Photography News issue 19

Opinion

BEFORE THE JUDGE Irene Froy Each issue, a respected judge or exhibition selector shares their thoughts and experiences. This month, we hear from Irene Froy MPAGB, HonPAGB, EFIAP

MEET THE JUDGE Irene FroyMPAGB, HonPAGB, EFIAP: Irene lives in Shropshire and has loved photography since she was a schoolgirl, making contact prints in the garden shed. She joined her first club, Hertfordshire, she joined Shillington & DCC where she served on the committee for 38 years before retiring to Shropshire where she is now a member of Wrekin Arts PC. Dundee PS, aged 17. On marrying and moving to

Words by Irene Froy

I attended my first East Anglian Federation Judges’ Workshop in 1974 and was invited to join the panel. My first stint judging was actually for a Slide of the Year Competition, which might have been a bit daunting had I not been a stand-in for a judge who had cancelled. I only had an hour’s notice so no time to panic, I had been thrown in at the deep end and coped. I soon worked my way up the panels and by the mid eighties had became a tutor for Federation judges’ courses. In 1985 I received the APAGB for meritorious service to photography later superseded by the J S Lancaster Medal for exceptional service, the HonPAGB. Some time in the late eighties I was appointed to the PAGB judges list and began being invited to judge national and international exhibitions. These were mainly in England and Scotland, but I also judged in the Algarve and more recently at Tallaght in Dublin. I have sat on the panels for the PAGB Awards for Photographic Merit at least seven times and have also gained FRPS and EFIAP. Since being supported by PermaJet from2000 to date I have given up evening judging to concentrate on lecturing. I still undertake and very much enjoy weekend judgings as there is such a wide variety of work to enjoy and I love the general categories; I do not judge nature sections as I don’t have the specialist knowledge that it requires. I particularly enjoy looking at prints and am happy with colour or monochrome as I do both, although much more colour than mono, that being my first love. I am always aware that in selecting an exhibition the judges need to give consideration to all types

The judge’s job is to encourage not condemn and I always try to find something positive to say about every picture

Years in photography: 60

Favourite camera: Canon EOS 600D as it‘s lighter than my 50D

RIGHTWindswept Dunes, and BELOW Cyclamen at the Manoir, by Irene Froy.

Favourite accessory:

Manfrotto joystick head on my tripod Favourite photographers: Freeman Patterson, Andre Gallant and Eddy Sethna to name but a few Awards: A drawer full of medals and ribbons. I am proudest of my London Salon medal from 1995 which resulted in my election to membership. Favourite subjects: Landscape and villages of France, Ireland and Scotland

person feeling much worse than everyone else, but that can backfire too if both images turn out to be by the same author! The judge’s job is to encourage not condemn and I always try to find something positive to say about every picture. That is where exhibition judging is much better because you are simply using the marks two to five. You are thinking of five as possibly worthy of an award, four as an acceptance, two as a reject with three being for an image you are undecided about and happy to leave your fellow selectors to make the decision. I have enjoyed my 40 years of judging and lecturing as I have had so much pleasure and made so many friends through photography that I wanted to give something back. I now give Photoshop workshops on my style of photography and these are well attended at clubs.

of images entered and to make sure that the final selection is representative of all. There is a tendency at the moment for people pictures to dominate. It is a fashion and no doubt will swing in another direction in the future, but we have to be aware of the dominance of one type of image which is overwhelming everything else. Of course as judges we can’t mark them down if they are good images and deserve the marks but we need to be open to all genres. That is not to say that we need to lower the standard for anything else, just to consider the best as balance for the public showing of the exhibition. I have done a few Dropbox judgings recently, which have the advantage of me not having to leave home, but I find them very time-consuming and it is difficult to convey your impression and give constructive comments in a few typed sentences. These judgings can be very cold as there is no feedback from the audience and you just spend time sitting at the computer. There is no payment for the time involved and very often not even a thank you from the club. Visiting clubs is a social occasion which is missing when just sitting at a computer. I really don’t like giving marks. If you don’t spread them wide there is no point, but if you go too low you are going to be very unpopular. The judge can’t win with marks involved and it is even worse when it’s a Dropbox judging and your notes are just read out at the club. I much prefer being asked to award first, second, third, highly commended and commended. If I have to give marks I try not to have only one image on the lowest mark to avoid one

π To find out more, go to www.irenefroy.com.

Have you seen a judge at work who you’d like to see profiled in Photography News ? Or perhaps you’ve been judged and don’t like what you heard? If so, write to opinion@photography-news.co.uk with the judge’s name and, if possible, their details. What do you think?

Photography News | Issue 19