Nocturne: Photography After Dark by TCG Gallery

Nocturne: Photography After Dark by TCG Gallery looks at what happens to photography once daylight disappears. Streetlights isolate gestures, windows become points of attention and familiar places can shift toward intimacy, spectacle or unease. The international call closes on October 1, 2026, with approximately 30 photographs due to be selected for an online exhibition running from November 1 to 21.

The theme stretches well beyond conventional city-at-night imagery. TCG Gallery is considering nocturnal landscapes, nightlife, interiors, low-light portraits, flash photography, light painting, astrophotography and long exposure photography, as well as documentary, staged, abstract and experimental approaches. The $15 submission fee covers up to three images, and fee waivers are available to artists experiencing financial hardship. For photographers browsing Deartline’s photo contests list, Nocturne offers a tightly defined theme without limiting entrants to one photographic genre.

Selected images will become part of a curated online exhibition and the gallery’s permanent website archive, with artist and artwork information published alongside the work. TCG Gallery also promotes selected artists through its website, email list and social channels.

Prizes

• Selected artists: approximately 30 photographs will be included in the curated online exhibition.
• Permanent archive: selected work remains in the TCG Gallery exhibition archive after the show closes.
• Artist presentation: artist and artwork information is published with each selected image.
• Promotion: selected work may be featured through the gallery website, email list and social channels.
• Sales enquiries: artists may make accepted work available for sale. TCG Gallery retains a 30% commission when a sale is completed through the gallery.

Categories or Themes

There are no separate categories. The exhibition is built around photography made after daylight recedes and the ways darkness or artificial light alter how subjects are seen.

The brief encompasses night photography across cities, roads, landscapes, interiors and the night sky. It also allows street, portrait, documentary, abstract and experimental interpretations.

Dates and Entry Fees

The selection is announced only a few days after entries close, followed by the November online exhibition.

Entry fee: $15 for up to three images. Artists may make more than one submission.

How to Enter

Entries are submitted through the online form. Photographers may upload up to three JPG or JPEG files measuring at least 1,200 pixels on the longest side. Images must not contain watermarks, signatures or identifying marks.

The form also requests artwork information including title, medium, physical dimensions, year and price or NFS status. Website and Instagram details are optional, as is a short biography or statement.

About the Jury

Selections are made through TCG Gallery’s curatorial review process, which considers image quality, originality, relevance to the theme, visual impact and how each photograph contributes to the exhibition as a whole.

The gallery states that blind review is used whenever possible, placing emphasis on the submitted work rather than biography, résumé or previous exhibition history.

Why Enter Nocturne: Photography After Dark by TCG Gallery?

Nocturne: Photography After Dark by TCG Gallery is more specific than a general open-theme exhibition but much broader than a conventional night-city call. Its emphasis is on what changes after dark, which allows astrophotography, nightlife, quiet landscapes, flash portraits and psychologically driven work to share the same curatorial framework.

The approximately 30-image selection also means the exhibition is designed as a relatively concise edit rather than a large online showcase. Since curators consider how individual photographs contribute to the rhythm and direction of the entire exhibition, photographers are effectively submitting for a place within a constructed group show rather than competing for ranked prizes.

Selected work remains in the permanent TCG archive after the exhibition ends, creating a lasting public record of participation. For photographers considering an online photography contest or curated exhibition opportunity, that combination of a precise nocturnal theme, blind review where possible and permanent archive placement is the clearest distinction of this call.

Rules and Copyright

We reviewed the official rules of the Nocturne: Photography After Dark by TCG Gallery to summarize the key participation requirements, copyright terms and image usage conditions. Before entering, we recommend checking the complete rules published by the organizer.

Rules

The call is open worldwide to photographers and visual artists aged 18 or older. Digital, film, alternative-process, documentary, conceptual, staged, experimental and mixed-media photographic work is accepted. Submitted work must be original and created by the entrant. Previously published or exhibited photographs are generally eligible.

Images created by, or substantially altered with, generative artificial intelligence are not eligible. The $15 fee covers up to three photographs and does not guarantee selection.

Copyright and Image Usage

Artists retain copyright to their work. By submitting, they grant TCG Gallery non-exclusive permission to reproduce submitted images for review and, where applicable, exhibition, archive and related promotion. Promotional uses can include the gallery website, social media, email announcements, exhibition graphics and press materials. Artists are credited wherever feasible.

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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.