The Nature Distinctions Panel


The Natural History Distinctions Panel
by Robert Hawkesworth FRPS and Tony Wharton FRPS

Every so often, it becomes evident that there are still some members of the Nature Group who believe that the Natural History Distinctions Panel, until recently called the Nature Distinctions Panel, is directly connected to the Nature Group, whereas, this is just not the case.  They are entirely separate bodies, connected only tenuously by the fact that most, if not all, members of the Distinctions Panel also happen to be members of the Nature Group, who have themselves worked their way through the Distinctions process to become Fellows, with a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them.  A Fellowship is a prerequisite for all Panel members, but membership of the Nature Group is not.

The current Panel Chairman is Tony Wharton, FRPS.  Panel members are John Bebbington FRPS, David Cantrille FRPS, Roger Hance FRPS,  Robert Hawkesworth FRPS, George McCarthy FRPS, Ben Osborne Hon. FRPS, Clive Rathband FRPS, and Richard Revels FRPS. The Panel meets twice a year, in March and in September, to assess submissions for the Associateship and Fellowship in Natural History Photography.  A quorum for the assessment meetings is normally five Panel members, plus the Chairman.

Submissions of work for the Associateship are assessed in public and, if successful, are passed on to Council for ratification. Fellowship submissions are assessed in camera, and those considered to be of the requisite standard are referred to the Fellowship Board for approval - or otherwise.  The Fellowship Board consists of several members of the Distinctions Advisory Board, together with the Chairman of each of the Panels, whose job is to present, and argue vehemently, even vociferously, in favour of the submission or submissions recommended by their own assessment Panel. The Chairmen no longer have voting rights on the Fellowship Board.  This procedure is intended to act as a moderating process and to ensure that, as far as possible, Fellowship standards are maintained consistently across the different subject areas.  Successful submissions at this level are then passed on for ratification by Council.

Work submitted for both the Associateship and the Fellowship is assessed by the Panel and voted upon by the Panel Members showing the Chairman a red or a green card, red being a vote against, while green indicates approval. This procedure is carried out twice for each submission, the Panel Members being given the opportunity to discuss the work, and to change their minds after the first vote, if they wish.  At least a majority of green cards at the second vote is required for a submission to be successful, although in many cases the voting is unanimous - one way or the other!

Every attempt is made to provide unsuccessful applicants with meaningful written feedback, the standard and extent of which has improved immeasurably in recent years, and those applicants can, if they wish, be put in touch with a Panel Member who will offer advice on any future submission.

A few years ago, a small group of current Panel Members, together with John Myring ARPS, whose brain-child this was, put together an inter-active CD-ROM aimed at giving help and guidance to aspiring Associates. The CD-ROM was produced and distributed by the Nature Group, priced at £10.  Copies are still available, but, at present, the CD is in the process of being updated. Another highly recommended course of action is to attend a Distinctions Advisory Meeting, a number of which are organised annually by the Distinctions Department.

If you are thinking of submitting work for the Associateship, before you do so you may find it helpful to attend an actual Assessment day, when you can see how the Panel works, as well as getting a good idea of the kind of work that is successful.  You may not be aware that you are encouraged to seek help/guidance from one of the Panel Members, or perhaps from a Natural History Fellow with whom you are acquainted, but remember that photography moves on and, unless he or she is at the cutting edge, so to speak, the advice you receive may not serve you as well as you'd hoped, as standards are constantly moving on. The Distinctions Manager, Andy Moore, LRPS, will, if approached, try to put you in touch with a Panel Member who lives within your area.  A Panel Member will certainly be able to say whether your work is generally of an appropriate standard, but that does not imply that you will necessarily be successful.  They will not help you to make a final selection from your work, for that is part of the test and is your own responsibility, but they will give you general help with things to look for in putting a submission of work together - for example, the balance of the content, the flow of colour, composition, the interplay of vertical and horizontal images, and so on.

It is important that you should obtain a copy of the new 'Distinctions Handbook'. This is obtainable from Andy Moore, the Distinctions Manager, or may be downloaded from the RPS Web Site -

http://www.rps.org/associateship/New-Distinctions-Handbook.
Particular attention should be paid to Section C - 'Associateship',  Section D - 'Fellowship' and Section E1.3 'Requirements for Nature'.

Obtaining a distinction in Natural History Photography is never going to be easy; it takes everyone a lot of time and effort to achieve the required standard - and that is as it should be!  It is also quite expensive for, not only do you have to pay an application fee, but, if you are a print worker, there is the added cost of printing and mounting, which is certainly no small matter. Submissions of digitally projected images are permissible only at Associateship level.

In conclusion, it has to be said the Panel would always prefer to recommend a submission than to reject it, but, clearly, standards need to be maintained, so Panel Members sometimes need to bite the bullet!

 

Extracts from the RPS 'Distinctions Handbook'

E1.3 Nature

This category covers any of the various branches of natural history, including zoology, botany, meteorology, astronomy and palaeontology.

Each image should be correctly identified and, as well as your statement of intent, you should include with your application a list in the order of presentation, with both a common name and a scientific name.

In general, subjects should be free and unrestricted, in a natural or adopted habitat, although in some circumstances, subjects photographed under controlled conditions may be permissible.

No kind of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement is permissible, except for the removal of minor distractions or blemishes.

Purpose and Comunication

Your statement should clearly state your intention in choosing the work submitted, in order to enable the Assessment Panel to consider your work in a meaningful context.

Your work should bear out the intention set out in your introduction, and should provide clear evidence of a genuine interest and involvement in this type of photography.

Each individual subject should be shown in an illustrative way, which is of interest to a well-informed naturalist, but should be clearly seen to be relevant to the submission as a whole. It should at the very least accurately depict what the subject looks like, although it might, to your advantage, show some aspect of its life-cycle or behavioural pattern as well.

For Fellowship, the Assessment Panel looks for a personal style or an original approach, but at the very least you must demonstrate that you are capable of maintaining to the highest standard, the momentum of current trends and developments in nature photography. It is advisable to choose a particular natural history theme or topic and to explore and develop it photographically. It is only rarely sufficient to present a similar collection of images, produced by similar techniques and differentiated from each other only in terms of species differences.


Cohesion

If you are submitting prints, you should present them so that they appear coherent and visually well-balanced in terms of subject matter, print size, format, colour, contrast and mounting. A submission of prints displayed in an unplanned, haphazard manner is unlikely to impress.

Transparency and digital image submissions should be sequenced in a similarly coherent and visually well-balanced way, avoiding sudden changes in colour, contrast or key. Where several different subject types are included in a submission, it is usually more effective to present them interspersed with each other, rather than grouped altogether.


Technical Quality

Your submission should demonstrate that:

  • you are able to produce consistently sharp and correctly exposed pictures, with image sizes appropriate to the subjects being shown
  • you have the ability to control depth of field in such a way that all your images have backgrounds appropriate to the type of subject being shown; whether that subject is being depicted in close-up or within the wider context of a particular habitat

  • you have a good understanding of how to use light effectively, whether natural or artificial.

  • if flash is used, it has been used discreetly, sympathetically and in a manner which is completely in keeping with the subject, avoiding areas of heavy shadow or excessive contrast.


Artistic Considerations 

Although work submitted in the Nature Category should be mainly informative or illustrative, an overlay of pictorialism is not only permissible but may be to your advantage, provided that it does not detract from the informative content of the work.
Good composition is an important aspect of effective and visually satisfying nature work, so your submission should show your skill in this respect.  

    As well as the Statement of Intent, a list of subject names, both common and scientific, is required.

     

    Distinctions Manager Andy Moore can be contacted at:

    Tel: +44 (0) 1225 325733 
    Email: andy@rps.org