My previous post commented on my current project of trying to achieve a level of recognition (Credit) with the PAGB. As a member of Ribblesdale & District Camera Club I am affiliated to the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union (L&CPU) and this organisation has implemented a scheme to help photographers like me achieve this goal. Sunday 10th November was one of these very helpful events – a mock adjudication of the delegates’ portfolios and was held at Edge Hill University. The day started off with a brief description of the awards adjudication and process plus what the L&CPU can offer in terms of support. I have already enrolled in this process with a mentor supplied by the L&CPU. There were six judges to assess the images put before them, all of whom are very experienced in this process. All of the CPAGB PDI images were projected and then scored accordingly; each delegate’s images were randomly sequenced with only the titles disclosed. To achieve a ‘Credit’ it is necessary to score 200 points for the 10 images entered, I eagerly awaited the results, albeit somewhat nervously. First up was ‘Awestruck’ which scored 22 points, a steady but not outstanding start, ‘Lipsmackin’ then came in with 23 – now I’m 5 in front and feeling a touch more confident! Next up was ‘On Key’ personal favourite of Erica sat on an old decrepit organ in an equally old mill; this one scored an impressive 28 and drew a degree of appreciation from the attendees. ‘The Catch’ – a Kingfisher and his lunch also scored 28 points, these two scores were the highest individually scored images in the CPAGB PDI selection. All the images that I submitted scored over 20 points and I achieved 241 points against a target of 200. An equally important outcome is that I now understand which of the ten images are most likely to pull the score down and I have a couple of months to try to better them. Not everybody came away feeling as positive about their images as I did, some having more work to do than others. But, unsurprisingly, the lower scoring sets did not appear to have taken advantage of the mentoring scheme – there’s probably a lesson to be learned here! On the day the submissions for CPAGB, DPAGB and one MPAGB were reviewed in either prints or PDIs, the MPAGB portfolio was particularly impressive. I would like to pay my sincere thanks to all who were involved in the proceedings and in particular – Chris Widdall for running the mentoring scheme, Mike Lawrence for being my personal mentor and the six judges on the day for their views on my images – Adrian Lines, Gwen Charnock, Phil Charnock, David Butler, Bob Dennis and Chris Widdall. If you are planning to apply for any PAGB award then you should really take advantage of this great scheme, if you are not in the L&CPU then pester your federation into providing a similar service. I do need to remind myself that this was a mock adjudication and not the real thing, so still things to think about and work on. The Image scores are shown below. <\span>
Steve Proctor 