Beyond Group Exhibition Chairman, Chrissie Westgate FRPS
Hello Everyone!
By holding an exhibition such as this the aim of the Beyond Group is to promote photography and to provide opportunity to showcase outstanding images.
We are indebted to our selectors Judith and Roger Parry and our very own Peter Hrebien. Looking at over 4000 images in the course of two days is some task and watching the judging was fascinating and sometimes intriguing. Owing to the amount of entries the digital images in particular were only seen for a few seconds, therefore the images really did have to have impact. I was saddened to see so many excellent images not chosen and frequently didn’t agree with the judges choice. Albeit it did make me think about just how subjective the process is.
There were many discussions that took place during the judging weekend that inevitably related to photography. One of them was regarding nature images that are taken in confined and controlled areas.
From that, one of the questions was; should such images be valued as highly as images taken totally in the wild! As a people photographer that made me think about whether an image taken in a studio with a paid model, is of less value than an image taken on the streets in natural lighting? We also discussed the importance and relevance of titles and whether that influenced judging in any way. We agreed that titles are very important, particularly in the nature section where factual titles are needed not frivolous ones! If you have taken an image of beautiful butterfly spend a little time, do some research and name the species correctly – it really does help and can influence the score!
As with all discussions there are always more questions than answers but nevertheless, stimulating to have such healthy debate. I came to my own personal conclusion that beauty can be seen in all things and it is the ‘product’ that should get judged not the ‘process’.
A very big ‘Thank You’ to all of you who entered the Beyond Group exhibition and please don’t be disheartened, if your image wasn’t chosen. It doesn’t mean your image wasn’t ‘good enough’, it just means that it didn’t resonate with our three selectors on this particular day.
The next time you enter the very same image you just might win that much coveted gold medal. Also remember that when you are out there taking those wonderful images, to enjoy the journey - it is far more important than the destination!
By holding an exhibition such as this the aim of the Beyond Group is to promote photography and to provide opportunity to showcase outstanding images.
We are indebted to our selectors Judith and Roger Parry and our very own Peter Hrebien. Looking at over 4000 images in the course of two days is some task and watching the judging was fascinating and sometimes intriguing. Owing to the amount of entries the digital images in particular were only seen for a few seconds, therefore the images really did have to have impact. I was saddened to see so many excellent images not chosen and frequently didn’t agree with the judges choice. Albeit it did make me think about just how subjective the process is.
There were many discussions that took place during the judging weekend that inevitably related to photography. One of them was regarding nature images that are taken in confined and controlled areas.
From that, one of the questions was; should such images be valued as highly as images taken totally in the wild! As a people photographer that made me think about whether an image taken in a studio with a paid model, is of less value than an image taken on the streets in natural lighting? We also discussed the importance and relevance of titles and whether that influenced judging in any way. We agreed that titles are very important, particularly in the nature section where factual titles are needed not frivolous ones! If you have taken an image of beautiful butterfly spend a little time, do some research and name the species correctly – it really does help and can influence the score!
As with all discussions there are always more questions than answers but nevertheless, stimulating to have such healthy debate. I came to my own personal conclusion that beauty can be seen in all things and it is the ‘product’ that should get judged not the ‘process’.
A very big ‘Thank You’ to all of you who entered the Beyond Group exhibition and please don’t be disheartened, if your image wasn’t chosen. It doesn’t mean your image wasn’t ‘good enough’, it just means that it didn’t resonate with our three selectors on this particular day.
The next time you enter the very same image you just might win that much coveted gold medal. Also remember that when you are out there taking those wonderful images, to enjoy the journey - it is far more important than the destination!
Our Judges for the 8th Beyond Group Exhibition 2015
Roger Parry
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Judith Parry
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Peter Hrebein
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A note from Roger and Judith Parry
First of all a big thank you to the Beyond Group for asking us to judge the Exhibition. Overall the work that we viewed was of a fairly high standard. However the quality of the prints was very pleasing and we really enjoyed judging all three print sections. It was a shame that some of the PDI’s did not share the same attention to detail and in the Monochrome section there seemed to be a fashion for applying a heavy black vignette which spoiled some of the images. It must be said that the quality of both the accepted prints and PDI’s were of a very high standard, this was particularly true of the awards which featured some very fine images.
Congratulations to The Beyond Group for the excellent way in which the judging weekend was organised and the great hospitality extended to us. We are sure that those visiting the exhibition will have a very enjoyable experience.
First of all a big thank you to the Beyond Group for asking us to judge the Exhibition. Overall the work that we viewed was of a fairly high standard. However the quality of the prints was very pleasing and we really enjoyed judging all three print sections. It was a shame that some of the PDI’s did not share the same attention to detail and in the Monochrome section there seemed to be a fashion for applying a heavy black vignette which spoiled some of the images. It must be said that the quality of both the accepted prints and PDI’s were of a very high standard, this was particularly true of the awards which featured some very fine images.
Congratulations to The Beyond Group for the excellent way in which the judging weekend was organised and the great hospitality extended to us. We are sure that those visiting the exhibition will have a very enjoyable experience.
A note from Peter Hrebein
This was my first time judging a national exhibition and I must admit to being a little nervous before we started. The process was very familiar to me as I have been part of the team at all of the other Beyond Group Exhibitions. Roger and Judith were gracious enough to offer me some advice before we started our weekends work and I found I quickly fell into the rhythm of the judging process. I also relaxed and started to enjoy myself. I’m not sure where the time went but suddenly we were at the end of of day one with about three quarters of our work done. The second day flew by as well and by mid afternoon we had finished tying up the loose ends. Over 4000 entries had been appraised and awards given. I’d like to thank Roger and Judith for their help over the weekend and my colleagues from the Beyond Group for their outstanding hospitality.
This was my first time judging a national exhibition and I must admit to being a little nervous before we started. The process was very familiar to me as I have been part of the team at all of the other Beyond Group Exhibitions. Roger and Judith were gracious enough to offer me some advice before we started our weekends work and I found I quickly fell into the rhythm of the judging process. I also relaxed and started to enjoy myself. I’m not sure where the time went but suddenly we were at the end of of day one with about three quarters of our work done. The second day flew by as well and by mid afternoon we had finished tying up the loose ends. Over 4000 entries had been appraised and awards given. I’d like to thank Roger and Judith for their help over the weekend and my colleagues from the Beyond Group for their outstanding hospitality.