Photography News 12

Competitions

Adiamond jubilee The North and East Midlands Photographic Federation (N&EMPF) is now welcoming entries for what will be its 60th exhibition. We spoke to federation secretary Gary Langley to find out what’s planned for the milestone year INTERVIEW

associated with N&EMPF and like most people that’s how I got involved. I was on the executive committee as an ordinary member for around a year when the opportunity to move into the committee came up and I was voted in as the exhibition secretary. Eric Miller APAGB had done it for well over 30 years prior to me taking over; he did a splendid job and still helps and advises me today. The federation has a number of things going off to celebrate our 60th birthday. We have increased the number of awards we will give out at the exhibition and we have gained patronage from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) so we will have PAGB gold and silver medals available for the winning images. N&EMPF is also putting together an anniversary book which will showcase the last 60 years and look forward to the next. The aim of the book is to get at least one image from every member of a camera club in our area. The exhibition is entering its 60th year, do you have any special plans to celebrate? What are some of the most noticeable changes the exhibition has seen? One of the most dramatic changes over the last few years is the advent of digital photography, making

shooting so much easier. Light sensitivity, lenses and focusing have got so much faster nowmaking image capture much easier. The expense involved in the processing part of photography is so much cheaper than with film. Digital cameras are much sharper, with better colour saturation than film ever had. Software has advanced so much giving the photographer the opportunity to add filters, from the sublime to the ridiculous. I think digital photography has got people excited about image-making again and that can only be a good thing, especially for the exhibition. Howmany entries do you receive? We received 800 prints and over 1000 PDIs last year and the PDI entries seem to grow every year. With so many entries, the judging must be a lengthy process. Can you give us an insight into how it works? We judge over a weekend, PDIs one day and prints on the other. A lot more physical work goes into the organisation of the prints being judged. I am very lucky that a lot of the committee members are willing and able to assist, the smooth running would not be achievable without them. We have three judges for each section who all have to score between two and five for each image.

Interview by Megan Croft

BELOWTOP RIGHT Leking Black Grouse by John Smith of Warsop and District Camera Club. BELOWBOTTOM RIGHT Chasing the Dragon by Scott Wilson of Nottingham Outlaws Photographic Society. BELOWLEFT Kingfisher Returns by Steve Williams of Chesterfield Photographic Society. I think digital photography has got people excited about image-making again

Can you tell us about the exhibition’s history? The exhibition was set up 59 years ago to celebrate the best in amateur photography in the North and East Midlands. Originally there were two sections, one for slide and one for print each with a category for monochrome, colour and nature entries, but with the introduction of digital photography there was a massive drop in the number of slides entered and it was no longer viable to run a slide category. The accepted slides used to be held back and would tour all of the clubs in the federation. Nowadays, we accept prints and digital images and like the slides of the past, the PDIs are showcased at club nights. What’s your background in photography and howdid you come to be involvedwith N&EMPF? I got into photography quite late compared to some of our members. I started in 2006 when I joined the Arnold and District Camera Club, a very friendly bunch who made me very welcome. After being there for a short while I was well and truly hooked. Recently I joined the Rolls Royce Photographic Society in Derby where I am the current vice chairman. The best camera clubs in the area are all

Photography News | Issue 12