Photographic competitions occur monthly and are focussed toward pre-selected categories and within three different member groups. Descriptions of our competitions can be found within our Competitions Page. Our competitions are a means for members to expand and improve their photographic art and stimulate discussion within our membership

Our most recent competiton was a open nature competition. Nature photography is the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and recognize its honest presentation. The visual message of the photograph is considered more important than the technical considerations but high image quality is essential. This competition generally follows Photographic Society of America guidelines.

This competition was judged by Dolores Frank and, discussion and awards were presented on November 18, 2020.

There are three competition groups within Padre Trails Camera Club labeled Red, Green and Blue. This is a peer-grouping mix that has been established to more fairly distribute club members and level the competitive field, giving everyone a more equal opportunity to suceed in our monthly competitions. Club members have been distributed within each of these peer groups based upon their previous year scoring of images by our judges. The groupings will be re-calculated at the end of each Club year by averaging the star rating of each submitted image. Prospective new members may select a peer group placement where that may feel most comfortable in competing.