Photography News Issue 39

Photography News | Issue 39 | absolutephoto.com

Profile

Before the judge

KevinWilsonFRPS Each month, a judge or selector shares their thoughts and experiences. This month we speak to KevinWilson, a multi award-winning people photographer

Duringmyprofessionalphotography career, I have been fortunate enough to win many awards and gain the highest photographic qualifications available. I have two Fellowships with the RPS, six Fellowships with the BIPP, an honorary Fellowship with the SWPP, a Fellowship with IPPA and a masters in the PPA. Having won many awards and achieved so many distinctions, I was asked to be a judge and selector. I have chaired the panel and judged the Kodak European Awards in Germany, Spain and theUK. Various organisations throughout Europe have also invited me to participate. Currently, I am chair of qualifications and awards in the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) and for the past two years I’ve been chairman of its national awards. I am also a selector for the RPS on the applied associate and fellowship distinctions panel. Viewing other photographers’ work is a double-edged sword – some you win, some you lose. To successful applicants I am the best judge ever; those that fail naturally take a different view. However, if an applicant is unfortunate enough not to pass, I will endeavour to be honest and open, praise where necessary and point out the issues that need to be worked on. Honest feedback is the only way if an applicant is going to succeed in the future. I would advocate that if possible, the applicant for a live judging should bring someone along with them, for the simple reason that if they have been unsuccessful, they will not hear clearly what is being said or even sometimes disagree. I would put that down to passion and disappointment at the time. When assessing or judging I give my time to the associations freely, often a couple of days at a time, several times a year. Multiply that by three or four organisations and the time mounts up, so judges and selectors do not do it for the money. In my case I want to see new photographic talent bringing exciting and polished work to the day. When I am judging a submission for a qualification, in an ideal world I would prefer to be invited into the assessment room once the whole panel is on display, ready to be viewed. In some cases due to the sheer volume and time involved, it is not possible, therefore, as in the case with the RPS distinctions, I will bow my head and close my eyes as the panel is being positioned. I will then listen to the author’s statement of intent, forming images in my mind – imagining the photographer’s interpretation or whether it will be

a colour or monochrome panel. By doing this, I feel I am allowing the applicant to convey his or her story, then I can open my eyes and view the whole panel. I prefer to view the application as a complete set – do the pictures work together, does the panel tell the story and match the applicant’s statement of intent? Once this has been viewed as a whole, I can then walk forward and admire the pictures, inspecting the panel in finer detail. At least this way I will have viewed the panel with impact in mind, which is always great to see. Occasionally a panel of judges will be split, offering differing views, and that is why I always love working with those that are willing to listen to fellow judges and change their minds, rather than being entrenched in their own opinions. There is nothing wrong in admitting that you may have overlooked something that is relevant to the panel of pictures once it is pointed out. In fact, there is much to applaud when this takes place. Fortunately, judges today are highly skilled and we all listen to different opinions. Organisations like the RPS also offer distinction advisory days and I highly recommend applicants attending one of these to discover the necessary guidelines and also to get expert advice about a submission. You will get feedback about the panel’s suitability, technical quality and presentation too. At the RPS we do get the occasional panel that has been submitted without seeking advice from an advisory day. Only recently during an assessment, I listened to the statement with great interest, conjuring up thoughts of days gone by, from someone that had spent pretty much all their life, living and breathing the project they described so vividly. I openedmy eyes and there before me was a set of photographs that was completely at odds with the statement of intent. Poorly printed and presented, lacking in lighting and composition. It was obvious to me that the applicant had not bothered to seek advice beforehand at an advisory day. On the other hand, I witnessed a panel that was of a disaster, possibly in Saudi Arabia. The photographer had captured the horror of people dying in front of him, possibly at great personal risk to himself from family and friends that did not wish to be photographed. It had huge emotion and great content, but it was let down by printing. Two unsuccessful panels that for different reasons will stay with me for a considerable time.

Biography

KevinWilson FRPS Kevin’s first camera was a Kodak Instamatic that he received on his 21st birthday. He used it to photograph a squirrel from his bedroom window. Years in photography Around 35 years. Many years ago, I was a prolific member of Kinson Camera Club, just outside Bournemouth.. Favourite camera Hasselblad 500 ELX. Today I use a Canon EOS-1D X Mark II. Favourite lens Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 II. Favourite photo accessory My Lastolite reflectors, plural because I use several. Who is your favourite photographer? Norman Parkinson. His work was breathtaking and is still current all these years after his passing. I also love Don McCullin, David Bailey and Sebastiao Salgado. What is your own favourite photographic subject or technique? My favourite subjects are weddings and portraits in and around the Dorset countryside. I mainly use available light. If flash is required, I use the Quadra packs from Elinchrom; light, powerful and compact. What awards/distinctions/ medals have youwon? Two Fellowships with the Royal Photographic Society (read the full story for more details).

Print quality has to be one of the biggest problems, especially colour balance, banding and artefacts. Prints can also look inconsistent, mainly through monitors not being calibrated, or using incorrect profiles for the paper. Or it might be the lab that produces them. All such issues could have been addressed at an advisory day. Nobody wants to fail and disappointment is natural. Panel members want applicants to pass and gain their distinction and move to the next challenge. However, sadly many applicants do fail and it is essential that the photographer learns what is lacking and the reasons for an unsuccessful attempt. It is difficult, but honesty and integrity has to be upheld alongwith respect for what has been attempted, no matter how bad. Currently, on the SWPP I am seeing far too many babies in baskets sleeping amid all sorts of props. Many do not meet the required standard because of poor lighting, camera angles not thought out, wrong lens choice and just

sheer lack of photographer input. I try not to mark this sort of work down, preferring to see how well it has been carried out. Unfortunately, the bandwagon that follows the few that are good at this type of work, often fails miserably. I find it sad that judges get bad press from clubs. After all, they are mainly amateur photographers that give their time freely. It is very easy for the audience to sit in judgement while their work is being assessed, then say “what a load of rubbish that judge is”. It’s totally unjustified. I would strongly advise anyone entering competitions or aiming for a distinction to first read the rules and requirements and make the entry the best you possibly can. If you are going for a print submission, print on a variety of different surfaces to see which gives the most effective result. Remember, if there is a fault evident, the judges will see it. Dare to be different and you will prevail.

Image The picture shown here is fromKevin Wilson’s project One Light, One Lens, One Hundred, on people over 100 years old.

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.

kevinwilson.co.uk