2024 - 2025 Monthly Assigned Topics:


Images must be submitted by 11:30 pm on the Wednesday prior to Exhibition Night. 

September 2025

Candid Street Photography

 Shoot someone in an unposed, candid manner, with or without eye contact.

October 2025

CAPA Fine Art

Fine art photography is the deliberate use of the camera or smartphone as a creative medium to express the artist’s unique ideas, emotions, and messages. The initial image must be camera-captured, though it may be enhanced through a photo post processing application but without the use of generative AI digital creations or the enhancement of the image with generative features.

Unlike conventional photography, fine art transcends mere documentation or representation by employing innovative techniques and artistic vision to convey deeper meaning.

The challenge for the photographer is to create an image that challenges perspectives, evoke emotional responses, and communicate personal or universal truths in ways that are distinctly their own.

 

Themes: - Submitted image MUST fall within one of the following themes:

Abstractimaginative abstract images that showcase creativity in using shape, colour, light and composition in new or uncommon ways. Both natural and everyday scenes presented with a fresh perspective are encouraged, rather than images primarily created with filters and actions.

Landscape transform urban or rural landscapes into evocative artistic expressions that go beyond basic scenic documentation. Images should reveal hidden perspectives, dramatic atmospheres, or emotional connections through creative use of light, weather, composition, and timing.

Creative Vision – transform familiar subjects and scenes through creative manipulation of perspective, light, and context to create an otherworld narrative where reality and imagination intertwine.

Still Life transform inanimate objects traditional or non-traditional artistic arrangement of inanimate objects using lighting, depth of field, and perspective to find the beauty in ordinary things. “Still Life” for the purpose of this theme, is defined as “a work of art that focuses on commonplace, inanimate subjects.” That can include both manmade objects (vases, items of clothing, and consumer products), and natural objects (flowers and plants, food, rocks, and shells)

 

Editing Criteria

 

Permitted Editing Techniques:

 

All In-Camera Techniques: Any adjustments made directly within the camera during image capture.

On-Camera Techniques: Utilizing on-camera features and settings for image enhancements.

Post-Processing Techniques: Editing the image using post-processing software.

Sky Replacement: Sky replacement is permitted, but the replacement sky must have been captured by the same photographer submitting the image into the competition.

Triptychs (an image of three (3) separated images contained in a single image) are  permitted in this competition.

 

Editing Techniques NOT Permitted:

 

Images without Photographic Origin: Images that are entirely generated electronically with no photographic origin.

Frames, Borders, Pin-lines, and Mats: Photograph must not contain any decorative elements like frames, borders, pin-lines, or mats.  This includes the edges and markings of scanned film.  When the frame is integral to the captured image, for instance a window frame or door frame that has been captured by the camera, these elements are permitted.

Artificial Intelligence Renderings: Images created or modified using Generative AI (GEN-AI) technology are not permitted in this competition. Any submitted Generative AI image (in whole or in part) will be disqualified.
Entrants are reminded that all parts of the image have to be photographed by the author who is holding the copyright of all works submitted.
These GEN-AI restrictions apply whether or not text prompts are used in the AI generation process.

Complete Details of this CAPA Competition on the CAPA Website

November 2025

 CAPA Inspiration Open Colour

This competition and its themes invite photographers to showcase their creative skills, using colour as a vibrant medium to capture dynamic, outstanding, stunning, thoughtful and thought-provoking images.

It is an opportunity to explore areas that may stretch your comfort zones, pushing to the boundaries of your creativity.

To keep the focus on the dynamic world of colour, we kindly request that submissions be limited to colour images only. Black & white, monochrome and infrared images are excluded from this competition. 

 

Themes: Submitted image MUST fall within one of the following themes:

Man-Made Environments – Images that highlight the contrast of color within human-constructed spaces: vibrant, tight, and/or sprawling urban centers, rural structures with rich palettes of colour and the working landscapes of farming communities.

Seasonal Transitions – Images which capture nature’s shifting color palette as it transforms landscapes, flora, and atmospheric conditions throughout the year’s natural cycles. 

Action & Motion – Images in this theme should convey excitement, speed, and movement through colour. Images can be a result of panning effects, slow shutter speeds or freezing fast action. The sources of inspiration are boundless – whether it’s animals, birds, dance, sports, traffic, vehicles, or any other dynamic subject in motion.

Cultural Events – Using colour, movement and celebration, these images will capture the vibrant traditions, festivities, and ceremonies that showcase the rich tapestry of human existence and expression. 

Close-up – Showcasing an intimate exploration of form and detail, these images will reveal the extraordinary world of color, pattern, and texture hidden within everyday subjects.

 

Editing Criteria:

 

Permitted Editing Techniques:

All In-Camera Techniques: Any adjustments made directly within the camera during image capture.

On-Camera Techniques: Utilizing on-camera features and settings for image enhancements.

Post-Processing Techniques: Editing the image using post-processing software.

Sky Replacement: Sky replacement is permitted, but the replacement sky must have been captured by the same photographer submitting the image into the competition.

Triptychs (an image of three (3) separated images contained in a single image) are  permitted in this competition.

 

Editing Techniques Not Permitted:

Images without Photographic Origin: Images that are entirely generated electronically with no photographic origin.

Frames, Borders, Pin-lines, and Mats: Photograph must not contain any decorative elements like frames, borders, pin-lines, or mats.  This includes the edges and markings of scanned film.  When the frame is integral to the captured image, for instance a window frame or door frame that has been captured by the camera, these elements are permitted.

Artificial Intelligence Renderings: Images created or modified using Generative AI (GEN-AI) technology are not permitted in this competition. Any submitted Generative AI image (in whole or in part) will be disqualified.
Entrants are reminded that all parts of the image have to be photographed by the author who is holding the copyright of all works submitted.

These GEN-AI restrictions apply whether or not text prompts are used in the AI generation process.

Accepted Image Types:

Colour images 

Complete details of this CAPA Competition on the CAPA Website

December 2025

Atmospheric Fog/Mist
Photographing mist and fog presents a unique opportunity to capture atmospheric and ethereal images. Mist and fog can add mystery, depth, and dreamy quality to landscapes, turning an ordinary scene into something extraordinary.

January 2026

The Fraser Valley
This assigned topic is specifically chosen and designed to help APAC and members create and submit images of The Fraser Valley that can subsequently be used as candidates for our yearly fundraising calendar. Images can be from any season as we will eventually be looking to pair selected images with months in the final calendar. The criteria below is designed for you to create images that will fit into the format of our calendar.

 

Criteria:

Images must be from locations in The Fraser Valley defined as the Fraser Valley Regional District (the FVRD) as shown on the map at this location and also we are including the Township of Langely and The City of Langley in our boundary.

https://www.fvrd.ca/EN/main/about-the-fvrd/electoral-areas.htmlp

Images must be in landscape orientation. No portrait orientations. No panoramas. No square crops,

Images must be cropped to fit exactly 8.5”x11” – that is 11” on the long side in landscape orientation. 

Images must not contain people.

Images must be “traditional” in nature. Abstract, ICM and other artistic treatments are not acceptable. 

 
February 2026

Rows of Things

A row of things or people is a number of them arranged in a line. A "row" refers to a line of people or things arranged side-by-side, like a line of seats in a theater or a row of trees.

March 2026
Rain
Photograph the rain falling, running off of things, puddling on a surface or whatever works for you. 
April 2026
Panoramas
Wide format images with a height/width ratio of at least 1/2 but ideally 1/3 or more. 
May 2026
Aged
Images of anything that looks aged, people, nature, man made items. Wrinkles, rot, decay
June 2026

A Single Flower
A single flower is the main subject with a non-competing yet complimentary background.

 

 


Note: The word CAPA means that images will be selected from the club images to compete in a Club competition with other Club members from the Canadian Association for Photographic Art. You don’t have to be a member of CAPA to participate in these Inter-Club competitions.

 




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