ⓘ Website Help & Guide
Bloemfontein Camera Club — a complete guide to using this site
Contents
2. Gallery Menu
The Gallery menu offers three ways to browse competition photos. Album, Awards, and Months share the same modern photo-card layout used on the home page: dark cards, a responsive multi-column grid that fills the page width (three columns on wide screens), and captions with title, photographer (or category/date), a colour award chip, and score.
a. Album
A hierarchical, year-long photo journey. Starting from senior club winners for the past year, you can drill down step by step:
- Year view — One representative (Senior club winner) photo per competition month for the past year. Click a month card to go deeper.
- Categories view — Category (and club) winners for that month. Colour award-filter pills (Com / Gold / Silver / Bronze) narrow the selection. Click a photo to open that competition category.
- Category view — All photos in the selected category for that month, sorted by score. Click a photo to open that member’s entries for the month.
- Member month view — All photos entered by the selected member for that month. Click again to see that member’s photos across the year album range.
Controls:
- Back — Returns one level up in the drill-down.
- Single / Multi — Toggles multi-column grid (default, full page width) versus a single wide column.
- Slides / Scroll — In single-column mode, switch between browsing all cards (Scroll) and one photo at a time with First / Prev / Next / Last (Slides). The counter (e.g. 3 / 12) shows your position.
b. Awards
A card gallery of award-winning photos from the past 12 months. Pill filter buttons at the top narrow the set:
- Senior — Overall senior club champion for each month (default view).
- Junior — Overall junior club champion for each month.
- Category — First-place photo in each competition category per month (captions also show the category name).
- Coms — All Certificate of Merit (COM) images.
- Golds — All Gold-award images.
By default photos appear in a multi-column scroll grid. Use the toolbar to switch to Slides (one photo at a time with First/Prev/Next/Last). Click a card to jump back to the top of the page. Each card shows title, date and photographer, award chip, and score.
c. Months
A month-by-month browser covering the past 12 months. At the top, a month picker (Jan–Dec grid) selects the competition month. The page starts with a categories overview (category and club winners for that month) and drills down like the Album:
- Categories — Winners for the selected month. Award filter pills (Com / Gold / Silver / Bronze) list all photos with that award for the month.
- Category — All entries in that category; click a photo to open the member’s month set.
- Member — That member’s photos for the month; click again to return to categories.
Toolbar controls match Album: Single / Multi column layout and, in single-column mode, Slides / Scroll with First/Prev/Next/Last navigation.
3. Members Menu
All nine sub-pages under Members are described below. Pages that display monthly data share a common month selector at the top — click the left/right arrows to step one month at a time, or click the month name to open a full 13-month picker.
a. Awards (Results)
The full monthly competition results broken down by competition group. Use the month selector to navigate to any month in the past 13 months.
Results are displayed in separate tables for each group:
| Table | Who it covers |
|---|---|
| Winners | Senior & Junior Club Winners and Category Winners for the selected month — shown first with a trophy icon |
| N1 / P1 | Nature / Pictorial — 1 & 2 Star members |
| N2 / P2 | Nature / Pictorial — 3 Star members |
| N3 / P3 | Nature / Pictorial — 4 & 5 Star members |
| N4 / P4 | Nature / Pictorial — Golden Honours & Galaxy members |
| Set Subject | All members (monthly themed category) |
| Cell-Phone | All members (smartphone photography category) |
Each row shows the member’s name, photo title, score, award, and winner flags (✔ for category winner, club winner). Click any row to view the photo full-size.
b. Scores (Points)
Year-to-date score sheets and leaderboards for the current club year (November → October). Use the month selector to view cumulative scores up to any month.
Top 10 Leaderboards
Three ranked leaderboards (first=gold, second=silver, third=bronze highlight):
- Club Points — Cumulative monthly competition points (Py) for the year.
- Set Subject — Cumulative Set Subject points (VOy) for the year.
- Salons — Cumulative external salon points (Saly) for the year.
Promotions
A highlighted grid lists any members who have been promoted to a higher star level during or up to the selected month, showing their promotion path (e.g. 4 Star → 5 Star).
Star Level Tables
Seven tables — one per star level (1 Star through Galaxy) — list every active member at that level with their year-to-date scores. Cells highlighted in red indicate a promotion threshold has been reached. See Section 6 for full threshold details.
c. Salons
Results for external salon competition entries submitted by club members in the selected month. The table columns are:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Salon | Name of the external salon competition |
| Member | Photographer’s name |
| Coms | Number of Certificate of Merit (commendation) awards received |
| Acc | Number of photos accepted (but not awarded a higher honour) |
| Judge | Judge’s choice selections |
| Points | Total salon points earned in this salon |
| Award | Any special salon-level awards received |
A Totals row at the bottom summarises the month’s combined commendations, acceptances, and award count for all members.
d. Member List
A sortable table of all currently active, paid-up members showing their name, star rating, and title. Click any column header to sort ascending or descending.
e. All your Salons
Select a member from the drop-down to view their complete salon history across all years. The table includes every salon entry with its awards and points, plus a running Salon Saldo (cumulative balance). Salon points are the only score that carries forward across star-level promotions.
f. All your Scores
Select a member to see their full monthly score history in a wide scrollable table. The columns are colour-coded by group:
- For this Month — Set Subject score, award counts (M/G/S/B), Club Points, Salon points.
- Within Star Group — Award counts accumulated since the last promotion.
- Toward Promotion — GM count, Club Points, and Salon Points that count toward the next promotion threshold (highlighted in red when threshold is met).
- Year Totals — GM count, Club Points, Set Subject points, and Salon points for the current club year.
g. Wall of Fame
A read-only historical record of annual award winners going back many years. Six categories are displayed:
| Category | How the winner is determined |
|---|---|
| Grand Master | Highest combined Club Points + Set Subject + Salon points (all members) |
| Senior Master | Highest combined Club Points + Set Subject (senior rating members) |
| Junior Master | Highest combined Club Points + Set Subject (junior rating members) |
| Club Points Master | Highest Club Points only |
| Set Subject Master | Highest Set Subject points only |
| Salon Master | Highest Salon points only |
Scroll down within each column to see the full year-by-year history.
h. Year Program
The current club year competition schedule — dates, monthly themes (Set Subject topics), and any special events. The club year runs from November to October.
i. BCC PhotoVault
A direct link to the external PhotoVault Online portal used by members to submit their monthly competition entries and salon entries. This website only displays results after judging has taken place — PhotoVault is where you upload your photos before judging night.
4. Info Menu & Help
The Info menu provides access to club reference documents and the PhotoVault submission portal:
- BCC PhotoVault — External entry submission portal (same link as under Members).
- Program (Eng / Afr) — Full competition program for the current club year in English and Afrikaans.
- Grading — Detailed grading and promotion rules.
- Judging — How judging nights work and how scores are allocated.
- Assessment — Assessment criteria used by judges.
- Puntestelsel — The club point-scoring system explanation.
- Constitution — Club constitution document.
- About — Club history and background.
- Committee Members — Current committee contact details.
- Become a Member — Membership information and how to join.
- Glossary — Photography and club terminology.
- BKK / PSSA Salon — Information on club-run and PSSA salon competitions.
The Help link in the top nav bar always opens this page directly.
⇧ Back to top5. Understanding Awards & Scores
a. Award Types
Every photo entered in a monthly competition receives a score and may receive one of four awards:
Scoring out of 15 (standard monthly competition)
Certificate of Merit — Highest individual award. Score typically 14–15.
Gold (Merit) — Excellent image. Score typically 11–13.
Silver — Good image. Score typically 8–10.
Bronze — Accepted entry. Score typically 5–7.
Scoring out of 45 (salon-style judging)
Certificate of Merit — Score typically 35–40.
Gold (Merit) — Score typically 31–34.
Silver — Score typically 26–30.
Bronze — Score typically 21–25.
A Category Winner is the member with the highest score in their competition group for that month. The Club Winner is the overall highest-scoring member across all categories — determined separately for Senior (4 Star and above) and Junior (1–3 Star) groups.
b. Competition Categories
Members compete in groups matched to their star level. The same structure applies to both Nature and Pictorial disciplines:
| Code | Category | Who competes |
|---|---|---|
| N1 / P1 | Nature / Pictorial — 1 & 2 Star | One Star and Two Star members |
| N2 / P2 | Nature / Pictorial — 3 Star | Three Star members |
| N3 / P3 | Nature / Pictorial — 4 & 5 Star | Four Star and Five Star members |
| N4 / P4 | Nature / Pictorial — Honours & Galaxy | Golden Honours and Galaxy members |
| S | Set Subject | All members — monthly themed category |
| PH | Cell-Phone | All members — smartphone photography |
c. Score Columns Explained
The All your Scores table uses abbreviated column names. Here is what each means:
| Column | Meaning | Group |
|---|---|---|
| VOm | Set Subject score this month | This month |
| Mm / Gm / Sm / Bm | Merit / Gold / Silver / Bronze award count this month | This month |
| Pm | Club points earned this month | This month |
| Salm | Salon points earned this month | This month |
| Mg / Gg / Sg / Bg | Merit / Gold / Silver / Bronze within current star group (since last promotion) | Star group |
| GMp | Gold & Merit count toward next promotion | Promotion |
| Pp | Club points toward next promotion | Promotion |
| Salp | Salon points toward next promotion | Promotion |
| GMy | Total Gold & Merit count for the club year | Year total |
| Py | Total Club points for the club year | Year total |
| VOy | Total Set Subject points for the club year | Year total |
| Saly | Total Salon points for the club year | Year total |
6. Star Rating & Promotion
Members advance through seven grading levels. Promotion to the next level requires meeting specific thresholds of Club Points (Pts), Gold & Merit awards (GM), and — at the higher levels — Salon Points (Sal).
Important: Club Points and Gold/Merit counts reset to zero when you are promoted. Salon Points are the only score that accumulates across all levels. See the Grading & Promotion page under Info for the complete rules.
Members in ratings 1–3 are classified as Junior and compete for the Junior Club Winner title; ratings 4–7 are classified as Senior.
⇧ Back to top7. Viewing Photos
Photo browsers on the Home, Album, Awards, and Months pages use a consistent card layout. Captions always include the photo title (centred, same size as the name line), a secondary line (photographer, date, and/or category), and — when an award is present — a colour chip next to the numeric score.
Gallery layout modes
- Multi-column grid (default on Album / Months / Awards scroll) — Cards fill the page width. On wide screens you get three equal columns; on smaller screens the grid collapses toward one column. Images use a fixed 4:3 frame so rows stay even (the photo is cropped lightly to fit the tile).
- Single column — Toggle with Single / Multi (Album and Months). One wider card per row; the full image is shown without crop where possible.
- Scroll vs Slides — Scroll shows every card in the set. Slides shows one photo at a time with First / Prev / Next / Last and a position counter (e.g. 3 / 12). On Awards, the toolbar toggles Scroll and Slides directly.
Award chips
Where an award is stored on the photo, a small pill appears next to the score:
The chip colour matches the award type (coral for Certificate of Merit, gold, silver, and bronze). Filter buttons on Album, Months, and Awards use the same colour language.
Other photo views
- Results tables — Click a results row to open that photo full-size in the results/detail flow.
- Thumbnails / datasheet — On some member gallery flows, a compact thumbnail grid or datasheet table is available; click a row or thumb to focus that entry.
Participants Datasheet
In gallery and thumbnail views a Datasheet button (or toggle) opens a sortable table listing all participants for the selected month. Click any column header to sort by that field. Click a table row to filter the photo view to show only that member’s entries.
Month selector
On Months, a compact month grid (Jan–Dec) at the top selects the competition month. On Members pages (Results, Scores, Salons, and similar), use the month control at the top of the page to step through the club year.
⇧ Back to top8. Tips & Tricks
- Sort any table by clicking its column header. Click again to reverse the sort order; a small arrow icon shows the current direction.
- Sticky columns on wide tables (e.g. All your Scores): the Date and Name columns stay visible as you scroll right.
- Home page carousel auto-rotates every 5 seconds. Use the left/right arrows to navigate manually.
- Category Winner cards on the home page open the Months gallery for that category — a fast path into the latest competition set.
- Award chips next to scores (Com / Gold / Silver / Bronz) mirror the same colours used on filter pills in Album, Months, and Awards.
- Single / Multi and Slides / Scroll on Album and Months let you switch between a full-width three-column grid and a large one-photo slides view.
- Top 10 leaderboards reset every club year (November). Gold, silver, and bronze rank highlights show 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
- Salon Saldo on the All your Salons page is a running total of salon points accumulated across all star levels — the only score that carries over between levels.
- Wall of Fame goes back many years. Scroll down within each award column to see the complete history.
- PhotoVault (linked under both Members and Info menus) is the external system used to submit your competition entries each month. This website only displays results after judging.
- Cell-Phone category is open to all members and appears as a separate section in the monthly Results page.
- Promotions grid on the Scores page highlights members who have met their promotion thresholds during the current club year.
- Scroll-to-top button (gold circle, bottom-right corner) appears after you have scrolled down — click it to jump back to the top of the page.