CEO M A R T I N B AY N E S
W
elcome to the autumn edition of the Photographer.
Over the last few weeks, it has been a whirlwind, and we have made some fantastic progress completing several projects that you will see in this edition. I am pleased to say that the Art for The Artistry House was a huge success, and I thank everyone who submitted images. The top images selected for each category feature throughout this edition. We are arranging to have them printed to form a permanent gallery at the office and hope to bring them to the AGM. The ‘Inclusion Committee’ has now firmly got its feet under the table. We have already made a number of changes within the Institute from their suggestions, including amendments to our code of conduct, which is available on our website. Alongside this, we have launched a pilot scholarship programme to help young photographers; the selection process will take place at the end of October. You can meet the Committee in this edition, and my thanks goes to all of them for their dedication, time and effort to making our organisation a better and more welcoming place. We are one of the first photographic organisations I am aware of to have an inclusion policy. If you would also like to be part of the Inclusion Committee, please contact Sharron, our Office Manager.
Having just recently returned from exhibiting at The Photography Show at the NEC, I had set a target coming out of the pandemic of signing 40 new members at the show. I am delighted to share with you all; we actually signed around 100 new members breaking all 2 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2021 / Issue Three
previous records. This only reinforces to me that there is a need and an appetite to be a member of a professional organisation. The stand looked fantastic, modern, inviting and relevant - I aimed to recreate the look of the Artistry House. I really can’t wait for our new members to get involved. I truly see this as a turning point and believe we are taking steps towards what the Institute is capable of being again. As I type this, we are completing the director nominations - this is the second time we have used an external company for director selection -making the process as transparent and as fair as possible. Any qualified member can put themselves forward. There are three places available in this cycle, and we will introduce the new directors in the next edition. I have decided to leave the regional chairs as-is for this cycle, as the pandemic has not allowed them to have a reasonable opportunity to make their mark on the region; we will look at elections again at the end of 2022. We’ve also begun reviewing to reduce some of the sizes of the southern regions and adding in 4 new regions. This will make travel times a lot easier, and I believe, increase the attendees at events. We will be looking for regional chairs and people to help once we have defined these areas. There is still much to look forward to this year; we have another qualification day/s at the start of November and then our AGM towards the end of November. The AGM is taking shape, and I hope to make confirmed announcements in the next few days. The nationals are currently being judged, and the winners will be announced at the AGM; the images are very strong this year, with many new names entering. You will have also seen the training days organised - an action taken by listening to what you, the members, want. We have already started to plan the diary for 2022 on both a national and regional level. In the past, our qualification dates would dovetail into the FEP qualification dates, allowing our members to enter with the same panel, which gets more value from your qualification entry. There will be more about the FEP qualification process in the next edition. See you all at the AGM for a handshake, smile, hug, dance, beer or glass of wine and a good old chinwag.
