Durham PS: INTERNATIONAL SALONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

From our Internationals Correspondent

Do you enjoy competitions at the club? Do you want your work to be seen by fellow photographers across the Globe? Do you fancy the challenge of competing with some of the best photographers in the World? If the answer to those questions is "Yes" then why not have a go at entering an International Salon?

An International Salon of Photography is basically a competition arranged by a photographic organisation that is open to anyone in the World to enter. For example, our own Photographic Federation, Northern Counties (NCPF) arrange the Northern Counties International Salon of Photography (entries for this normally open in August, with a closing date normally in September – see www.ncpf.org.uk for further details) as do other photographic federations and camera clubs throughout the World. All of these Salons are open to you to enter. For example, as well as entering Salons organised in the UK, I've entered Salons held in the Middle East, the Far East and the USA.

As all Salons of Photography are run with the patronage of the RPS (Royal Photography Society), FIAP (Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique and PSA (Photographic Society of America), a quick search on their websites will give you a list of Salons, their opening & closing dates and the cost of entry: in most cases normally between £7 to £13 depending on how many "classes" you enter.

Most Salons allow you to enter 4 images per class and for the majority of Salons there are 3 classes: open or general, travel and nature. However, there are some Salons, such as the Al Thani Award for Photography (based in Qatar) that only has two classes: a general section and a set subject section, so it’s important to read the rules of the organising committee carefully to see what is required. Some Salons take both prints and projected digital images (pdi’s), others may only take prints or pdi’s. Again, you need to read the rules carefully before entering. I’ve noticed however, that in recent years, a lot of Salons no longer accept slides. With the case of pdi’s, more and more Salons allow you to enter via the Internet, so it really is easy to enter. Most also allow you to pay by credit card or via Pay Pal, again, this makes life very easy.

So, once you’ve entered, what can you win? Well, let’s make no bones about it, you are competing with some excellent photographers throughout the World and most Salons are looking for about 200 images to “accept” – and these images will be very good, so only your best work should be entered. As most Salons attract around 10,000 to 20,000 entries, if you get an acceptance, then you can be very proud of that, it is a super achievement. Moving up the scale, if your image is judged as one of the “best in class” you could also win a medal or ribbon and your work will be printed in the Salon Catalogue (this is sent to every entrant) and also shown in any public showings of the Salon. Keep an eye out for one or two Salons who also award big cash prizes – for example the prize in the Al Thani Award in 2010 was $10,000 plus a Leica M series camera.

Well I hope this short article helps whet your appetite. If you want more information, please ask me on a Club night. Alternatively look at the FIAP and PSA websites for details of upcoming Salons and see what grabs your attention. FIAP are at www.fiap.net/ and PSA are at www.psa-photo.org, the RPS at www.rps.org. And if you are really quick, you can enter the Bristol Salon at www.bristolsalon.org.uk. The closing date for this is March 19^th.

Pictures:

“Schizophrenia” by David Trout - accepted and awarded Certificate of Merit in the 2009 NCPF International Salon of Photography and accepted in the 2011 Welsh International Salon