Off The Clock 2023 Call for Entries - Competition is Closed!

Image by Markku Lahdesmaki Off The Clock 2022 winner

Read Contest Rules and Guidelines Below then  ENTER OFF THE CLOCK. 

Submission Deadline: DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL APRIL 7TH - NOON (PT) 

APA LA is pleased to announce the twelfth annual OFF THE CLOCK curated photo competition. OFF THE CLOCK is the pre-eminent opportunity to present your inspired personal photography to the world. Each year APA LA invites a well-respected, influential visionary from the international photo community to contribute their talent towards curating this prestigious exhibition. This year we are honored that Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs at Christie’s (see bio below), has accepted our invitation to apply his unique vision in carefully selecting his top one hundred images from all submissions. And this year, as an added incentive, Mr. Himes will also select three images as Best In Show!

Exceptional Exposure

Once our curator has chosen his 100 favorite images, the winners' work begins to gain exceptional exposure through our beautifully printed and PDF catalog which will be sent to each winner as well as key influencers in the advertising, corporate and fine-art sectors. The winners’ images will also gain exposure through our online gallery and artist features on our social media and web platforms. Through the APA global network, your finest personal work will be available for viewing by thousands of potential clients, gallerists and curators throughout the world.

PLUS – this year we will gather for a beautiful gala opening reception to celebrate all the winners with special invitations sent to top creatives in the Southern California region.  Further details to follow.

As for the three Best In Show winners, they will be featured on the APA LA website, as well as featured in our printed and PDF catalog that will be sent to key industry influencers. Best In Show winners will also receive their winning image printed by a premier West Coast fine art print specialist and beautifully custom matted and framed by one of the West Coast’s most respected fine art framers.

In addition, each of the three Best in Show winners will be awarded one twenty-minute portfolio review session at APA LA’s virtual Fall Portfolio Review – an invaluable opportunity to meet and discuss your work with a top industry professional, creative director, art director or art producer. These are professionals on the front lines of hiring photographers. 

Show Your Finest Personal Work

OFF THE CLOCK is easy to enter with no confusing categories, no image series restrictions, and no creation date restrictions. The most important parameter is that your submitted work should be strong, original, creative and truly personal. Entries may be black and white, duotone, or color, and should be self-commissioned and must represent what you consider to be your finest personal work. Our easy-to-use online submission interface allows you to enter as many images as you like! What are you waiting for? Give it your best shot. Show the world your personal vision. The curator will limit the number of selects from any one entrant to a maximum of four.
​

Contest Rules

By entering The APA Off The Clock Curated Competition, Entrants:

1. Warrant to APA LA that they have created and own all rights to the work submitted (including all elements of the work) and that nothing within any work has been copied or added from another person’s work.

2. Warrant that the whole copyright and any other form of intellectual property right in the work is vested in them and does not infringe the rights of any other person.

3. Warrant that they have not in any way assigned, licensed, disposed of, or otherwise encumbered any of their intellectual property rights which allow them to deal freely with the work and the copyright therein.

4. Warrant that they have obtained appropriate model or property releases from any persons and/or property owners requiring such, featured in their submitted photographs allowing publication in any and all media forms.

5. Since the US Copyright Office has not provided guidelines to assess the rightful copyright owner of work created using AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, APA is unable to accept any submission created in whole or in part using AI technology at this time.

6. Acknowledge and agree that APA may exhibit or otherwise display their work during APA sponsored events, as well as on any APA website, APA social media and/or on APA promotional materials.

7. Acknowledge and agree that APA may reproduce and may allow reproduction of winning images in APA approved publications and promotional materials. Credit will be given to the photographer for any image(s) used.

8. Acknowledge that APA LA relies fully upon the warranties and license given by Entrants when submitting their entries for consideration to The APA LA Off The Clock competition. Entrants shall indemnify and hold APA harmless from any claims, actions, proceedings, costs and expenses arising out of or related to any allegation that the relevant Entrant did not own or is not wholly entitled and authorized to allow publication and reproduction of the work by APA LA.

9. Acknowledge and agree that APA LA reserves the right to disqualify any winner not providing the required personal information, headshot, and/or winning image in the requested file format and size within two weeks of APA's request via the contact information supplied by the entrant. Replacement winners will be selected at the curator's discretion.

10. Acknowledge that curating is a blind process. Photographer's names will only be disclosed to the curator after the curating process has been completed. The decision of the curator of the competition shall be final and binding.

11. Acknowledge and agree that winning images from past APA Off The Clock competitions are not eligible for submission and consideration in subsequent APA Off The Clock competitions.   

12. Acknowledge that entrants retain full copyright to their images and grant no usage to APA other than those granted herein. 

13. APA, APA LA, the Sponsors, or Venues showing an exhibition of winners shall not be liable for any loss or damage of any entry. 

14. Acknowledge and agree that submission of an entry to the competition automatically constitutes the contestant's acceptance of all terms and conditions set forth in these rules. It also acknowledges and accepts the right of APA to use the photographer's likeness and information, as well as the winning images, in exhibitions and promotions, in any and all forms of print, electronic and digital media, related to APA LA Off The Clock Curated Exhibit for up to 24 months following the 2023 Competition winners announcement.

15. Acknowledge that the deadline for entries is MARCH 31, 2023. Entry fees cannot be refunded, once submitted.

16. Acknowledge that winners will be announced on/or about June 2023.

17. Acknowledge that APA LA will designate which reviewer the Best In Show winner will meet with at the Fall Portfolio Review.  Should a Best In Show winner be unable to attend the portfolio review APA LA does not guarantee that the appointment will be rescheduled.

18. Should the designated reviewer be unable to attend the portfolio review at the designated scheduled time, APA LA will strive to reschedule the review. However, APA LA shall not be held liable should the designated reviewer be unable to reschedule the reviews.

Entry Fees

$20/image: APA Member
$40/image: Non Member

Not an APA member? Now is a great time to join APA and receive up to a 50% discount on each image submission. 

Submission Guidelines

1. Only digital images are accepted through our online submission process.
2. Image size no smaller than 1200 pixels on the long side and at most 1800 pixels, 72 dpi, sRGB color profile, with no visible identifying text/symbols
3. Image files need no unique title by the entrant. Image files are identified to the entry and assigned an arbitrary ID for the "blind" judging. 
4. A single entry is one image.
5. Sorry, no panoramas, diptychs or triptychs will be accepted.
6. While there is no limit to the number of single entries submitted, we recommend uploading no more than 10 images at a time (Check out, before submitting additional images). 
7. You may not enter an image that has won Off The Clock in previous years.
8. You may not enter substantially similar images that have won Off The Clock in previous years.
9. There is no restriction on when the entry image is created.
10. The curator for Off The Clock may select a maximum of four images by the same artist.
11. You do not need to be an APA member to enter the contest, but members receive a discount on entry fees.
12. Anyone claiming APA membership must be current in their dues at the time of entry and when winners are announced

Upload Guidelines

• All files must be jpgs with a file size limit of 10mb.
• Simple file naming conventions please do not use special characters like @, #. Title name is not seen by judge so it is ok to use your name in the title.
• Image size no smaller than 1200 pixels on the long side and at most 1800 pixels
• Color profile is sRGB, image resolution 72ppi
• Images should have no visible identifying text/symbols; entries are assigned an arbitrary ID for the "blind" judging.
• Single image entries only

ENTER OFF THE CLOCK

About the Curator

Darius Himes has had a long, storied career in the photographic arts, and is a well-known, knowledgeable and respected scholar of the medium. His impressive credentials brought him to join Christie’s in the Fall of 2014 as International Head of Photographs where he is responsible for setting and implementing a global strategy for the department and managing the international team. He is based in New York, and brings with him a rich knowledge of the history of the medium, with a keen interest in the contemporary market. Most recently Himes was director of Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. Prior to that, he was a co-founder of Radius Books, a non-profit publisher of books on art and photography, and a founding editor of photo-eye Booklist, a quarterly magazine devoted to photography books. A widely respected lecturer and writer on photography and photobooks, his most recent title, Publish Your Photography Book, was co-authored and published in 2011. He received his Masters of Arts from St. John's College and his Bachelor of Fine Art’s degree in Photography from Arizona State University. Himes also lived in Haifa, Israel, where he oversaw and worked with a permanent collection of over 50,000 photographic objects drawn primarily from the Near and Middle East and dating back as early as the 1870s.

APA Los Angeles is honored and humbled that Darius Himes will be joining us to curate Off The Clock 2023.

Questions? Please email: director@apa-la.com.

• Previous