Bathgate Photography (Camera) Club

Please find below a list of FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about the club, club life etc.

What do the all the letters stand for?

SPF - Scottish Photographic Federation (SPF website) - is the umbrella organisation of the camera clubs in Scotland who are a member of the SPF. By being a member of the SPF, we have access to a long list of photographic judges and lecturers in Scotland. The club also benefits from public liability insurance by being a member of the SPF. Club members can take part in SPF events such as The Scottish Salon of Photography, Club Print Championship, Club Slide Championship, Print & Slide Portfolios and so on.

PAGB - Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB website) - is an organisation that co-ordinates specific activities for photographic clubs in England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. It does this through 15 geographical regions known as Federations (one of which is the Scottish Photographic Federation - see above). PAGB organises national competitive photographic events for its Federations and for clubs. It also offers other services such as Recorded Lectures to clubs and its own photographic Distinctions (known as awards for photographic merit) direct to qualifying club members.

The PAGB has strong links with similar organisations in different countries throughout the world through its membership of FIAP (The International Federation of Photographic Art).

PAGB Awards (CPAGB, DPAGB, MPAGB) - The Awards are open to all members of Clubs affiliated to the PAGB through their Federations and are at three levels:

• Credit (CPAGB) - Blue badge and certificate
• Distinction (DPAGB) - Red badge and certificate
• Master (MPAGB) - Gold badge and certificate

They are held for life without any annual fee and holders are entitled to use the designated letters after their name (such as
Mark Dunnigan CPAGB).

All applicants must pre-qualify in accordance with their Federation's criteria as having supported Federation photographic events. This support must have been given for a minimum of 2 years for CPAGB, 3 years for DPAGB and 5 years for MPAGB from current active photographers. A retrospective period of 10 years may be considered.

FIAP - International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP website) - The FIAP is an international federation which affiliates as operational members, the national associations of photography. FIAP counts more than 85 national associations in the five continents and represents the benefits of nearly one million individual photographers. Since September 2004, camera-clubs and regional groups of clubs can join FIAP, under some conditions.

Club Competitions

Club competitions are only for club members who are present at club meetings.

If you are a member of Bathgate CC, you can take part in our photography competitions throughout the season. The committee members can advise which category you should compete in (ie. beginners or advanced).

Usually, club competitions consist of four sections:

• monochrome prints
• colour prints
• slides
• digital images.

For our open club competitions, you need to enter at least 2 images for one section to be able to qualify / take part in the competition. If you have 2 monochrome prints, you can enter them in the monochrome section. You don't need to enter all 4 sections though. However, if you want to have a chance to receive a trophy at the end of the year (such as "Best All-rounder"), you should really enter as many sections as possible to stand a chance. Also, the 4th section - digital images has just been added (April 2006). In order to be able to take part in the digital section, you need to enter at least one print section too.

If you enter prints, they should be mounted on 20x16 mounting board. Club members can purchase mounting board from our club secretary or from any photography / art shop that deals with them.

On the back of your print, there should only be the title of the photograph (e.g. "Morning at Bamburgh Castle") you wish to hand in so that the judge does not know which photographs have been taken by which author.

Interclub competitions

Bathgate Camera Club takes part in a number of interclub competitions - where different clubs in different areas compete for "best club" or "best area" - such as East Lothian vs. West Lothian, 6-way battle - where six clubs compete with each other. Hand-in dates for such competitions are printed in the Syllabus which you can either find online or in your paper copy which you have been given at the start of the season. Any member can hand in photographs for interclub competition, but the selection panel will decide which image is used for a certain competition. Even though you might have handed in 4 prints for a competition, only 1 might end up being part of the competition.