History
The Society was formed in 1988 by our Vice President Des Bray and Ted Moon with four others. They had been members of Lewes Camera Club but felt the Seaford area would benefit from having a club of its own. Having advertised in the local newspaper, a small nucleus of members was formed. Since then Seaford Photographic has grown in numbers and expertise.
Membership
Annual membership is £50 per person.
What We Do
We cater for anyone aged 16 or over and of all abilities, and people join for many different reasons. Some come for the social aspect (our venue has a bar!) and to talk to like-minded people about photography, others come just to look at some nice photos, but the main thing is that we all want to learn and improve. There are a lot of good amateur photographers around locally – we’ve seen some of you on Facebook! So why not come along to one or two of our meetings to see what you think?
Our meetings consist of either competitions, talks, lectures or workshops.
Competitions
The competitions are either for prints or projected digital images (PDIs), and are always very popular. Some people might be put off by the idea of competitive photography but we can’t emphasise enough how useful these are for learning and developing one’s craft. The visiting judges are fully trained and qualified and they provide very useful critique of the photos that people enter. They concentrate on the positive aspects of what works and why, but provide guidance on how the images could be improved. All this is anonymous, unless you get a high score, so there’s no question of having your photo pulled apart in front of everybody! You don’t have to travel to exotic countries – many competition winners from last year featured local scenes. And you don’t need to print either if you aren’t used to that; half the competitions are for projected images. Your photos can therefore be straight out of camera, but you will learn how a bit of post-processing can vastly improve how a photo looks. There’s no pressure to enter the competitions – you can just come along to watch and learn if you like.
Lectures
We also have a number of lectures and videos on more technical photographic subjects.
Workshops and Practical evenings
This year we will have a 'Tabletop Photography' workshop.
Our meetings consist of either competitions, talks, lectures or workshops.
Competitions
The competitions are either for prints or projected digital images (PDIs), and are always very popular. Some people might be put off by the idea of competitive photography but we can’t emphasise enough how useful these are for learning and developing one’s craft. The visiting judges are fully trained and qualified and they provide very useful critique of the photos that people enter. They concentrate on the positive aspects of what works and why, but provide guidance on how the images could be improved. All this is anonymous, unless you get a high score, so there’s no question of having your photo pulled apart in front of everybody! You don’t have to travel to exotic countries – many competition winners from last year featured local scenes. And you don’t need to print either if you aren’t used to that; half the competitions are for projected images. Your photos can therefore be straight out of camera, but you will learn how a bit of post-processing can vastly improve how a photo looks. There’s no pressure to enter the competitions – you can just come along to watch and learn if you like.
Lectures
We also have a number of lectures and videos on more technical photographic subjects.
Workshops and Practical evenings
This year we will have a 'Tabletop Photography' workshop.
Who's Who
The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) is the national organisation that co-ordinates activities for around 1000 photographic clubs in the UK (including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man). It does this through 15 geographical Federations, of which The Kent County Photographic Association (KCPA) is one. This covers Kent and parts of East Sussex and Southeast London and it has about 50 affiliated member clubs including Seaford Photographic Society (SPS).
The club's main committee members are as follows:
Chairman - Colin Mitchell LRPS
Vice Chairman - Adrian Bishop CPAGB
Secretary - Chris Dawson CPAGB
The club's main committee members are as follows:
Chairman - Colin Mitchell LRPS
Vice Chairman - Adrian Bishop CPAGB
Secretary - Chris Dawson CPAGB
Awards and Distinctions
Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB)
The PAGB has three levels of Awards for Photographic Merit (APM) which are open only to members of clubs affiliated to the PAGB through their Federations.
Royal Photographic Society (RPS)
The Royal Photographic Society has been promoting the highest standards of achievement in photography since 1853 in order to encourage public appreciation of photography. They award three levels of distinctions which are internationally respected and sought-after accreditations.
British Photographic Exhibitions (BPE)
The BPE exists to encourage photographers to enter national exhibitions and to recognize successful entrants via the issue of the Crown Awards photographic distinctions. Exhibition members share ideas, promote each other's exhibitions and generally work together to promote competitive photography.
The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP)
The PAGB has three levels of Awards for Photographic Merit (APM) which are open only to members of clubs affiliated to the PAGB through their Federations.
- Credit (CPAGB) – Standard: Good Club Photography
- Distinction (DPAGB) – Standard: Open Exhibition Photography
- Master (MPAGB) – Standard: Highest Standard of UK Amateur Photography
Royal Photographic Society (RPS)
The Royal Photographic Society has been promoting the highest standards of achievement in photography since 1853 in order to encourage public appreciation of photography. They award three levels of distinctions which are internationally respected and sought-after accreditations.
- Licenciate (LRPS) requires a panel of 10 images showing variety in approach and techniques.
- Associate (ARPS) requires a body of work or project of 15 images and a statement of intent.
- Fellowship (FRPS) is the highest level of distinction and requires a body of work or project of 20 or 21 images and a statement of intent.
British Photographic Exhibitions (BPE)
The BPE exists to encourage photographers to enter national exhibitions and to recognize successful entrants via the issue of the Crown Awards photographic distinctions. Exhibition members share ideas, promote each other's exhibitions and generally work together to promote competitive photography.
The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP)
- Artist (AFIAP) is awarded to photographic artists whose artistic qualities, technique and production of work have been acknowledged through their parcipitation in FIAP international salons
- Excellence (EFIAP) is awarded to photographic artists who, apart from having excellent techniques, have significant numbers of their works often accepted in many FIAP international salons.
- Master Photographer (MFIAP) is awarded to photographic artists in recognition of their entire achievements in the field of artistic photography