PAGB Awards for Photographic Merit

THE AWARDS

The awards are open to all members of Clubs affiliated to the PAGB through their Federations and are at three levels:

They are held for life without any annual fee and holders are entitled to use the designated letters after their name.

Qualification

All applicants must qualify via the Federation.  Entrants must have been active members of a Club affiliated to The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain for a minimum of 2 years for CPAGB, 3 years for DPAGB and 5 years for MPAGB. A retrospective period of 10 years may be considered.  Applications for MPAGB must have held DPAGB for at least 11 months on the date of adjudication. Please see application forms for "active member" criteria.

The EAF recommends that in order to understand the standard of work needed to achieve an award, you will also have:-

• Submitted work for the EAF Exhibition
• Attended the EAF Championships and or Events
• Attended the PAGB Inter Club PDI or Print Championships (currently held at Warwick and Connahs Quay respectively)
• Attended a PAGB Award adjudication as a Spectator

Credit of The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (CPAGB)

1. The standard is that of 'Good Club Photography'.
2. The entry fee is £60.00.
3. 10 Projectable Digital Images (PDIs) or 10 Prints are required and a total score of 200 or more will gain the award.
4. For Audio Visual, 2 or more sequences with a total running time of 10 to 15 minutes are required or, for a Joint Submission, 2 or more sequences with a running time 20 to 30 minutes. A total score of 10 or more will gain the award.

Distinction of The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (DPAGB)

1. Subject to qualification, application can be made for the DPAGB Award without first gaining the CPAGB
2. The standard is that of 'Open Exhibition Photography'.
3. The entry fee is £75.00.
4. 15 Projectable Digital Images (PDIs) or 15 Prints are required and a total score of 300 or more will gain the award.
5. For Audio Visual, 2 or more sequences with a total running time of 15 to 20 minutes are required or, for a Joint Submission, 4 or more sequences with a running time 30 to 40 minutes. A total score of 10 or more will gain the award.

Master of The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (MPAGB)

1. Applicants for MPAGB must have held the DPAGB Award for 11 months on the date of the adjudication
2. The standard is that of 'The Highest Standard of Amateur Photography'.
3. The entry fee is £95.00.
4. 20 Projectable Digital Images (PDIs) or 20 Prints are required and a total score of 450 or more will gain the award.
5. For Audio Visual, 3 or more sequences with a total running time of 20 to 30 minutes are required or, for a Joint Submission, 6 or more sequences with a running time 40 to 50 minutes. A unanimous decision by the Adjudicators with a total score of 12 or more will gain the Award.

ADJUDICATIONS

Adjudications are open to spectators. Entrants receive one free ticket. Further tickets may be purchased from the organising federation.

Adjudication Method

Adjudication will be carried out by 6 persons selected from the PAGB Judges List. Each print and slide will be scored electronically (2 to 5) by each adjudicator but only the total score for each photograph will be announced.

Pictures will not be presented as panels but will be mixed and judged as individual images. Prints may be unmounted or mounted but not framed. The maximum size including mount is 50 x 40 cm. Mounts to be lightweight of a type that will not damage other prints when stacked. Velcro or any similar material must not be on either side of prints. The title may be on the front of the print but not the applicant's name.

Prints & PDIs for use at future Adjudications

All successful applicants will be requested to donate a print or slide that scored in the passing range. These will be used prior to the appropriate level at future adjudications to show the standard of entry in the passing range.

Audio Visual

Adjudication will be carried out by 3 persons selected from the PAGB AV Judges List and each applicant's sequences will be shown consecutively then scored as a whole by each adjudicator marking 2 to 5. Only the total score will be announced. The applicant's name/s must not appear anywhere in the production, (See the guidance notes for Joint Applications)

Guidance Notes for Joint AV Applications

Joint applications are permitted in AV and ideally both partners would contribute equally to all aspects of the programmes submitted. This seldom happens, applicants must decide whether this is so far from the ideal that in reality one partner is acting as an assistant to the other rather than working jointly.

Applications will still be considered to be joint where:

1. One partner does more work than the other. The absolute limit would be two thirds/one third but the Adjudication panel would view such a large proportion with disfavour. An application cannot be considered to be joint where one partner is clearly dominant.
2. The roles of the two partners are more clearly defined. No general rules can be laid down but examples include:
   1. Conception worked out jointly, one partner takes all the photographs, the other writes the script and both are involved in the sound recording and presentation.
   2. Conception by one partner, both take the photographs, one partner does the recording, the other the script and both work on the presentation.

Where one partner is involved only on one component part of the entry this is held to be Assistance or collaboration and cannot be a joint submission.

The adjudication will require details of all these matters. Applicants should remember that it is generally harder to gain an award jointly than individually; for a joint application both partners pay the full entry fee.

GUIDANCE NOTES

Audio Visual and Joint Applications

For Audio Visual submissions the PAGB are prepared to consider joint applications. The EAF requires that each partner proposing to make a joint submission satisfies fully the EAF’s criteria.

The EAF recognises that some AV workers may not exhibit in prints or PDIs so may have some difficulty in satisfying the above criteria for DPGB and MPAGB. AV workers who cannot satisfy the points criteria should send to the Awards Officer a statement setting out their support for Club, Federation and National events. It is emphasised that it is support, rather than demonstration of ability, which is important. Examples of support would include entry into competitions, lecturing to Clubs and at Federation events, judging, providing equipment at events etc. To satisfy the PAGB’s requirements support will need to be demonstrated over a period of 2 years for CPAGB, 3 years for DPAGB and 5 years for MPAGB. Applicants for MPAGB must already hold DPAGB.

Other Federations

Applicants who have joined the EAF from another Federation and who have partially met the requirements at a Club in that Federation should write to the Awards Officer including evidence of their partial compliance in order to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility.

How to Apply

Applicants should complete the Certificate of Eligibility form on line, then print it off and have it certified by their Club/Society President, Chairman or Secretary. If the applicant has been a Member of more than one Club/Society during the pre-qualification period two forms will be required (one from each club). The completed eligibility form/forms, together with a 9” x 6” SAE should be forwarded to:

If the application clearly satisfies the criteria then the Awards Officer will issue the PAGB Application form and Guidance Handbook. The completed form and relevant entry fee should be returned to the EAF Awards Officer (address above) for counter-signing and forwarding to the PAGB Distinction Secretary. Thereafter, all administration of your entry and adjudication is handled by the PAGB.

Dates and Deadlines

The adjudication of prints and PDIs will be held on a weekend in April and November each year, over two days if there is sufficient demand. Closing dates for applications to the PAGB are:

The adjudication of Audio Visual will be held on a weekend in March each year. The closing date for applications to the PAGB is:

Applicants are advised to make their entries in good time and to allow ample time for the EAF Awards Officer to process their applications for Certificates of Eligibility. This will normally be done as quickly as possible but at holiday times etc. may take several weeks. Occasionally it may be necessary to refer an application to the EAF Executive in which case the Awards Officer will advise the applicant of this.