davidb wrote:No, Croydon didn't enter; nor did some of our local clubs!
We are close to the Surrey county border, so some local clubs such as West Wickham and Beckenham are ineligible as they are members of the Kent County Photographic Association.
There are 47 clubs in SPA and only 18, less than half, were involved in the open competition with even fewer in the Nature contest. There are doubtless a number of reasons for that. For example, it takes time and effort to collate and choose images, and someone from the club has to be present on the day. in respect of the former, our club's use of PhotoEntry for print competitions as well as DPI will help as going forward there will be a better record of members' work.
I know we have entered in the past, but at present we do not seem to be that engaged with SPA and maybe the same applies to other clubs in the county? There are indications that the organisation is becoming more active than it has been recently, such as holding the recent FotoFest in Croydon, so maybe it will be reaching out more in the future? Maybe it is just my perception, but there does not seem to have been much publicity about either the club or individual competitions which SPA holds annually.
Is there an interest in the club and individuals participating in the SPA competitions? At present, most efforts seem to relate to participation in the biennial exhibition. On that note, there is not long to go before SPA will be inviting entries for the next exhibition in 2018.