2019 has proved to be a year of serious improvement in the quality of photographs taken by us and a lot of that has been down to joining The Guild of Photographers - a group that encompasses both amateur and professional photographers and provides support, assistance and encouragement to improve the images we take.
They offer an 'Image of the Month' competition, which runs for 10 months of the year and not only requires quality photographs but also a need to be consistent through the year in order to achieve the 'Photographers Bar' - an award based on a point scoring system for images submitted.
Through 2019, we have been lucky enough to have been awarded a number of bronze, high bronze and silver for our images but we won't know until February 2020 whether we have done enough to receive the elusive 'Photographers Bar'.
Having gained these awards, I felt confident enough to present a series of 21 images to a panel of judges in an attempt to gain 'Qualified' status within The Guild ('Qualified' indicates professional 'competence' to a level where the Guild is willing to recognise the photographer as an ambassador of the association) and I was fortunate enough to pass at the first attempt - see our website for the images that have received the awards.
As our confidence grew, we decided to look at other options for the sale of our work and we've undertaken several Craft Fairs and Art Shows towards the end of 2019 - all of which have proved successful, with various pictures sold and a lot of networking being carried out.
What next for 2020? Well, it will be more of the same - Craft Fairs and Art Shows but with several more added to the list - watch out for us at Waterperry Gardens, Longwick Art Show, Brill Art on the Hill, Watlington Art Show and Beaconsfield Art Show - all of which have already been booked.
We'll also be looking to exhibit at a number of galleries - one already in the diary is at #Connected2020 at Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire - and we'll confirm these once we have finalised the details.
Within The Guild of Photographers we'll continue with the 'Image of the Month' competition in the hope of gaining the very elusive 'Gold' award along with also attempting to achieve 'Craftsman' status as the next step from 'Qualified'.
Another exciting year ahead and more details regarding where we will be visiting will be in the next blog.
Best wishes from us and have a great Xmas!