Council Update

An Update from PSNZ Council

By Moira Blincoe LPSNZ

In the roller coaster world of 2020, September was the first opportunity for Council to get together around the table for a full Council meeting. Gathering in Christchurch, we spent two full days covering a myriad of items including budgets, strategic plan, membership, events, NZ Camera and more.

One of the reasons Council exists is to ensure that the purposes of the Society can be continually developed, reviewed and amended in accordance with the expectations of members and the changing environment in which we conduct PSNZ business. On top of this Councillors also manage and implement the various components of their individual portfolios. With the ongoing uncertainty we have experienced this year due to “you-know-what”, coupled with the personnel changes on Council and a shortage of support, all Councillors are feeling somewhat stretched.

A significant amount of time was spent looking at what we as a Council are trying to achieve for members, but the key question we continually asked was, “What is it that our members want?”

We know that many members enjoy events such as the national convention, the SONY National Exhibition, the Interclub competitions and the Workshop Series. We also consider our programmes such as the Judge Accreditation Programme and the Honours Awards to be valuable member benefits. However, in order to achieve these activities each calendar year it takes much work, planning, managing and implementation, as well as significant dollars.

While we continually call for assistance and support from clubs and members in order to organise these events, fewer and fewer members are stepping up to the plate to assist. In short, these activities cannot be organised and implemented by the Councillors alone.

To determine what the priority events the Society should continue to offer will be, we will implement a member survey to seek direct feedback on what your expectations of the Society are, going forward. Your honest answers will help finalise and define the strategic plan, confirm the events and programmes and assist with succession planning.

Resulting from some robust discussions significant decisions were made and Council agreed to implement a number of changes. These decisions were not taken lightly.

We appreciate that some of these changes may not be to every member’s satisfaction. However, as Council is charged with the ongoing development and sustainability of the Society, we make these changes in order to be just that — sustainable, reputable and transparent.

SONY National Exhibition: Trophies

All trophies and/or cups awarded in the national exhibition, interclub and regional salons will be retired as of 2021. The names of the trophy will be retained but the physical trophy will be replaced. The gold medal that accompanies a trophy will also be withdrawn.

These trophies will be replaced by a new version, custom designed in glass or crystal, which the recipient will be able to retain, forever.

Many factors came into play in reaching our decision. For the last two to three years, we have been balancing the fragility and lack of engraving space on the trophies; the rising costs of distributing trophies to and from conventions; missing trophies; increased administration time in liaising with members, and the coordination and distribution of all trophies.

The silver and bronze medals will be retained and awarded as will the Honours ribbons. The new trophies will be presented at the national convention in Christchurch, Vision-21, 15-18 April 2021.

We are confident members will be delighted to receive a freshly minted trophy which they can proudly display in their office or lounge forever.

Two-Year Image Capture

With our priority being on showcasing current photographic trends and raising the profile and standard of photography within New Zealand’s photographic community, Council has made the decision to introduce a ‘two year image capture’ policy for the SONY National Exhibition, PSNZ interclub competitions and NZ Camera entries.

This means that every element of the image submitted must have been captured by the submitting photographer in the previous two calendar years.

This change will come into effect for the 2022 SONY National Exhibition. We believe that the introduction of this new rule will allow photographers to be further challenged in all aspects of their photographic skills, techniques and boundaries.

For NZ Camera (see next page) this policy will come in to effect from 2021.

Random Original or Raw File Request

Council has been made aware of concerns regarding the non-compliance with competition rules, specifically in nature images. While all our entry forms request entrants to check a clause that they understand the rules it appears, at times, that this is insufficient.

As part of the conditions of entry, photographers agree to make the original, out of camera (raw) file available if requested. This is usually reserved for cases where the organisers or selectors suspect a breach of the rules. In addition, for 2021 random entries will be selected and the photographer will be asked to supply the original file(s) to confirm adherence to the rules.

This new policy will be implemented for all PSNZ salons, SONY National Exhibition, and NZ Camera entries.

NZ Camera

Our showcase publication goes from strength to strength with some wonderful feedback and accolades on the 2020 publication received. The way in which this year’s book was produced has proven that positive changes can come out of a crisis. The new remote and digital selection method worked smoothly and efficiently and it was agreed that this will be the way forward.

Entries for the 2021 NZ Camera publication will open approximately 1 March 2021. All images must have been captured no earlier than 1 January 2019.

Financial Update

Whilst it was the intention to separate the Treasurer’s role into two components the reality of this division has proven that it was too fragmented and an inefficient use of time. Consequently, it has been agreed that Mark Lawson will now assume the role of Treasurer. Mark’s firm, Lawson Accounting, will continue to manage the day to day accounting operations of the Society.

Council certainly appreciates the time and effort that Judith Bishop LPSNZ of Thames has put into the Treasurer’s role and certainly her patience in the previous transition during the difficult period of lockdown months. Thank you, Judith.

Under Development

Two new initiatives are currently being developed. A Digital Critique Circle (similar to our successful print circles) is a ‘work-in-progress to trial options’ and a Mentoring Matchmakers group is being formulated. Full details will be promoted to members through bulk emails and social media posts.

2020 Creative Focus Competition All Jazzed Up Category Winner

Bath Time by Gail Stent FPSNZ