Received word this morning that my panel for the Royal Photographic Society Fellowship award is to be featured during an online discussion of the awards. They have even used the Sausages picture on the information page. Well nice.
The Distinction discussion is to take place on the 8th of May 2021. Over 400 people have registered to watch. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that the event is to be recorded so I may just pop in myself to see exactly what they have to say about the panel!
I received some rather pleasing news yesterday afternoon. My Washing Line series of images, coalesced into a uniform panel, fell under the strict scrutiny of a highly talented and exacting group of RPS accessors. They concluded that the images were worthy of a Fellowship in the RPS, their highest level of distinctions, which was a highly welcome piece of news in these trying times. I am now a fellow of the RPS.
The hanging plan submitted is below. It has been modified somewhat over the weeks before it submission following feedback from the one-to-one advisory session, which if anyone is tempted to apply for an RPS distinction, is a highly recommended course of action.
The hanging plan is shown above. Several of the images haven’t appeared on my social media channels, so I will release them over the coming days.
I have been working towards a panel for the RPS over the last few months, with the intention of applying for a Fellowship distinction. Like many, I imagine, having ones work subjected to the highest level of photographic scrutiny is daunting. For me, social media comments also raised doubts and a crises of confidence that led me to put off taking the project further for several months.
Today, however, I had a most instructive zoom video meeting with one of the RPS assessors, Paul Mitchell. His critical comments on the panel below were enlightening, instructive and very positive. He reinforced my issues with some of the images, raised ‘concerns’ with some others but overall was entirely positive and supportive of the concept and execution.
One area to address is ensuring that the food used is recognisable. So the fish fingers need to look like day-glow, square fish fingers and the gammon should look like a typical cheap round of gammon and not the artisanal, rare breeds slice I used.
This was the second panel I have presented for appraisal. Last year a visit to RPS HQ in Bristol with a panel made up of wine door images left me feeling a bit lost. I put this down to trying to adapt an existing body of work to the RPS criteria and it just didn’t fit. At least to me.
The washing line project was designed purposely for the RPS. And it works. Well, according to Paul at least.
Overall I left the session feeling inspired, creative and positive. There are 5 images that need replacing (one of which I already have) and interestingly not all the ones I felt were weak. Three images also need looking at again, where either the processing is off or the subject isn’t immediately obvious. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy.
The Florence Wine Doors project and the exhibition received a grand write-up in the latest edition of the RPS Travel Group journal. The double page spread is displayed below for those not a member.
I believe it is still up and viewable - but not for much longer! It is worth visiting Blackpool simply for this exhibition and the excellent cafe underneath. The RPS (Un)framing Our Identities photographic exhibition was showing on two floors of the ‘industrial’ style gallery space when I visited. Below a few images…
There are so many stories here, from the homeless displayed along the edge of the entrance stairs, to the humour of the Hidden Mother project through to the ‘hidden’ Arab servants and on to the street photos of punks from one of Blackpool’s many festivals and the nature of fluid identities. A personal tour to uncover the stories from the photographs and the details of the female photographers behind them is recommended.
The exhibition showcases over 60 female photographers detailing “themes of female representation within music, connecting identity through nature, the transition from girlhood to adulthood, loss and so much more”.
The Documentary Group of the RPS has included a small write-up of my Wine Doors project in the latest issue of their magazine, the Decisive Moment. Also included are two of my MA course peers - Alexandra Prescott and Daniel Simon; both highly talented and creative individuals.
The Decisive Moment, published by the Royal Photographic Society - Documentary Group, is a quarterly journal that showcases the work of its members, shares insights and reviews about exhibitions related to the field of documentary photography and contains articles and interviews with prominent members of the photographic community.
