After several weeks of preparation, and a little last minute panic, both Pash and I managed to pull together a panel of 10 images each which we submitted to the Royal Photographic Society judges at the Photography Show at the NEC this weekend.
It was a well organised and rather formal affair. Panels of 10 images were laid out in front of five judges plus a chairman. They deliberated on each panel for a (surprisingly) short time – about 2 or 3 minutes; One judge offerred their personal opinion on the images and the chairman then announced whether the photographer was being recommended to the council for LRPS status.
It was nail-biting stuff; Although the first three submissions were successful, the next four, prior to Pash’s being shown didn’t make the cut. When Pash’s prints were put on display, the judges sat for rather longer than they had for the other panels, taking in what lay before them. They got up to have a closer inspection but personally, I think they’d already decided their verdict… although the judges were talking amongst themselves, we overheard the word “amazing” a couple of times. Nevertheless, it wasnt until the chairman congratulated Pash by name that we both breathed a sigh of relief!
My panel followed and much the same happened. It amused me that the chairman said Pash’s images were “so different from normal submissions” when we knew I was next with ANOTHER set of underwater shots. Having said that, I decided to include some of my top-side shots too, just to show variety and I’m glad I did as I got some very postive feedback on those too. The judge said I was clearly passionate about the water, both above and below.
So, we were both really excited to receive recommendations for LRPS.
Click the images above to enlarge them
