FELLOWSHIP SUCCESS

MICHAEL KWASNIAK FRPS

Who’d have thought that an innocent chat on Zoom about theatre photography could lead to such an event?

In 2019 Moira Ellice, a good friend and our group’s Chair, suggested I should join the Creative Eye group, and subsequently recommended writing an article about theatre photography, which appeared in this magazine exactly one year ago.

She also asked if I might be prepared to talk on the theme at a future RPS meeting, which I declined, because I couldn’t imagine speaking for ninety minutes on a subject that so depended on instinct to achieve results. However, a few months passed and I received a similar request from Suzanne Johnson, who organises talks for the Bristol-based Western Region, and after thinking about how I might make such a presentation work (including other content like a brief history of theatre photography, some tales of theatrical catastrophes etc.), I agreed, and prepared a talk that was co-sponsored by the Creative Eye Group and the Western Region of the RPS.

You can always rely on stories about actors forgetting their lines, falling off the stage, being drunk on duty etc. to entertain an audience, but I most certainly didn’t expect what happened next. At the end of the talk several members of the audience insisted that I should prepare a submission for FRPS appraisal, even offering future advice if required (it was!). I had a difficult, somewhat humiliating ride when I achieved my ARPS and honestly thought that a Fellowship would be impossible with a panel of theatrical images.

And so the journey began, with early input from Moira, Clive and Joan Rathband and Tony Bramley. A panel slowly began to take shape that displayed two themes - mood and atmosphere. I’d recommend anyone attempting an F to organise a 1:1 with a panel member, and I was so lucky to spend fifty minutes with Trevor Yerbury, Chairman of the Applied and Portraiture team, who was honest, supportive and helped hone the panel, ready for submission.

So it all started with the Creative Eye Group really, and I’m very grateful!