TWO DAYS OF OBSERVATIONS Carol Olerud ARPS

The RPS Benelux Chapter DISTICTIONS

Two days of observations

Distinctions in Contemporary, print, book and digital assessments for Associate and Fellowship criteria on Wednesday 20th & Thursday 21st April 2021

As an avid watcher of many talks held by the

RPS online in recent times, I of course signed up as an observer or the Contemporary Distinctions assessment days in April. Yes, for both days. I had already been an observer twice before, for Visual Art and for Travel, both print assessments for A & F panels. This would be the first time that I also observe a digital assessment.

Book yourself a place as an observer

Through the RPS website you can book yourself a place as an observer. It is also posted on the RPS Facebook pages, in the Distinctions and the Contemporary groups. The fee is £5,- per day. You receive the Zoom link and on the day, you sign in just prior to the session start at 10am UK time. It’s really interesting to meet the assessment team and print specialist at RPS House in Bristol. The whole process is confidential, so no names are mentioned and by attending you agree to keep it confidential. Names do get announced when a panel is successful, which is really nice. The whole procedure is very respectful and informative for the observers. All observers are

muted and have their videos turned off.

RPS Criteria for Contemporary Photography

“Photography that communicates a visual realisation of a stated argument, idea or concept”.

The day begins with submissions for the Associate Distinctions and follows on with Fellowship Distinctions and on the first day also books were assessed for Fellowship as well. It was a long day! (10am- 4pm UK time) an hour later for me in The Netherlands. A lunch break is included and a few comfort breaks as well.

During the current lockdown, RPS House is closed to the public. Usually, the assessments and the assessors are at RPS House in Bristol but during COVID-19 the assessments are online. For the print and book applications there is a print assessor at the RPS House (he has no vote). This is a temporary alternative, because the assessors are not able to see the original prints or books.

Through Zoom, the first panel is shown, while the Chair reads the Statement of Intent. Then all

photos are shown in a slide show twice. The first vote is given after this. The Chair then asks for comments from the assessors. Photos are assessed on the criteria of the genre, on the Statement of Intent, quality and ability and if the intention comes over. The overall view of the panel is also important. If it is a Print application, we get to see someone who is actually in RPS House in Bristol – the Print Specialist, gives a qualified opinion on what he sees. The photo prints are described, the mounting is inspected and any technical issues are mentioned. Any actual printing faults will also be pointed out. The assessors then have the opportunity to ask specific questions and query any uncertainties they may have seen on their screens. This is really interesting because the observers only have the Zoom images to go from with the resolution that gives us.

The Assessors have already had the highresolution images to look at on their calibrated screens at home, several days before the assessment but when it’s a Print assessment the opinion of the print assessor is final. This is a qualified person, has a Fellowship Distinction, so there are no doubts about this judgment of the printed work.

Before the second vote is given, the Chair sums up all the comments and then gives space for any extra comments from the assessors. When all the last votes are in, the Chair announces the verdict.

This to me was a good learning curve

I can imagine if the applicant is watching that this would be extremely nerve wrecking. When it’s a Yes, everyone is happy, we hear the name and they all clap and congratulate the successful applicant with their new Distinction. When it’s a No, it is explained by the Chair, sometimes a re-submission is recommended. The assessors are asked to add extra comments

in their reports so when the emails are sent out, the applicant has a thorough report on why their submission was unsuccessful.

While I was watching I quietly thought of my own opinions on the panels. This to me was a good learning curve. I actually agreed with everything most of the time. Sometimes a success was unexpected for me and by listening to what was said and discussed I gained knowledge about the process. The criteria are very important and this can be found on the RPS website for every genre. The Statement of Intent is also extremely important, if the work doesn’t match up to the photographer’s intent, it won’t be successful.

The different genres have different criteria. I’m less familiar on Visual Art, but Travel lies close to Documentary and also Contemporary. Travel requires a “Sense of Place” and this is most interesting to see whether a panel conforms to the criteria requirement.

Contemporary Photography also lies close to Documentary Photography “which communicates a clear narrative through visual literacy”. I attained my Associate in Conceptual and Contemporary in 2018, so I’m a member of the newly named Contemporary group. I’m putting a panel together for my Fellowship submission, so I really wanted to see how these assessment days went, you learn so much.

I would recommend everyone who is interested in Distinctions to go and observe on these assessment days.I have yet to observe a Licenciate.

On Day two, it was Digital assessments. The same procedure occurred, only there was no Print Specialist. The panels, first A then F were assessed. The same team of assessors was

present.

Watching the Digital submissions, which could also be in a panel layout or in a continuous row, I felt that perhaps the applicants were more relaxed about their submissions and of the requirements for the expected high standards. This is because, I think, that when you print out your work you are more critical. Printing faults will be seen. I think you could easily underestimate how difficult going for a Distinction is. Of the six applicants for Digital assessments, only one was successful out of both Associate and Fellowship levels. Which proved for me how difficult it really is. This success was for a Fellowship Distinction and this was Mick Yates. His work was outstanding and fully deserving of the acceptance. Congratulations!

On the first Print Day, there were eight successes (out of fourteen) in A & F and Book standards, which were also fully deserved.

The Contemporary Group will be giving a talk by Richard Brayshaw FRPS on Monday 19th July on “A path through the contemporary distinctions” . Worth booking a place if you are interested in this journey. See page 46 for further details.

To celebrate Mick’s success, Armando has invited him to share his panel with us for our eJournal, so please enjoy the following pages.

Contemporary Photography

Distinctions organisation 21st and 22nd April 2021

RPS Distinction staff team Andy Moore LRPS (Distinctions Manager) Ben Fox ARPS (Senior Distinctions Assistant) Simon Vercoe LRPS (Distinctions Assistant)

Contemporary Panel members Tessa Mills FRPS (Chair) Richard Brayshaw FRPS (Deputy Chair) Ray Spence FRPS Armando Jongejan FRPS

Print observer at RPS House Paul Michel FRPS (Chair Visual Art Photography)

Distinctions Committee member Iñaki Hernández-Lasa FRPS