the same Salon will result in disqualification for both the images.

Monochrome Definition:
An image is considered to be Monochrome only if it gives the impression of having no colour (i.e. contains only shades of grey which can include pure black and pure white) OR it gives the impression of being a greyscale image that has been toned in one colour across the entire image. (For example, by Sepia, red, gold, etc.)

Nature Photography definition:
Nature Photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality.

1. Human elements must not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves.

2. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible.

3. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible.

4. Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. Conversion to infrared, either by digital technique or by original technique is not allowed. Stitching of two or more image is not permitted.

5. Complete conversion to grey scale Monochrome is allowed but without partial or complete toning.

6. It is perfectly legal to remove dust, flares or digital noise. Minor global colour / tone correction is OK as long as it is not selective and the final image looks natural but not dramatic. Dodge and Burn tool is for you only but use it judiciously. Selective darkening of background is prohibited. Techniques like panning, slow shutter speed or in-exposure zooming are part of your creativity. Use of filters like Polarizers and NDs are ok.

7. Drone Photography in the National Parks of India is illegal except with prior written permission from the concerned authorities. Drone images of Wild animals will be disqualified.

8. Welfare of the subject is extremely important. Use of live bait is totally prohibited. Relocated nest is a big NO NO and jury members should not award Nest images. Images entered in Nature section meeting the Nature Photography Definition above can have landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.

Photo Travel guideline for FIP:

1. A travel image depicts features of a culture, place or people as found naturally, anywhere in the world.
2. Portraits, close-up shots, and images of groups or objects should contain contextual elements that reflect the surrounding environment or location ensuring that the image doesn't appear staged or artificially arranged.
3. The image should not be a SET UP image, and it should not be a directed image.
4. It should not be from a PHOTO WORKSHOP where a troupe dances for the workshop organizer or HORSES are made to run in dust or water or an individual shows his acrobatics on payment of a fee.
5. Many monasteries have religious festivals with dances etc, and it is perfectly legal to submit such images though you may have paid an entry fee. Same is true for ballet and other stage shows.
6. Images shot at fairs where the subject is obviously posing for you, with or without payment, is only good for pictorial section. On the other hand, a candid image is good for PT section.
7. Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. Conversion to infrared, either by digital technique or by original technique is not allowed. Stitching of two or more image is not permitted.
8. Complete conversion to grey scale Monochrome is allowed but without partial or complete toning.
9. Digital correction of distortion is acceptable.
10. It is perfectly legal to remove dust, flares or digital noise. Minor global colour / tone correction is OK as long as it is not selective and the final image looks natural but not dramatic. Dodge and Burn tool is for you only but use it judiciously. Correction of perspective is perfectly legal. Techniques like panning, slow shutter speed or in exposure zooming are part of your creativity. Filters like Polarizers and NDs are ok but star effect or rainbow filters are illegal.
11. Drone photography is OK as long it is legally permissible in that part of the world. In India use of DJI Mavic Mini model of Drone is perfectly legal, except in areas where Drone Photography is prohibited by the authorities like National Parks etc.
12. Finally, be sensitive to the community or people whom you are shooting. Care for your subjects and care for your fellow photographers as well. If someone doesn't wish to be photographed, please respect the person's feelings and greet her or him with a sweet smile before parting ways.

The New FIAP Definition for “World in Focus”
Just as with travel and tourism pictures, this section encompasses the full range of photographic genres from architecture, culture, events, food, landscape, portraits, etc. A “WORLD IN FOCUS” image expresses the spirit of an era, the essence of a place or of a culture whether it is shown in an authentic scene or whether it is arranged. Digital manipulation to optimize an image in terms of fine tuning of levels and colours is allowed as long as the image looks natural. The same applies for removal of dust or digital noise. Techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted.

Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by cropping, are not permitted. Conversion to infrared, either by digital technique or by original technique is not allowed. Stitching of two or more image is not permitted.

People and Street Definition: 

Photos of people or street may be submitted in this section.  People in all situations, such as daily life, street photography, traditions, portrait, people at work, social events, human relations, etc. The main subject in the photo may be one or more humans. Both colour and monochrome photos are allowed in this section.