Freo Graphic

June 2020 FREO GRAPHIC NEWS 2 News Regular competition categories will resume in August with Open and Subject categories (Digital and Print) replacing Colour and Mono. The August subject category is Landscape – in honour of life member Grace Munday and her legacy to the club. The best landscape image overall (print or digital) will receive the perpetual Grace Munday trophy, presented this year for the first time. Photography clubs attract a wide variety of people. Almost without exception the person will join a club, hoping to become a better photographer. One important way of improving one’s skill is getting inspired by seeing other people’s photographic artwork and comparing those with your own. The Principles of Judging Back to normal in August. The Primary Task Although a judge may be able to contribute to club members’ craft of photography, this is ultimately not their task at hand. The main task of an accredited judge is to assist fellow photographers to develop as photographic artists. At the same time, judges need to be aware how their decisions and comments influence club members. The question arises: “What is Art?” Considering that most art definitions mention the terms ‘Emotions’ or ‘Feelings’ it seems obvious that judging photography as art must begin by assessing the emotional content of an image. Any kind of conveyed emotions are acceptable – not just generally pleasing ones! The strength of the evoked emotion is the key factor. The photographic craft applied needs to support the image and its emotions, story etc. So, judges should ask themselves, How does the image evoke emotion, feeling, mood? 1. Impact (the WOW factor) 2. The story telling quality (you are touched by the story ) 3. Some images are subtle and require longer exposure to the viewer either in order to convey the creator’s message/intention or to allow time for interpretation. “Judging of any photographic work within the formality of a competition should have as its central feature the fostering of creativity. No more and no less. Within photography creativity is a total, uncompromising commitment to encouraging, rewarding and facilitating innovation, experimentation and the visual communication of ideas through diverse, provocative and profoundly evocative approaches to the making of imagery.” (Des Crawley, Emeritus Professor, University of Western Sydney, Adjunct Professor, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University Professor and Director, Centre for Creative Exchange in the Tropical Environment, James Cook University, Honorary Fellow Australian Institute of Professional Photography.) (from the Photographic Society of Queensland)