Latimer Print Competitions
The BCC’s Latimer Print Competition promotes the art of printed photography and aims to help photographers at all skill levels improve their craft. The BCC has named its print competition the “Latimer Print Competition” to honor Horace A. Latimer (1860-1931), an early BCC club member, a talented photographer in his own right, and a major benefactor to the Club.
In a Latimer Print Competition, Club members display their printed photographs for evaluation and feedback from professional photographers in our meeting hall. Members will also need to submit a digital representation of their print on the BCC website in a process similar to the BCC’s Digital Image Competitions. The judge will go through all prints one by one and will comment on them accordingly. For each competition, first through third places as well as honorable mentions will be awarded by popular vote.
Each Latimer competition features three categories, Open and two “Special” Categories, which are chosen by the Latimer Print Competition committee. Each category has an A level and a B level competition.
Rules and guidelines for each Special category are included on the BCC website under “Competitions” / “Submit Images to a Competition” and in email announcements about upcoming competitions.
For additional information on how to print and mount photographs for the Latimer Print Competition, please click here for the BCC’s “Latimer for Dummies” guide.
Competition Guidelines - see Rules link below for complete rules:
- Images can be captured digitally or on film; prints can be produced by inkjet printing or in a darkroom and the prints can be created by the member or can be printed via commercial printers.
- All prints for the Latimer competition must be mounted on a stiff board / mat and should include front matting.
- Maximum overall size for print and mount may not exceed 16 inches x 20 inches.
- Number of Prints Allowed Per Competition
Each member can enter a total of three prints each competition night. A member cannot enter more than two prints per competition type (category).
- Click here for complete information about the Print competition and other competition rules.
A typical Latimer Print Competition starts with an informal social period, during which members hang their prints and view other prints on display. Prints must be hung by 7:10pm the night of the competition to be considered for judging. Materials to hang the prints will be provided by the Club.
Voting:
Ballots are distributed the night of the competition. Club members and the judge for the competition vote for a designated number of prints in each category, which is a function of the number of entries in each category.
Prints are awarded 1 point for each member vote, and 3 points for the judge’s vote. While the ballots are being tallied, each print is critiqued by the judge. Our judges have many styles, interests, and backgrounds, offering members the opportunity to have their work evaluated from a range of different perspectives over the course of the year. After the critiques, winners are announced and ribbons awarded. Most judges complete the evening with a presentation of their work and discussion. Cumulative point totals determine Annual Awards that are presented at the June Annual Meeting.
Winning prints in BCC competitions may be borrowed and submitted as part of Club entries to New England Camera Club Council Inter-Club Competitions. In the past year, prints produced by BCC members were selected as “Image of the Year” by the NECCC at its Annual Meeting.
Who Was Horace A. Latimer?
The Competition is named in honor of Club benefactor Horace Latimer (1860-1931) who provided a bequest to the Club in 1931. An accomplished photographer and printmaker, Mr. Latimer was a world traveler and advanced amateur photographer. The Club has several his original prints in its archives.
Latimer (1860-1931) was an independently wealthy Boston philanthropist and advanced amateur photographer, one of whose specialties was yachting photography. His involvement with the Boston Camera Club began well before the turn of the 20th century. His work is representative of the early days of amateur photographic practice, when men and women of means traveled the world with their cameras, often achieving high artistic results worthy of established professionals of the time. A photograph by Latimer was exhibited at the Smithsonian in 1896
However, it was the 1931 bequest of Horace A. Latimer that truly enabled the Boston Camera Club to retain its role as the leading forum for serious amateur photography in the Boston area for the remainder of the twentieth century. Used initially in part to fund the purchase of 351 Newbury Street, the Club's headquarters from 1936 to 1980, Latimer's funds now ensure that the Club will continue its mission in the 21st century.
In recognition of his gift, which has enabled thousands of New Englanders to become proficient in and broaden their appreciation of photography, the Boston Camera Club's print division is named the Latimer Print Group.
Independently wealthy, Latimer was a prime example of the turn-of-the-century serious amateur photographer, for whom money enabled one to travel the world, capture extraordinary photographic moments, and own the best equipment of his day. Like many such experts, Latimer had a measure of success. Known among American pictorialist photographers, Latimer was published in Camera Notes, the forerunner of Camera Work, and was a prolific exhibitor.
Also a member of the New York Camera Club, Latimer participated in many of the joint exhibitions held by the Boston and New York Clubs beginning in 1887. Besides travel photography, one of Latimer's great interests was the photography of yachting.
Most of Latimer's work was in control processes including carbon and multiple gum, in which he was especially proficient. Latimer was also a serious collector of photographic images and equipment, some of which the Club still owns.
Images: Copyright Horace A. Latimer