THE BEYOND GROUP 14TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION 2021
Thank you to everyone for your support in entering the exhibition, and congratulations to those that achieved acceptances and awards.
Our Judges for the 14th Beyond Group Exhibition 2021
Gary Langley DPAGB BPE2*
|
Marcia Mellor ABPE, DPAGB, AWPF
|
Ian Whiston EFIAP/g, ABPE, DPAGB
|
Judges Reports
GARY LANGLEY DPAGB BPE2*
As one of the three selectors for the Beyond Group Exhibition, I would like to extend my thanks to Barbie and Rusty and to the team of helpers, who were on hand over the two days. The exhibition was the first live one I’ve done post covid, and everything went extremely well. The organisation was first class as only to be expected. We were all looked after very well and I can not thank you enough for making my Wife Louise and myself feel very welcome and well fed.
The quality of the images were of a very high standard and we had 5,560 images over all sections to view.
I was particularly impressed with the quality and variety of subject matter of the monochrome images. The nature were of outstanding quality and variety too, as you would expect in a national exhibition, and selecting the award images a challenge.
The two full days seemed to fly by and it was a pleasure and honour to have been invited to select so many excellent images from a lot of talented people.
I hope everyone enjoys the images we selected and enjoys looking through the always excellent catalogue. Please be aware that we selected around 16percent of the total entries which makes selecting a difficult task, but one I believe my fellow selector’s and I managed.
Congratulations to all those who gained an acceptance, and a very well done to those of you who gained awards. It was nice to see some new names obtaining acceptances and awards, so again very well done. Many images missed out by a margin so please try again next year, and good luck if you do.
Gary Langley, DPAGB, BPE2
As one of the three selectors for the Beyond Group Exhibition, I would like to extend my thanks to Barbie and Rusty and to the team of helpers, who were on hand over the two days. The exhibition was the first live one I’ve done post covid, and everything went extremely well. The organisation was first class as only to be expected. We were all looked after very well and I can not thank you enough for making my Wife Louise and myself feel very welcome and well fed.
The quality of the images were of a very high standard and we had 5,560 images over all sections to view.
I was particularly impressed with the quality and variety of subject matter of the monochrome images. The nature were of outstanding quality and variety too, as you would expect in a national exhibition, and selecting the award images a challenge.
The two full days seemed to fly by and it was a pleasure and honour to have been invited to select so many excellent images from a lot of talented people.
I hope everyone enjoys the images we selected and enjoys looking through the always excellent catalogue. Please be aware that we selected around 16percent of the total entries which makes selecting a difficult task, but one I believe my fellow selector’s and I managed.
Congratulations to all those who gained an acceptance, and a very well done to those of you who gained awards. It was nice to see some new names obtaining acceptances and awards, so again very well done. Many images missed out by a margin so please try again next year, and good luck if you do.
Gary Langley, DPAGB, BPE2
Marcia Mellor ABPE, DPAGB, AWPF
"It was a real privilege to be given the chance to judge the Beyond Group Exhibition 2021. I think its a shame that all BPE entrants do not have the opportunity to attend and watch a judging weekend. It really is an eye opener and shows the importance of careful image checking. When images are projected onto the large screen errors in editing, image quality etc can be really obvious.
I discovered when actually judging the images, presentation is also really important, there were many good images that were spoilt by not having a key line so the images blended into the background. Variety is also important in an Exhibition, so however good they were if there were a large number of similar images they could not all be accepted., having a good quality image of a unique subject or storytelling will always stand out.
Congratulations to all those that gained acceptances and commiserations to those that didn't, especially those who narrowly missed the acceptance mark"
Marcia Mellor DPAGB, ABPE, AWPF
"It was a real privilege to be given the chance to judge the Beyond Group Exhibition 2021. I think its a shame that all BPE entrants do not have the opportunity to attend and watch a judging weekend. It really is an eye opener and shows the importance of careful image checking. When images are projected onto the large screen errors in editing, image quality etc can be really obvious.
I discovered when actually judging the images, presentation is also really important, there were many good images that were spoilt by not having a key line so the images blended into the background. Variety is also important in an Exhibition, so however good they were if there were a large number of similar images they could not all be accepted., having a good quality image of a unique subject or storytelling will always stand out.
Congratulations to all those that gained acceptances and commiserations to those that didn't, especially those who narrowly missed the acceptance mark"
Marcia Mellor DPAGB, ABPE, AWPF
IAN WHISTON EFIAP/g, ABPE, DPAGB
It was an honour to be invited by the Beyond Group to be a selector at the 14th Open.
Now that CoVid restrictions have been relaxed it enabled the selection weekend to be carried out face to face in person. It being the first time many had been able to meet up, so the weekend was most enjoyable for all attending. The selection process was carried out without any problems due to the excellent organisation by, Barbie, Rusty and IT expert Paul ably assisted by all the Beyond Group Members. Special thanks are due to the catering members Chris and Kevin for providing us with cooked breakfasts and buffet lunches.
The record entry of 5500+ received this year had many excellent images and lots of which were new to the exhibition circuit. These were a pleasure to view and kept the attention of the judges. Entrants should remember the acceptance rate for this exhibition is about 19% so it is not a formality that previous successful images would gain an acceptance at this salon.
The nature section had lots of high quality images however there were many raptor images especially Sparrowhawks and Kestrels on the same perches. These well liked subjects need the wow factor to make them stand out from the crowd. Other popular subjects were Harvest Mice and Banded Demoiselles. Flora subjects were as usual very limited in their appearance. Some images suffered from being over sharpened where halos were visible. There was a lack of image quality in a few entries; the image appeared to be breaking up. This could have been due to severe cropping of original file and the selectors were viewing by projection to a large size and not on 28 inch monitor that has been the case the past 17 months. It is also not a good practice to use cute titles or fancy borders in nature section.
The Mono section consisted of lots of good sport and portrait images. In general most entries were well processed; the main problem in this section was blocked up detail in the shadows and dark areas. Whist viewing the images with dark backgrounds the selectors had great difficult in determining the actual image frame, especially those in the portrait format. A key line to define the frame outline would present the image better. This point has been made by selectors in other salons selectors comments.
The landscape section had many fine images but many of those submitted had flat lighting and lacked the atmosphere as illustrated by the successful awarded images. Some images would have been improved their appeal/impact if light areas at the frame edge had been cropped out to concentrate the viewers eye more.
The largest section of the exhibition of the salon was the colour section which contained lots of usual popular subjects and familiar models. In general they were well processed and presented. It was thought that many of the montage images with textured backgrounds the texture was too distinct and defined.
I enjoyed my time with my fellow selectors Marcia and Garry and hope that together we have selected an interesting varied exhibition, commiserations to those entrants that were not successful as they had hoped.
Ian Whiston DPAGB, EFIAP/g, ABPE
It was an honour to be invited by the Beyond Group to be a selector at the 14th Open.
Now that CoVid restrictions have been relaxed it enabled the selection weekend to be carried out face to face in person. It being the first time many had been able to meet up, so the weekend was most enjoyable for all attending. The selection process was carried out without any problems due to the excellent organisation by, Barbie, Rusty and IT expert Paul ably assisted by all the Beyond Group Members. Special thanks are due to the catering members Chris and Kevin for providing us with cooked breakfasts and buffet lunches.
The record entry of 5500+ received this year had many excellent images and lots of which were new to the exhibition circuit. These were a pleasure to view and kept the attention of the judges. Entrants should remember the acceptance rate for this exhibition is about 19% so it is not a formality that previous successful images would gain an acceptance at this salon.
The nature section had lots of high quality images however there were many raptor images especially Sparrowhawks and Kestrels on the same perches. These well liked subjects need the wow factor to make them stand out from the crowd. Other popular subjects were Harvest Mice and Banded Demoiselles. Flora subjects were as usual very limited in their appearance. Some images suffered from being over sharpened where halos were visible. There was a lack of image quality in a few entries; the image appeared to be breaking up. This could have been due to severe cropping of original file and the selectors were viewing by projection to a large size and not on 28 inch monitor that has been the case the past 17 months. It is also not a good practice to use cute titles or fancy borders in nature section.
The Mono section consisted of lots of good sport and portrait images. In general most entries were well processed; the main problem in this section was blocked up detail in the shadows and dark areas. Whist viewing the images with dark backgrounds the selectors had great difficult in determining the actual image frame, especially those in the portrait format. A key line to define the frame outline would present the image better. This point has been made by selectors in other salons selectors comments.
The landscape section had many fine images but many of those submitted had flat lighting and lacked the atmosphere as illustrated by the successful awarded images. Some images would have been improved their appeal/impact if light areas at the frame edge had been cropped out to concentrate the viewers eye more.
The largest section of the exhibition of the salon was the colour section which contained lots of usual popular subjects and familiar models. In general they were well processed and presented. It was thought that many of the montage images with textured backgrounds the texture was too distinct and defined.
I enjoyed my time with my fellow selectors Marcia and Garry and hope that together we have selected an interesting varied exhibition, commiserations to those entrants that were not successful as they had hoped.
Ian Whiston DPAGB, EFIAP/g, ABPE
Exhibition Chairmans Report -
PAUL SMITH
Well, we did it! We actually managed to run the selection for the 14th Open National Exhibition in person rather than over Zoom, and what a great experience it was. It was certainly worth all the hard work put in by the entire exhibition team to make this possible, and for that, I’d like to thank all of them.
Of course, we had to make sure the hall was ‘Covid safe’, which involved extra cleaning, hand sanitisers and an air flow through the hall.
Also, a big thank you to the judges for their hard work going through another record entry of over 5,500 images!
This wasn’t an easy task as the images were of a very high standard, but they did an excellent job.
I’d also like to thank everyone that supported the exhibition by entering their images and hope you will support us again next year.
Thank you all,
Paul Smith DPAGB BPE5* AWPF LSINWP
Beyond Group Exhibition Chairperson
Of course, we had to make sure the hall was ‘Covid safe’, which involved extra cleaning, hand sanitisers and an air flow through the hall.
Also, a big thank you to the judges for their hard work going through another record entry of over 5,500 images!
This wasn’t an easy task as the images were of a very high standard, but they did an excellent job.
I’d also like to thank everyone that supported the exhibition by entering their images and hope you will support us again next year.
Thank you all,
Paul Smith DPAGB BPE5* AWPF LSINWP
Beyond Group Exhibition Chairperson
Judges and Exhibition Team during our selction weekend
Exhibition Rules 2021
Conditions of Entry
1. The Beyond Group National Open Exhibition of Photography 2021 is open to all photographers resident in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
2. Closing date for entries is 25th July 2021
3. Entries accepted in previous Beyond Group Exhibitions, or similar images, are not eligible for re-submission in any section
4. The image and all elements within must be the sole work of the author, who must own the copyright. Images made completely by computer software and having no photographic content will not be accepted
5. There are four digital sections - General Colour, General Monochrome, Scapes and Nature
6. You may enter a maximum of 4 images in each section
7. Gold Medals will be chosen from the top scoring images
8. Copyright of the image remains with the author and he/she must accept that his/her work could be downloaded from the site. The organisers will do their best to protect the copyright of the image when viewed on the website by making them as small as possible
9. Whilst copyright remains with the authors, the Beyond Group reserves the right to use any entry, without fee, for publication and/or display in any media related to the Exhibition. This includes the DVD of all accepted entries, which may be shown at other clubs
10. Entrants details will be kept on file for future mailing of exhibition
11. Entry for this Exhibition is on-line only
Online Digital Entry
1. Images must be submitted in JPEG file format only
2. There is no naming criteria for online entry
3. Images will be projected at 1600 pixels x 1200 pixels. Images projected in Portrait mode must be no more that 1200 pixels high
4. Images will be projected on a black background and in sRGB colour space
5. Images not entered exactly as above will not be presented to the judges correctly
6. Images eligible for the special themes must be indicated by selecting the tick box when entering: Best Humorous in colour, Best Environmental Portrait in mono, Best Urban Nightscape in scapes, Best Authentic UK Wildlife in nature and Best Action in nature
7. Entries will not be accepted after 25th July 2021
8. All entries are accepted in good faith. The entrant agrees to indemnify the Judges, Exhibition, Organisers and other related parties against any litigation that may arise if entered images do not have the necessary permissions, licenses and/or contracts to be used and/or published in exhibition-related documents, DVD or on any website associated with the Exhibition
9. The decisions of the judges and organisers are final and no correspondence of any description will be entered into
10. Entry fees: £1.50 per image with minimum £6.00 entry
FIAP/PSA/RPS Common Nature Definition (2015): Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.
No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content
of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed. Stitched images are not permitted. All allowed adjustments must appear natural.
Monochrome Definition: A black and white image is one with tones from very dark grey (Black) to very clear grey (white). A black and white image toned entirely in a single colour will be able to stand in the black and white category and can be reproduced in black & white in the catalogue. On the other hand a black and white image modified by partial toning or by the addition of one colour to a part of the image becomes a colour image and should be entered in the colour category. This type of image will be reproduced in the colour pages of the catalogue.
Colour images can be converted to greyscale monochrome. Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are allowed.
Scapes: This is a broad interpretation of landscape; any image depicting our physical environment - land, sea, urban, rural, city are all acceptable.
People and animals may be included in the scene as long as they are ancillary to and or supportive of the main subject. HDR, focus stacking, stitched panoramas and creative images are all allowed in this section.
Awards
Each section will be awarded the following:
· Gold medal
· Selector’s medal (3 selectors)
· Chairperson’s award
· Highly Commended ribbons
· Commended ribbons
· Best Beyond Group member
No image can win more than one award
Beyond Group Members are not eligible for any Awards except the Best Beyond Group Member
Within each section there are also Special Awards which are sponsored by Beyond Group Members:
· Best ‘Humorous’ in Colour – Sponsored by Barbie Lindsay
· Best ‘Environmental Portrait’ in Monochrome – Sponsored by Robert Howarth
· Best ‘Urban Nightscape’ in Scapes – Sponsored by Peter Benson
· Best ‘Authentic UK Wildlife’ in Nature – Sponsored by Paul Smith
· Best ‘Action’ in Nature – Sponsored by Kevin Williams
There is also an award for the photographer with best result overall
1. The Beyond Group National Open Exhibition of Photography 2021 is open to all photographers resident in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
2. Closing date for entries is 25th July 2021
3. Entries accepted in previous Beyond Group Exhibitions, or similar images, are not eligible for re-submission in any section
4. The image and all elements within must be the sole work of the author, who must own the copyright. Images made completely by computer software and having no photographic content will not be accepted
5. There are four digital sections - General Colour, General Monochrome, Scapes and Nature
6. You may enter a maximum of 4 images in each section
7. Gold Medals will be chosen from the top scoring images
8. Copyright of the image remains with the author and he/she must accept that his/her work could be downloaded from the site. The organisers will do their best to protect the copyright of the image when viewed on the website by making them as small as possible
9. Whilst copyright remains with the authors, the Beyond Group reserves the right to use any entry, without fee, for publication and/or display in any media related to the Exhibition. This includes the DVD of all accepted entries, which may be shown at other clubs
10. Entrants details will be kept on file for future mailing of exhibition
11. Entry for this Exhibition is on-line only
Online Digital Entry
1. Images must be submitted in JPEG file format only
2. There is no naming criteria for online entry
3. Images will be projected at 1600 pixels x 1200 pixels. Images projected in Portrait mode must be no more that 1200 pixels high
4. Images will be projected on a black background and in sRGB colour space
5. Images not entered exactly as above will not be presented to the judges correctly
6. Images eligible for the special themes must be indicated by selecting the tick box when entering: Best Humorous in colour, Best Environmental Portrait in mono, Best Urban Nightscape in scapes, Best Authentic UK Wildlife in nature and Best Action in nature
7. Entries will not be accepted after 25th July 2021
8. All entries are accepted in good faith. The entrant agrees to indemnify the Judges, Exhibition, Organisers and other related parties against any litigation that may arise if entered images do not have the necessary permissions, licenses and/or contracts to be used and/or published in exhibition-related documents, DVD or on any website associated with the Exhibition
9. The decisions of the judges and organisers are final and no correspondence of any description will be entered into
10. Entry fees: £1.50 per image with minimum £6.00 entry
FIAP/PSA/RPS Common Nature Definition (2015): Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.
No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content
of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed. Stitched images are not permitted. All allowed adjustments must appear natural.
Monochrome Definition: A black and white image is one with tones from very dark grey (Black) to very clear grey (white). A black and white image toned entirely in a single colour will be able to stand in the black and white category and can be reproduced in black & white in the catalogue. On the other hand a black and white image modified by partial toning or by the addition of one colour to a part of the image becomes a colour image and should be entered in the colour category. This type of image will be reproduced in the colour pages of the catalogue.
Colour images can be converted to greyscale monochrome. Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are allowed.
Scapes: This is a broad interpretation of landscape; any image depicting our physical environment - land, sea, urban, rural, city are all acceptable.
People and animals may be included in the scene as long as they are ancillary to and or supportive of the main subject. HDR, focus stacking, stitched panoramas and creative images are all allowed in this section.
Awards
Each section will be awarded the following:
· Gold medal
· Selector’s medal (3 selectors)
· Chairperson’s award
· Highly Commended ribbons
· Commended ribbons
· Best Beyond Group member
No image can win more than one award
Beyond Group Members are not eligible for any Awards except the Best Beyond Group Member
Within each section there are also Special Awards which are sponsored by Beyond Group Members:
· Best ‘Humorous’ in Colour – Sponsored by Barbie Lindsay
· Best ‘Environmental Portrait’ in Monochrome – Sponsored by Robert Howarth
· Best ‘Urban Nightscape’ in Scapes – Sponsored by Peter Benson
· Best ‘Authentic UK Wildlife’ in Nature – Sponsored by Paul Smith
· Best ‘Action’ in Nature – Sponsored by Kevin Williams
There is also an award for the photographer with best result overall