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Issue 619
 
   6 Feb 2025
To: Firstname Lastname
Your BPS Membership No:
Your BPS Membership renewal date:  
 
Hello, Firstname
What's in this issue:
Click the link to be taken to article.
 
Wednesday 12 February
 
Next Wednesday we are being treated to the first of a double header from our own Barry Mead FRPS. His talk is all about creative photography and he wrote the following:
 
The aim is to show how I use different images combined to make a creative image. From selecting a figure to using textures/skies overlayed to create effects. None of the 'Photoshop tools' used are complicated. I keep the method simple; it's the use of them that make the final result.  Second half of the talk will be showing how some of my well known images, such as Mad Hatter, were put together. 
 
Here are a few images to be going on with:
 

You can see more about Barry and possibly the way his mind works (although I doubt anyone can work that out!) by visiting his website: barrymead-photography
 
This meeting will be "Zoomed" into the clubrooms as well as to those of you at home. 
ZOOM
Login details:
 
  • Wednesday 12 February @ 19.30hrs
  • Log in: Click HERE   
  • Meeting ID: 833 5287 4681
  • Password:  740007
 
Future Dates
 
Date Speaker Subject
10 Feb DI Meeting
12 Feb Barry Mead Creative Photography (ZOOM)
19 Feb Print Comp R3 Judge - Roger Creber
26 Feb Jonathan Génevaux Landscapes
5 March David Grierson  Parasports
 
DI Group
A quick reminder that the next Digital Imaging Group Meeting will be on Monday 10 February at 7.30pm.  Please refer to last week’s newsletter for full details.  Meetings are informal and take place at the clubhouse and via zoom.
 
Please feel free to share what you have been working on and if anyone would like to show images they have taken at the studio / practical sessions, we would love to see them. There is still time to send in your images in advance, I look forward to receiving them.
 
Please send them to dig@bristolphoto.org.uk by 5.00pm on Saturday 8 February.  Please number your images in the order you would like them to be viewed and resize to the usual competition size, though not essential it helps to keep the files to a manageable size.
 
If you prefer, you can bring them on the night on a memory stick and we can view them if time permits. If you are bringing images on a memory stick, please ensure they are in .jpeg format and not RAW.
 
I look forward to seeing you all.
 
Rachel Domleo.
dig@bristolphoto.org.uk 
ZOOM
Login details:
 
  • Monday 10 February @ 19.30hrs
  • Log in: Click HERE  
  • Meeting ID: 812 3404 2008
  • Password:  700906
 
Bristol Salon - Judging This Weekend
This weekend sees the culmination of a year's hard work and planning, when the 2025 Bristol Salon is being judged.
 
Members are welcome to come along to watch the proceedings, but are reminded to be considerate to our neighbours on the estate when parking - basically, if a unit is open please DON'T park in front of it. If you are attending across the day, you will either need to bring a packed lunch or pop down to Gloucester Road to one of the eateries there.
 
 
Parking - Update
Update on the item about parking in Issue 617. It was stated that the sizeable area in front of Unit 11, the unit vacated by Wolsely plumbing centre last year and to the left of Unit12, can be used. This has now changed as the unit has been taken over by our immediate neighbours, Triple Co Roast and at present there is a lot of building work going on, so (especially during the day) this area is no longer available for parking.
 
 
Holocaust Memorial Day
One of our long-time members, Gordon Stirrat, lives in the St Monica's Retirement Village in Westbury-on-Trym. The village recently marked Holocaust Memorial Day with a special photo exhibition in recognition of the day, with pictures supplied by Gordon - who describes the exhibition as:
 
The panel of images that I submitted (unsuccessfully) for an ARPS 10 years ago formed the basis for our commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in St Monica Cote Lane this week. It was accompanied by music written inmates. Many residents (including two who had lost family members in the holocaust), staff and visitors attended. All were greatly moved and clearly understood the intended message.
 
An image of the exhibition is shown below:
 
 
Gordon's original Statement of Intent that accompanied his submission is shown below:
From 1940 to 1945 1,300,000 men, women and children were transported to Auschwitz: 1,100,000 were gassed, shot or hanged; starved or frozen to death. Ninety percent were Jewish. Words cannot express the deep feelings of anguish and sorrow produced by a visit to Auschwitz 1 and 2 (Birkenau). These images attempt to commemorate those who died so cruelly; most of them for no reason other than who they were. I have tried to convey some of the horror of the death camps that is still palpable 80 years later. Here there was no freedom, no joy, no peace - no hope? Only an overwhelming sense of man's inhumanity to man. And no birds sing!
Gordon Stirrat
 
Distinctions Advisory Evening
 
Next meeting – 7.30pm, Monday 17 February.
 
The aim of the Group is to provide advice as to offer guidance as to how to prepare a submission to the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) and Photographic Alliance (PAGB) distinctions. For both organisations, entries are assessed by a panel of 5.
 
We will review panels ready for submission, those that are in the early stages of preparation and general advice on printing and DPIs.
 
RPS
There are 3 levels
 
Licentiate
This is for Projected Images (PDIs) only these days and requires a submission of 12 images. There is one category only.
Entries will be judges using Zoom and entries must be submitted using a template from the RPS website. The most popular format is 2 rows of 6.
Below is an extract from the RPS website.
These are editable PDF documents. They are compatible with both Mac & PC; we recommend ensuring that you have the most up-to-date version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed on your computer (Adobe Reader is free to install and use).
1) Clicking on any of the templates below will open the file within a new web browser window.
2) Please ensure you download your chosen template to your computer as you’re unable to use them within your web browser. You can do this by right clicking anywhere on the document and selecting "Save As.." or by clicking the download icon.
3) Before adding your images to the PDF, first collate your final selection of images and save thumbnails of each (we advise using small file sizes were possible, for example 1400 x 1050, 72ppi, .jpg).
4) Open the PDF and add your thumbnails to it by clicking on the picture boxes above each number.
5) When you're happy with your presentation you can click “Save As” or print to PDF. You can also export the PDF as Jpeg if you use Adobe Acrobat. 
6) Presentation layouts must not contain your name or any other personally identifiable information for the purposes of assessment. 
 
Please Note: These PDFs are not compatible with mobile or tablet devices. Use of these templates is not mandatory. 
 
If you'd like to use your own layout design, we request that you create your own presentation layout with thumbnails of your images, so we are aware of how you'd like your photographs displayed for assessment. 
 
If you feel confident using tables within a word document, please feel free to use this template as an alternative method.
 
Associate
This is for 15 prints or DPIs
There are 9 categories and the most popular are Visual Art, Nature, Applied and Travel,
Prints must form a cohesive panel of usually 2 or 3 rows.
DPIs are judged as a sequence and must flow naturally from one picture to the next.
 
Fellowship
This we do not normally cover but it requires a submission of 20 or 21 pictures.
Details, as for Associateship.
 
The RPS website shows successful panel for all levels.
 
PAGB
 
There are 5 levels and are held for life.
Pictures are judged sequentially and do not have to form a panel.
Pictures are given a score between 2 and 5.
There are no categories, so pictures do not need to have a theme,
DPI 1600 by 1200 format,
Areas smaller, must be filled with black.
Prints must be on 50 by 40 cm mounts.
 
Badge (BPAGB) for prints only,
7 prints required, 125 points required.
 
Credit (CPAGB)
10 prints or DPI. 200 points required.
 
Distinction (DPAGB)
15 prints or DPI 300 points required. 
 
Excellence (EPAGB)
Only open to DPAG holders.
Must have held a DPAG for 11 months and new work is required.
15 prints required, 330 points required.
 
Master (MPAGB)
20 prints or DPI needed, 450 points required.
Entrants must have held DPAGB for 11 months.
 
Advice is given by Andrew Marker, Ralph Snook and Peter McCloskey.
 
The websites contain useful information and show successful panels.
 
If you require further details, please contact one of the panel directly:
 
 
WCPF Interclub Competition
Last Sunday saw a number of members travel to Exeter for the WCPF Inter Club Competitions.

The Print Battle got off to a weak start with some images scoring significantly lower than expectations – it was therefore with some relief and surprise that we finished a very commendable SECOND, just one point behind the winners. Congratulations to both Mary Pears and Ralph Snook for coming away with awards.
We now qualify for the PAGB Inter Club national print battle in Blackburn later this year.
 
 
 
The PDI battle followed in the afternoon and followed a similar pattern with a few images under scoring.
 
Sadly the ‘surprise’ of the print battle was not repeated, with BPS finishing THIRD, again one point behind Dorchester, with Barnstaple taking the top spot. Whilst disappointing not to have qualified for the PAGB Inter-Club PDI battle at Warwick, it is good for the federation to see a new name on the trophies.
 
 
 
Studio Group
Following the recent studio group Portrait shoot with the fabulous Tegan, Mike is busy planning the next portrait session for Monday 24 February. Mike is also trying to organise a shoot on Sunday 23 February for those who work during the week and cannot attend the regular Monday slots.  Watch for details.
 
Monday 3 February – the studio group revisited the use of lightboxes, to build upon the ideas from the previous session – Next Monday ,10 Feb, they shall be looking at rustic tools or other ephemera – so feel free to bring anything you have.
 
Mike Martin
 
 
Bristol Light Festival
Don't forget that the Bristol Light Festival is on until Sunday (9th) and has plenty of dazzling light-based artworks throughout the centre of the city.
 
Full details can be found on their website: https://bristollightfestival.org/
 
 
Exhibitions To Enter
 
 
Closing - 30 March
5 PDI Sections
 Open Colour, Open Mono, Creative, Nature, Scapes
 
Neath Salon 2025 (BPE)

Closing: 20 March
 
4 PDI Sections
Open Colour
Open Monochrome
Creative
Nature
Basingstoke Camera Club
National Open Photography Exhibition
(BPE)
 
Closing: 9 March
 
6 PDI Sections 
Nature
Creative
People
Scapes
Monochrome
Open
 
PSA Live Judging - Print Round 2
PSA Inter-Club Print Competition – Watch the judging live on Zoom

You’ve all seen references to the Photographic Society of America (PSA) Inter-Club Competitions. If you’ve ever wondered how our images are judged, this is your opportunity. The print competitions, for Round 2 are being judged in Dubai – and the judging will be screened live via Zoom. Anyone can dial in and watch the proceedings and perhaps cheer along as our images come up – and there'll be lots of them as we have a double entry having missed Round 1 when we were the judges.

Here are the Zoom details:

Topic: PSA PPD - Round 2:  Five categories – Large & Small Colour, Large & Small Mono, Creative or Altered Reality
 
ZOOM
Login details:
 
  • Saturday 15 February @ 14.00hrs
  • Log in: Click HERE   
  • Meeting ID: 830 9776 0759
  • Password:  362093
 
 
Downloads
NEW - Download Issue 373 PAGB eNews HERE. 
Download Issue 119 of Photography News HERE.
 
 
Trumpet Blowers' Corner
I have received the following trumpet call from Simon Caplan:
 
You may recall that you published the news in an earlier newsletter that my image ‘Veins’ (attached) was shortlisted in the Intimate Landscape category of the Close-Up Photographer of the Year awards for 2024. Last week, the organisers announced the overall winners – including the 10 finalists in each category. My image ‘Veins’ was named one of those finalists – and appeared online alongside some stunning images from some of the world’s top professional photographers, so I am very happy with the result. These kinds of images generally do very little in club competitions or Salons but clearly there is an audience for them out there and judges who understand them, so encouragement for those of us who are interested in abstract or creative photography.
 
Salon acceptances: Contrary to popular belief, I do not possess psychic powers and need you to tell me if you've had successes. If you want to blow your own trumpet (or someone else's), then this is the place to do it. Please let me know and I'll include details in a future issue.
 
Back to top
 
Marketplace
If you have any photographic items for sale, drop me a line and I'll include them in the next newsletter. Please make sure that you provide contact details, price and full description of the sale items (pictures always help).
 
 
IMPORTANT: Personal Detail Changes
Please don't forget that if you change your address (home or email), or gain additional photographic distinctions, it would be appreciated if you could let the Membership Secretary know so that she can keep her records up to date, this will also ensure that you continue to receive your newsletters - please email all changes to membership@bristolphoto.org.uk.   
 
The distinctions we have on record are those shown at the top of this newsletter, please remember, if you don't tell us we can't possibly know!  
 
DO NOT REPLY TO THE NEWSLETTER.
 
Photographic Acronyms
For those of you who aren't sure what MPAGB, EFIAP/s and many more such seemingly random collections of letters mean, just click here to see the list.
 
 
Missed a Copy of the Newsletter?
To view past editions of this Newsletter, please click on the following link and then select the date(s) you are looking for - BPS Newsletter Archive
 
BPS Website - Members' Portal "Log in"
To enter the Members' Portal of the BPS website you will need the following: Username - Your Membership Number            Password - Created by you  
 
If you have any problems getting into the Members' Portal, please contact Matt by email:  webmaster@bristolphoto.org.uk
 
Bristol Photographic Society,
Unit 13, Montpelier Central, Station Rd, Bristol, BS6 5EE
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