Call Description

Texas Photographic Society is pleased to announce Watershed, a themed juried exhibition exploring a themed juried exhibition exploring water as subject, symbol, tool, and essential aspect of life. Water is never a neutral subject (especially in Texas). Water sustains life, but also holds destructive power. It is also an essential part of the photographic process. From rivers and reservoirs to city pools, desert springs, summer storms, and later summer droughts, the presense (or absence) of water has served as inspiration for photographers since the invention of the camera.

Photographers working in all styles, processes, and approaches are encouraged to apply.

Watershed will be exhibited at the Pool Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas, from July 3rd, 2026 and will continue through July 25th, 2026. An closing reception with the juror will be on July 25th, 2026, time TBA.

This exhibition will be juried by Luther Smith, photographic artist and Emeritus Professor of Art Photography at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Entries due 6/1/26.

IMPORTANT DATES

April 24th, 2026 - Call for Entries opens

June 1st, 2026 - Deadline for Entry (11:59 p.m. Central Time)
June 3rd, 2026 - Selections Announced
June 28th, 2026 – Selections must be received
July 3rd, 2026 - Exhibition Opening
July 25th,2026- Exhibition Closes, Closing Reception

AWARDS

First Place = $400

Second Place = $250

Third Place = $150
Up to 5 Honorable Mentions may be awarded

ENTRY FEE and TPS MEMBERSHIP

All entries are processed through the CaFE submission site. The entry fee for current TPS Members is $30 for 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image. The Non-Member entry fee is $40 for 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image. You do not have to be a member of TPS to enter. However, if you enter the competition and join TPS or renew as a member at the same time, you can pay the reduced current TPS Member entry fee of $35.

You may enter up to 12 images.

TPS Member Benefits include member feature opportunities via our Members' Gallery, Member Spotlight, Blog, Members' News, Members' Instagram Takeover, social media accounts and E-Zine, discounted entry fees to most TPS competitions, and discounts to programs and services offered through our partnerships.

If you are not sure of your TPS member status, please contact TPS at cpireland@gmail.com. All entry and membership fees are non-refundable.

ELIGIBILITY

Watershed is open to artists internationally, of all levels, who are at least 18 years old at time of entry. Works exhibited previously in a TPS show are not eligible. Current members of the TPS Board of Directors are permitted to enter but are not eligible for awards.

ABOUT THE JUROR - Luther Smith, photographic artist and Emeritus Professor of Art Photography at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX

Luther Smith is a photographer working out of Fort Worth Texas. He was born in a farmhouse in rural Tishomingo County, Mississippi and lived there for ten years. As a child in Mississippi he chopped and picked cotton, learned to fish and hunt. In 1960 at the age of ten his family moved to Aurora, Illinois where he grew up. He attended college at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and graduate school at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. His first photographs were of people he encountered, friends and family. During college he made photographs of night life using infrared film. Later after returning to the University of Illinois to teach he photographed at the high schools in Urbana and Champaign, Illinois. After moving to Texas in 1983 he began a series on High School Rodeo. The rodeo photographs led to a series of landscape photographs using an 8" X 10" view camera and a 7" x 17" view camera. The Trinity River photographs and Photographs of the American South came from this series. He also works with a 6 cm by 17 cm panoramic camera, a 6 cm by 7 cm camera and a 4" X 5" camera, as well as digital. His current work uses digital cameras and software to create images. He is an Emeritus Professor of Art Photography at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

Luther Smith’s photography has found a home in esteemed public collections, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Library of Congress, and the Dallas Museum of Art. His work has graced the pages of renowned publications such as Photography 9, Photography 8, and Photography 7. Additionally, Smith has made significant contributions to periodicals like Fort Worth Magazine and American Artist Magazine. Noteworthy institutions housing his work include The Amon Carter Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the High Museum, Atlanta.

View his website here.

Watershed is made possible through funding from the support of our TPS Members

Application Requirements

ENTRY FEE and TPS MEMBERSHIP

All entries are processed through the CaFE submission site. The entry fee for current TPS Members is $30 for 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image. The Non-Member entry fee is $40 for 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image. You do not have to be a member of TPS to enter. However, if you enter the competition and join TPS or renew as a member at the same time, you can pay the reduced current TPS Member entry fee of $35.

You may enter up to 12 images.

TPS Member Benefits include member feature opportunities via our Members' Gallery, Member Spotlight, Blog, Members' News, Members' Instagram Takeover, social media accounts and E-Zine, discounted entry fees to most TPS competitions, and discounts to programs and services offered through our partnerships.

If you are not sure of your TPS member status, please contact TPS at cpireland@gmail.com. All entry and membership fees are non-refundable.

Eligibility Criteria

ELIGIBILITY

Watershed is open to artists internationally, of all levels, who are at least 18 years old at time of entry. Works exhibited previously in a TPS show are not eligible. Current members of the TPS Board of Directors are permitted to enter but are not eligible for awards.