About the PAGB
The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) is a membership organisation that co-ordinates activities for photographic Clubs in England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland (including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man). It does this in collaboration with 15 geographical Federations.
The PAGB websiteThe PAGB has strong links with similar organisations. In the UK, it has cross-representation with the Royal Photographic Society. It liaises throughout the world via its membership of FIAP (The International Federation of Photographic Art).
The PAGB is run by an Executive Committee whose members are elected at the Annual General Meeting each April. This Executive meets three times per year to discuss and arrange the events and other matters related to the PAGB.
Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) EventsCOMPETITIONS: The Inter-Federation Competition is held each June. Federations submit entries from the members of their affiliated Clubs in four Categories – Monochrome Prints, Colour Prints, Nature Prints and Open Projected. Trophies are awarded to the winning Federations. PAGB medals and ribbons are awarded to individual images in each Category.
EXHIBITIONS: The Print Exhibition is selected from the print categories, and is shown in various Locations between July and January. The Projected Exhibition is selected separately. A version of each Exhibition is available via the Recorded Lecture Service.
The Awards are open to all members of clubs affiliated to the PAGB through their Federations, they are at three levels:
Credit (CPAGB)
The standard is that of ‘Good Club Photography’.
Distinction (DPAGB)
The standard is that of ‘Open Exhibition Photography’.
Master (MPAGB)
The standard is that of ‘The Highest Standard of Amateur Photography’. Images likely to be accepted and win Awards in International Exhibitions.
The Awards are normally held for life without any annual fee and holders are entitled to use the designated letters after their name.
Applicants must qualify in accordance with their Federation’s procedure as an active member of an affiliated Club. This support must have been given for a minimum of 2 years for CPAGB, 3 years for DPAGB and 5 years for MPAGB from current active photographers. A retrospective period of 10 years may be considered. Applicants for MPAGB must have held DPAGB for at least 11 months on date of application.
Adjudications are normally be held in April and November of each year and you are advised to apply well in advance. Entries will not be presented as panels but will be mixed and scored as individual images by 6 judges selected from the PAGB. Adjudications are hosted by each Federation in turn see the PAGB website for adjudication diary.
Audio Visual Applicants may apply either singly or jointly for an Award in AV Adjudications will be held as and when it is deemed appropriate and provided there is sufficient demand. The fee structure is the same as stated below for each level of Award. Please see the separate leaflet dealing specifically with Audio Visual applications.
Applicants must apply first to their Federation for confirmation of their eligibility. The procedures are available from each Federation.
Your Federation will then provide an authenticated PAGB application form, which is sent, with the fee, to the PAGB Awards Secretary.
For more information see the PAGB website or download the information pack found on PAGB Distinction page or contact Federation PAGB Distinctions Secretary.
These are competitions for clubs/societies representing their Federations. Each Federation has a different method of selecting their representatives, the MCPF has it’s own Print/PDI Championships to determine this.
Each Federation chooses two clubs plus those clubs that have pre-qualified by finishing in the top eight the previous year.
To see more about how the MCPF chooses their representatives go to MCPF Print & PDI Championship page.
This is an inter-club competition for Projected Images (PDI). Every club affiliated to a member Federation is encouraged to enter. There is an Open GB Cup, a separate GB Cup for smaller clubs and a GB Cup Nature.
You can now download shows of the top scoring images from each of the GB Cups from the PAGB website. Look for the Recorded lecture page.
The PAGB Masters of Print Competition is held each year, followed by a public Exhibition. Individual Photographers who are members of affiliated Clubs may enter directly. Clubs may enter the work of multiple Photographers. Prints may be entered to any combination of the Monochrome, Colour and Nature Categories, and awards are made to individual prints and to one or more Clubs. Prints are then selected for the Exhibition.
These are issued via email as and when something is note worthy. You can subscribe to them directly through the PAGB website. It contains lots of information about PAGB events, and PAGB news. Click on the link to get to the subscription page of the PAGB News. It’s FREE
To gain access to the PAGB News Archives go to:
The PAGB Recorded Lecture Service acquires a library of lectures which may be accessed by Affiliated Member Clubs. The Service Secretary is always interested to commission additional material for the Service.
See the PAGB website for more details