Photography News 12

Opinion

BEFORE THE JUDGE RichardWalton FRPS Each issue, a respected judge or exhibition selector shares their thoughts and experiences. This month, long-time judge RichardWalton voices his opinions

MEET THE JUDGE RichardWalton FRPS: Richard’s fair and honest style of judging has won him great favour in the more than 20 years he’s been judging and he’s now joined assessment panels at the prestigious Royal Photographic Society Home club: Invicta Photographic Club Years in photography: First camera in 1958 Family snaps until 1988 26 years of serious photography Favourite camera: Canon EOS 6D Favourite lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Favourite photographers: Major influences – Cartier-Bresson, Bill Wisden, Vic Attfield, Dave Mason Favourite photographic subjects: Street with an element of graphic design Awardswon: London Salon Medals – 1999, 2001 Drawer full of various medals, ribbons and certificates in local, PAGB, national and international exhibitions Plus FRPS EFIAP MPAGB BPE3*

Words by Richard Walton

The average club competition is frequently littlemore than a parade of safe, reworked theme pictures andworn out clichéswith little evidence of personal input, much as it was 20years ago

My first club judging back in 1993 was a three-way inter-club battle. I stood in for a very experienced judge who had to back out at the last minute. I was absolutely terrified but the evening was a success and all three clubs invited me back. Someone must have put my name about and the bookings began to roll in. As time went on, I found I loved judging and couldn’t get enough of it, despite the ups and downs of being the controversial bloke up front. I’ve always believed that a good judge should do more than just choose winners and losers, rather they should provide a sound and cohesive critique and suggest ways a photograph might be improved. A good judge should never denigrate a picture, but point out areas where improvement could be made; share his knowledge; educate; and entertain. Judges in general get a poor press, which, sadly, is often justified, mainly because of an unwillingness to open their minds to new ideas and techniques. There is also a tendency to be frightened of using a wide range of marks through fear of upsetting people. A good judge should be honest not only with the audience, but also with himself and be able to justify his comments and decisions. Withtheadvent of affordableandaccessibledigital photography and the wealth of tutorials available on the Internet, the standard of photography entered in competitions has certainly improved. Initially, it seemed that traditional silver-based work had run its course and would become little more than a distant memory. It is a credit to a dedicated band of darkroom devotees that traditional silver work is very much alive. I have to admit that a finely handcrafted silver print gives me great pleasure on the odd occasion one appears on the judging easel. This, of course, begs the question, how has club photography changed over the years I’ve been judging? The answer is that it has, but not as much as one would perhaps expect, given the speed at which technology has advanced. The problem, if it is indeed a problem, is that the average club competition is frequently little more than a parade of safe, reworked theme pictures and worn out clichés with little evidence of personal input, much as it was 20 years ago. It is a genuine breath of fresh air when one comes across a photographer, who is questioning the ‘rules’ and brave enough to push the boundaries of photography into uncharted territory. Of course, fashions change. Currently, the high- definition grungy portrait in front of a contrived background is very much in vogue. I really enjoyed the first few I judged, but when the few became a torrent of essentially identical images I rapidly began to lose the will to live! The overuse of Photoshop plug-ins, particularly those based on HDR, is equally formula driven and rarely inspires. Don’t get me wrong, plug-ins when used sympathetically and subtly can work very well and deserve recognition, but silk purses are rarely created from sow’s ears.

This conveniently brings me onto subjective and objective judging. We’ve all heard a judge say, ‘I don’t like portraits’, or whatever. The very best judges can push their personal likes and dislikes to one side and concentrate on the crux of the matter, which is whether the image is of high merit or not, whatever the genre, whatever the technique employed. I enjoy all types of judging and selection events, from those at the smallest clubs right up to the big names of the club world and find it hugely rewarding. With the prestigious national and international exhibitions the task is not so much to judge as to select an exhibition that will showcase the very best images from both club and non-club photographers, with something to appeal to a very wide audience. In this case, with an ever-increasing entry, the judges who make up the usual team of three must be experienced enough to react to and accurately score an image very quickly. It is not unusual to be asked to assess a couple of thousand pictures in a day, it can be done and does happen. Working within a team can, at times, be frustrating, but fallouts rare. In2001, Iwas invitedto jointheRoyal Photographic Society’s Licentiate assessment team and in 2011 the Visual Art panel which assesses both Associate and Fellowship applications. Both appointments presented yet another new challenge, needing a very different approach from that which I was used

to. Rather than looking at individual images and marking them against each other, or selecting an exhibition, I was now assessing a photographer’s ability to work to a rigid set of criteria resulting in a body of images that worked both individually and, when ordered thoughtfully, held together as a cohesive panel. Over a period of some 26 years, photography has given me so much and become a massive part of my life. From quite early days I felt I wanted to give something back by helping others realise their dreams. Judging has enabled me to fulfil this goal by sharing my own enthusiasm and experience. Long may it continue.

π To find out more about Richard’s work, visit www.richardwalton.co.uk.

Have you seen a photographic judge at work that you’d like to see profiled in Photography News ? If so please drop us a line to opinion@photography-news.co.uk with the judge’s name and, if possible, their contact details. What do you think?

Photography News | Issue 12