RPS Fellowship

Natural History Distinction

Any Royal Photographic Society Distinction will be a photographic challenge and as you would expect the Fellowship distinction being the highest award will bring a whole load of challenges which the others do not require. The trials and tribulations of achieving success are many, this talk sets out the challenges I experienced when attempting the Fellowship award, it also includes an overview of my Licentiate and Associate distinctions for comparison.

 

In this talk there will be numerous photographs, including many which did not meet the grade but were essential for establishing what the Fellowship standard actually is. My particular subject matter proved more difficult than most, very few Natural History Fellowships have been awarded for African mammals and trying to identify which photographs make the grade by using past examples proved most difficult. So how did I go about choosing images that would stand any chance of being appropriate for a natural history Fellowship panel, especially when there was little subject expertise within the RPS organization to help.

If I was to stand any chance of success I had to travel to different parts of Africa to achieve the diversity of species in varied wildlife situations to produce a cohesive panel of high quality images. So how did I choose these places, what is the most important criteria when making a selection, other factors like selecting the right mode of transport was a key element to get you into those situations where good photography could be achieved. It was a lot more complex than just choosing an African safari out of a travel brochure.

Presentation Requirements

Included in the talk are a number of audio visuals to help add variety and interest to this talk and the timing of the talk will suit typical camera club evenings with a break part way through. The presentation is a PDI projection and for that I will need the use of the clubs projector and screen, plus a suitable power supply, everything else I will bring with me. This talk is not suitable for a zoom type meeting.

FRPS Audio Visual .......