Photography News | Issue 62 | photographynews.co.uk
21 Interview
We are also trying hard to give priority or preference to work that hasn’t been seenmuch before. The six selectors have judged and seen lots of exhibitions so we are pretty aware of what has been in catalogues and exhibitions before – we are looking for pictures that haven’t. You look round here and there are a few that are quite familiar because they were just too good not to put in but in the main, we looked for new stuff and, as I say, not any particular style or genre, in fact quite the opposite – we looked for as much diversity as possible. Ideally, there wouldn’t be two photographs that are similar; that’s not always possible but we’ve come close. PN: Who were the judges? RW: The judges were Jane Lines, Rikki O’Neill and Roger Hance, who all have experience in judging these sorts of competitions. They were chosen for their varied approaches to photography. PN: What did the judges look for in this particular competition? RW: Theywere briefed to try and pick asmuch variety as possible, to recognise every possible type of photograph and they were told that the quality of the production was important. It didn’t matter if it was a photograph with wonderful content; if it was poorly printed they were probably not going to accept it. Content comes first, obviously, but it had to be delivered in a reasonably competent manner. PN: So, howdoes someone go about entering the competition? RW: It’s advertised in our own electronic newsletter, PAGB e-news. It was mentioned in Photography News as well, and it’s simply a matter of going online to our website, filling in an entry form and sending it off with up to five unmounted prints. The entrant decides which categories to enter, in any combination. Most entrants seemed to split their entries
between categories but all five can be entered in one category should they so choose. I thought we would get more nature entries than we did because it’s become very popular in all the other competitions that we run. PN: Why do you think this is such a prestigious exhibition? RW: You would have to ask the entrants that but of course it’s limited to 60 photographs, no matter howmanywe receive, and it’s exhibited at a London venue. We publicise it a lot and not only do the successful entrants get accepted into this exhibition, they also get accepted into our PAGB Hall of Fame. There were also features run in the PAGB e-news on almost everyone who had an acceptance last year, throughout the year. PN: Do you have any tips for entering next year? RW: Just keep an eye on the PAGB e-news (see box, right), where most of the entry information is publicised and in photography publications, which will be around November again. The exhibition is expected to be on show in London from 2-13 December and will tour nationally as well. Enter your best prints, your newest prints, and try to give us something a little different. PN: A lot of people can’t get to London for the exhibition, so if someone wants to get hold of a Masters of Print catalogue to check out the required quality, is there a way to order one? RW: We took the exhibition on tour to a few locations around the country last year and we hope to do that again. In fact, we are looking for more venues to participate in the future, so people can go to any one of those and get a catalogue. Our e-newsletter will also advertise the catalogues for sale or anyone on the PAGB Executive can be contacted to order one for £5.
More about the PAGB
The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) coordinates activities for camera clubs and photographic societies in theUK through its 15 geographical federations. The PAGB organises events for its federations and clubs and runs its ownAwards for Photographic Merit distinctions. You can keep upwith the PAGB’s activities via its free fortnightly e-newsletter, which you can sign up for on itswebsite: thepagb.org.uk
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