One of the most educational and rewarding things I’ve done over recent years is to join the Tygerberg Photographic Society. To quote from their website: The aim of the club is promote photography, by bringing together photographers who wish to express their love for photography by taking photographs and by showing, sharing, evaluating and discussing with friends who share the same interests – those willing to learn more about photography from experts willing to share their knowledge – and those willing to share their expertise with others willing to learn more about photography.
Members are divided into 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Star categories according to their level of skill. New members start off as 1 Stars, and move upward over time depending on the number of points they collect from judged competition entries. After 6 months as a member, I am now in the 2-star category.
Competition meetings are held at 19h00 every 4th Wednesday of every month, January to November. There are four categories for entries, namely the month's set subject, in print or digital formats, plus an open category, also in print or digital formats. There is at least one external evaluator at each meeting. Every entry is publicly judged and priceless valuable feedback is given by the expert evaluators during the meetings.
Photographs are evaluated (out of 15 points) on the level of technical, compositional, and artistic ability shown. For a photo to achieve a Gold award, 1 star members need to receive a minimum of 9 points, 2 star members need a minimum of 11 points, and 3 star and above members need a minimum of 12 points.So the more one progresses, the more difficult it is to achieve Gold awards.
This has been (and is) an incredibly rewarding experience, and I am indebted to my good friend Daniel Rossouw, for introducing me to the club.
I have posted a page, TPS Entries, which can be accessed via the blog menu. It reflects all the entries I have posted so far, with the relevant awards received.