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Digital Imaging Competition
RPS Digital Imaging
For 2026 our annual competition for members features two separate classes, Open Colour and Open Mono. Fifteen from each class will be selected and go forward to the final, where the winner will be awarded the Raymond Wallace Thompson Trophy. You'll be able to watch via Zoom and hear the selectors' comments.
Key dates
Open Colour class: Opens 1 May 2026 – closes 31 May 2026.
Open Mono class: Opens 1 July 2026 – closes 31 July 2026.
The Final for the RWT Trophy will be held in September 2026.
Classes
There are two classes, and you may enter a maximum of three images in each one.
- Open Colour
Colour images of any subject and of any style are allowed. The images will be selected on their pictorial merit with the emphasis on interest, visual impact, composition and technical excellence.
- Open Mono
A mono image uses shades of a single hue, commonly black/grey/white, but shades of any single hue are eligible.
See the Competition Rules for full details of the classes, images specifications and T&Cs.
Selectors for the Open Colour class
Carol Olerud FRPS
RPS Benelux Chapter Organiser and Fenton Medal holder, Carol has been a keen photographer since an early age. She likes to ‘tell stories’ with her camera.
Carol is a documentary and social documentary photographer – also a contemporary and a street photographer; a people photographer. She travels widely, as an Australian/Dutch woman living in The Netherlands. Colour photography appeals to her the most. Martin Parr is a great inspiration as are several other well known photographers.
Carol is active in the Royal Dutch Fotobond as well as many of the RPS SIGs. Every two years Carol is a jury member for the International Fotofestival ‘Lens on Man’ in Pelt, Belgium where the Benelux Chapter participates and supports the festival. The streets are lined with 1,000s of photos! Always with people as the main theme.
Carol gained her Fellowship in 2021, and her Associateship in 2018, both in the Contemporary genres. She supports those working towards a Fellowship in the unofficial support group which she runs with Holly Stranks FRPS.
Carol enjoys all genres of photography and having been a jury member both nationally and internationally, she has a lot of experience. This gives her the appreciation needed to recognise great photos when seen!
Susan Clark LRPS
Sue says "My interest and enthusiasm for photography increased enormously when I discovered Photoshop in the late 1990s and found that I was much more at home with digital technology than I had been with darkroom processing. It was an opportunity that I didn’t realise I was waiting for!"
Her pictures usually tell a story. They almost always look as if they are straight from the camera, although they are invariably heavily edited, whether a single image or a composite of several.
Sue is a member of Conwy Camera Club and judges Camera Club competitions.
Her lectures on photography are led by her interest in art and art history.
Edward Hyde FRPS
Eddie says "Photography has captivated me since I was a young boy with a Kodak Brownie 127. There are no images of any merit from these early days, but I do have some that have stood the test of time from when I was at university and had my first SLR."
He has explored a wide variety of photographic genres and styles over the years and has a broad appreciation which helps him as a Judge with the Surrey Photographic Association. He's now a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and an RPS Licentiate panel member assessing Licentiate Distinctions submissions.
Whilst he enjoys most genres of photography, he always wants to come back to landscape and never feels more alive than when outdoors, anticipating the moment when the magic might happen: the light, weather and landscape combine to create art in front of him and he's there to capture it.