Categories
Capture Oakville Categories
The Photography Competition features up to seven-(7) categories, each with specific subject matter and criteria to challenge and inspire the artistic, emotional, and technical capabilities of the photographers entering the competition.
The sample images below are the Capture Oakville 2025 Category Winners
“Glenorchy” by Barbara Bialon
Streets of Oakville
An Image that captures and illustrates the interaction of people, their behaviours, the environment in public places and/or a realistic “decisive moment” (see FAQ for definition), within the Town of Oakville.Though people may feature directly, the photograph could be absent of people and can be of any object or environment within Oakville that projects a decidedly human character.
People & Portraits
A compelling portrait photograph that illustrates the moment of contact or interaction, while accentuating the essential characteristics and personality of the human spirit.
Photographs can include Candid or Posed, Portraiture, Studio, Photojournalism, or Street Photography, as long as the human element being photographed is the central element.
“Remembering” by Roger Passmore
Black & White
This category challenges photographers to provide an Image that goes beyond color and uses the aesthetic of the medium of black and white, to emphasize the interplay of light, shadow, texture, and form, to craft compelling visual narratives.
The Image should showcase the photographer’s mastery of tonal range, contrast, and composition, creating black-and-white Images that enhance the subject's impact. Black & White is defined as shades of very dark grey (black) to very light grey (white) with varying shades (darker) and tints (light) of the grayscale. This category is open to any subject matter.
“Gothics in Black and White” by Amanda Holden
Landscapes
A compelling natural landscape, cityscape, spectacular natural event, or environmental vista Image, which conveys the scale, size or proportion of what is being photographed.
The Image may include methods such as wide-format panoramic field-of-view, focus stacking, and High Dynamic Range (HDR) techniques.
“Sunrise Between Sand and Sky” by Vanessa Chassard
Nature & Wildlife
A compelling Image of natural elements such as wildlife, plants, insects, and close-ups of (or parts of) small natural subjects or textures.
Macro photographs (of nature) are welcome in this category.
Hand-of-Man elements are ‘permitted,’ as long as they are minimal and do not detract from the primary subject matter.
“Eastern Carpenter Bee” by Douglas Carson
Explorations
This category is open to creative and innovative Images that explore new personal directions in the art or science of photography and result in compelling Images with strong visual and/or emotional impact.
These Images go beyond simple documentation to evoke emotion, explore concepts, or challenge perspectives. The photographer must demonstrate deliberate creativity that transforms the subject beyond a mere representation of reality[DC1] .
Any subject matter or technique may be used. Images will be evaluated on their creativity, impact and inventive application of photographic principles and techniques.
“Tranquility” by Ingrid Hann
“The Cowboy and His Horse” by Ron Planche
Capture Oakville 2025 Grand Prize Winner
Moments that Endure
20th Anniversary Special Category
To commemorate 20 years of Capture Oakville, this special category celebrates the power of storytelling through photography. Submit an image that evokes emotion, reveals a narrative, or captures a moment that invites the viewer to imagine the story behind it.
Photographs may portray any subject—people, places, objects, or abstract forms—so long as they convey a compelling sense of story, mood, or meaning through composition, light, and timing.
Images in this category may be colour or black and white. The emphasis should be on visual storytelling, emotional resonance, and the photographer’s ability to communicate through imagery.
Eligible images may have been taken at any time within the past 20 years, provided they have not been entered in any previous photo competition of any type.
