Photography News Issue 38

Photography News | Issue 38 | absolutephoto.com

Profile

Before the judge

TerryDonnelly FRPS Each month, a respected judge shares their thoughts and experiences. This month we speak to Terry Donnelly, a working pro and sought-after club judge

Initiallymyinterestinjudgingwastogainaninsight intowhat judges look for inan image, to improvemy own competitionwork. I figured that if I knewwhat the judgeswere looking for, then itwouldhelpme in my selection and preparation of an image. In 2013, I was invited by Christine Widdall (L&CPU Judges Secretary) to attend a judges’ training and selection day with a view to becoming a judge for The L&CPU federation. Following the judging seminar, I was invited to become a judge, and after serving a probationary period as a ‘new’ judge, which involved feedback from clubs I judged at, I wasmoved onto the approved judges listing. In the past few years I have judged at several international photography salons having FIAP patronage, such as the 93rd Scottish International Exhibition 2016 and The Smethwick International Salon 2015. At national level, I’ve judged at BPE member exhibitions including Southport 2015 and Shrewsbury 2014. At federation level, I have judged the Midland Federation Annual Exhibition 2015, NEMPF exhibition 2016 and Yorkshire Exhibition 2015. I also judged the Isle of Man Annual Photography Exhibition in 2016. AtclublevelIhavejudgedinter-clubcompetitions and end of year andmonthly club competitions. One of the things I always say at a judging is that if anyonehas anyquestions orwants anexplanation of my observations and critique of their image privately, to see me in the break or at the end of the night and I will explain my comments. I have had people speak to me during these periods and express thanks for the comments and the helpful critique, and it’s great to see that lightbulb moment they have when they start to see their pictures from a competition point of view. I have had people apply for me to mentor them through the L&CPU mentoring service from club competitions after hearing my critique, it is very rewarding from that point of view. My favourite judging experiencewas judging the Midland Federation National Exhibition in front of a live audience. The oohs and aahs as scores were announced live, really added to the atmosphere and excitement. I had initially thought the judging was behind closed doors, so had a bit of a surprise when I arrived at the hall to find 300 chairs set up behind the judges’ table for the audience. It was good fun though andwe saw some fabulous work. The overall standard of pictures varies fromclub to club, but the standard is definitely improving overall year on year. Nature in particular at club level is of a very high standard. At a recent club judging appointment, I saw a picture from a fairly new face to the club competition scene, Sue Blythe. I spoke of the image being of international exhibition standard, and it won top awards on the day. It has since gone on to be awarded in a number of international exhibitions. Club photography has a habit of showing some fabulous work and surprises, which is partlywhy I enjoy it somuch. Generally I think the standard of amateur photography in the UK is world class. This statement is supported by the success UK clubs have had on the world FIAP stage, and the success the PAGB representing the UK in FIAP country competitions. This year the FIAP World Cup saw UK clubs take all four top positions from worldwide entries, that alone is testament to the strength of UK amateur photography. The PAGB, representing the UK, this year also won the FIAP Mono Print Biennial Competition, whichconsistedoftensportsimagefromtenauthors

Biography

TerryDonnelly FRPS Since he started entering photo contests in 2012, Terry has received over 200 awards in international contests including 11 best author awards and 160 awards in BPE exhibitions. Years in photography 40 years as an amateur and ten years as a professional. Home club Have been a member of Ormskirk Camera Club for many years. Favourite camera It depends on the task. i have different favourites for different scenarios. Favourite lens Again, this depends on the task. Favourite photo accessory The CamRanger, it’s a great device for shooting tethered, either for actuating the camera or for sharing images with a client or art director during a shoot. Who is your favourite photographer? Joe McNally. What is your own favourite photographic subject or technique? I love street photography. What awards/distinctions/ medals have youwon? I hold three Fellowships with three different organisations, for three different bodies of work – the RPS, the SWPP and the BPE – and a Masters with The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain MPAGB. I also have the EFIAP.

(myself being one of them) representing the UK on the world stage. UK competition photography is literally on the top of theworld. Sometimes images are seen that are not of the standard required tomake it into the exhibition, but I always applaud the effort by the entrant. Each image is considered in the same way, and even if not accepted, the score received from the panel of judges serves as a good indication if that type or standard of image is worth considering in further exhibitionwork. Sometimes an image receives a score of 15, with all three panel members giving it the highest mark available. It’s a great moment when this happens, as we all want to see as many 15s as we can, it’s a huge lift to the whole teamwhen that happens and often receives a round of applause from the exhibition support staff. Without doubt for me the most common failings are pictures that are over processed. With the onset and availability of plug-ins over the last few years, I see many good pictures ruined by an application of a filter, which is applied generally, instead of locally to an image. For example, applying a subtle hdr effect to a landscape can bring out more detail in the land, but it can destroy clouds and make them look unnatural. So in this instance, locally applying to areas of the land only, and leaving the sky natural, would give amuchmore pleasing image. I don’t find it challenging to be positive or constructive, but sometimes finding the rightwords canbe a challenge. The last thing in theworld Iwant to do is to discourage a photographer at any stage of their photographic journey. I will always find something constructive to say about a picture and offer ways to improve it in certain areas. I have in the past had people say to me that I had missed obvious cloning or something similar in an image during critique. It’s often the case that I have not missed it, but that I don’t see the point in pummelling somebody’s image and shattering their confidence by highlighting every fault or issue in a picture. One or two pointers on improvement is enough at any one time. I mark every image as I see it, regardless of a techniqueusedoritsgenre.Ifit’sdonewell,itreceives anappropriatemark.Wenaturallyallhavepersonal likes and dislikes, but they have to be put aside

when judging, andwemust mark an image entirely on itsmerit. The easiest thing in the world to do is to criticise an image, the task we have as judges, along with picking the strongest pictures, is to encourage and nurture photographers at all levels. In my federation, the L&CPU, I am proud to be a member of a small team that are involved in running judges training and induction days. A lot of time and effort is put into judges’ training by the team, and in particular by ChristineWiddall. Judges are classed as new members, and can also after serving a probationary period, apply to be an approved judge, which entails having reports submitted from competition secretaries on a number of judging performances. All judges are encouraged to stay current, and be involved in competition work themselves, and also attend national competitions and distinction adjudication days, to keep abreast of the standards. We can as judges only do our best, but it’s never going to be a please-all task. We do however aim to have at least one happy club member, the one that takes top honours. Some people are naturally disappointed if they enter a competition and their picture does not do as well as they expected, and they don’t understand why. That is the reason why, as I said earlier that I amhappytodiscussanimageprivatelywithanyone. Trends come and go, but qualitywork regardless of trends or genre will always stand the test of time. A picture that people see with their hearts, will always triumph over a sterile technically perfect image with no feelings. My advice would be to ignore trends, simply dowhat you are best at doing. Trends are something other people do, they are not important; the only person any of us are in competition with is ourselves, nobody else matters in that context, we are there to improve on what we have produced previously. If I had to give just one piece of advice I’d say present a well-exposed and colour-balanced image, that has impact, an uncluttered background, and a narrative or a sense of emotion. These types of things can apply to all genres of photography, and can really set an image apart from the rest.

On top of working professionally as a photographer, Terry is part of a team organising Photo Show, taking place at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool, 29 and 30 April 2017. For more visit photoshow.info

What do you think?

Have you seen a photographic judge at work who 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.

terrydonnelly.co.uk