Have you wondered … about the Photo Travel and Photojournalism Divisions?

This is the fourth column in the series discussing the seven divisions of PSA (Electronic Imaging and Pictorial Print in August 2002; Nature in September 2002; and Color Slide in February 2003).

The PhotoTravel Division (PTD) and Photojournalism Division (PJD) share an important concept: salon entries in each must represent reality; in other words, they cannot be manipulated in any way to alter the authenticity or misrepresent the true situation or content. In both, the subject carries more weight than the pictorial quality, though the latter is also considered.

* With no geographical limitations (the subject might be in your own town or area), the goal of a Photo Travel image is to express a feeling of time and place, portraying a land, its people, or culture in its natural state. Tight close-ups that lose the identity of time or place and studio-type model shots are not considered appropriate to the Photo Travel Division.

* As with newspaper and magazine images, the primary interest in Photojournalism is the news value--informative images or sequences with emotional impact, including human interest and documentary content. Current events, shots communicating information about human nature and cultural values, and sports are all considered appropriate subjects. There is overlap between the Photo Travel and the Photojournalism Divisions: an image of people conveying a sense of time, place and culture might well be appropriate to both.

As with the other divisions, both PTD and PJD offer Exhibitions or Salons, in which slides (plus prints in Photojournalism) are submitted by photographers from all over the world to be judged in a competition. Both the PTD and the PJD also offer: personal evaluation services to help members identify strong images and improve their work in each area; recorded programs for loan to individual and group members; Tops in Photography programs for clubs (sets used to showcase strong images in that division, consisting of slides from individual PSA members invited each year to participate based on their success in exhibitions during that year); slide study groups (see the April 2002 Journal column); and interclub competitions. Both also offer an annual series competition: slide travelettes for Photo Travel and the photo story contest of slides or prints for Photojournalism.

In addition, the PJD offers study groups for print makers as well as a club judging service, which provides qualified evaluators who furnish a taped assessment of work mailed to them. The PJD also offers a special annual award for the PSA photojournalist considered to have contributed the most to "International Understanding Through Photography."

By visiting the Photo Travel and Photojournalism sections of the PSA Website (www.psa-photo.com) and the Services & Activities section of the January, April, July, or October Journal, individuals and member organizations can learn more about how to avail themselves of these valuable offerings. Watch for a brief discussion of the Stereo Division in a subsequent issue.

RELATED ARTICLE: 2003 PSA Camera Club Committee Website Contest.

Conditions of Entry: Any PSA Chapter, Club, or Council currently maintaining an Internet Website and signifying its intent to participate in this contest, is eligible, provided its PSA dues are current to June 30, 2003.

Entry: Chapters, Clubs and Councils must indicate their desire to enter this contest by completing and submitting the form found at:

<http ://www.psa-photo.org/cccwpc03.htm>

prior to the closing date of June 30, 2003. Note that this contest is not for the websites of individuals or personal sites, but only recognized clubs, councils and chapters. (Clubs and councils must include their membership numbers, as indicated on the form.)

Judging and Rating: Experienced webmasters will judge entries. The judges will review each entry and rate it for its total presentation, content, layout, good use of space, neatness, choice of typefaces, use of color, easy reading, use of HTML links, and general overall design and style.

Divisions: There will be two divisions:

Division (A)--websites not professionally designed and maintained.

Division (B)--professionally prepared websites where a fee is paid for design and servicing.

Fees: There is no fee for PSA member groups participating in this competition.

Awards: The awards will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place award in each division. Presentation of these awards will be made during the General Membership meeting at the PSA International Conference in Houston, Texas on September 3, 2003.

Carol-Ann Rogus, APSA
Public Relations Vice President

COPYRIGHT 2003 Photographic Society of America, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group