SPF Annual Portfolios Changes Due to Coronavirus

Given the difficulties we are all facing due to the Coronavirus, and the number of Clubs that have closed their season early, we have reviewed our SPF Annual Portfolios competitions in light of this. We have had a number of enquires in recent days asking if the event was going ahead. It would have been easy perhaps to cancel the SPF Annual Portfolios, but we are aware that a number of Clubs have already either completed their entry online, or have organised a significant part of their entry ready for online completion from your emails. We are also conscious that a number of our SPF Clubs rely on the DVD shows for their syllabuses, and in the coming season this may become even more useful than normal.

We therefore intend to go ahead with the SPF Annual Portfolios competitions in a safer format for everyone, providing that we get a sufficient number of Clubs participating, to enable us to form the varied Portfolio shows.

To aid this process the SPF Website online entry will stay open until 1st July.

- The competition will remain in the three sections i.e. Digital – Mono Print - Colour Print.

- Currently Projected Digital Images (PDI) are uploaded to the SPF website for all three of these sections, this will continue.

- For Prints; We ask Clubs not to send us any prints (by post or via the Drop-off points)

- Instead of Clubs sending us their actual prints we will arrange for the Projected Digital Images of the Prints (as uploaded to the SPF website) to be Judged instead of the actual Prints. This avoids all transmission risks from transportation or handling of prints either at the Club stage or at the SPF collection or processing stage.

- Also please don’t send us any Payment or Entry Forms – We will contact you at the start of the new season for details of how to send your payment, once we are sure that we have had sufficient entries to run the event.

- All other Rules re quantities etc and all Awards remain as existing information supplied.

So, if you’ve already entered, no changes require to be made to your entry, other than to remember not to send us your Prints or Entry Form and Payment. We appreciate that Judging PDIs of the Prints, instead of the actual prints, is not ideal but we feel it is better than cancelling the print sections altogether as it allows for all authors to compete irrespective of the medium they use.

As we are uncertain of how long this current coronavirus crisis may continue, only having to arranging a Judging for Projected Digital Images means we can also guarantee the Judging goes ahead, as we are able to send the PDIs to the Judges for scoring and Awards selection remotely, something which would be unmanageable for a large quantity of prints. We aim to have results to you in early August as normal.

We have extended the Closing Date of the SPF Website Online entry from the 1st May until the 1st July. This should help Clubs that have closed their seasons early, still to compete as normal, if they wish, with plenty of extra time for their members to get the required PDIs to them.

All queries etc. for making your Club’s online entry should be sent to Libby as normal. 

For some photographers, this extra task may be welcome in the following weeks and months while restricted in what they can do. We hope you all keep well and safe.