Advisory Day

Something of a first for the RPS. Instead of expecting applicants for their distinctions to wade through the rubric and the rules, the society has realised that applicants could do with a bit of hand holding before submitting their work for distinctions.

After all, substantial amounts of money are spent on printing and mounting photos and then there's the cost of travelling to HQ for the assessment, probably having to stay overnight, and then no guarantee that the work will qualify for either Licentiate or Associate, especially at Associate level. 

So here were hopefuls gathered in Jubilee Hall in a village in Nottinghamshire awaiting guidance from a distinction assessor.

I was there to speak about my experience of doing an Associate Panel and what I had learnt from doing it. I finally admitted that I hadn't really been ready to do the Associate panel the first time round in 2015 although I hope they took on board the warning not to depend on what just anyone tells them. Facebook Likes cannot be taken as a commendation of a panel of photographs.

Afterwards, I saw two white geese in the field opposite the hall. I've often heard them but never seen them before. The weather had at least brightened up briefly.