So, you're ready to send your pictures, print or electronic, to a salon/exhibition to be judged. How do you go about finding and choosing the right one(s)? Since most of the members of West Cumbria Photo Group (WCPG) tend to focus on PSA and FIAP salons, that is what I will concentrate on here.

It is important to be methodical, and thorough when checking for salons, as the opportunity to make mistakes is huge.

There are 3 methods to find PSA salons. The first and most reliable is to use the PSA Journal, which you should receive in the post each month if you are a paid up member of the PSA. At the back of the magazine, you will find a section simply called "Exhibitions". The listings are broken down by section, and then by closing date. It is vital that you look under EVERY section in order to know exactly which sections are available for any given salon.

So, as an example, let's use our very own Great British Small Print Circuit (GBSPC). We know it closes on the 5th February 2010, and it has 4 sections - Color print, Mono print, Nature print, and Photo Travel print. All are small print.

Looking in the magazine under the Exhibition listings, the first section is 'Color Projected Image' (CPI). Go down the closing dates until you reach 5th February, and the GBSPC is NOT listed there. No surprise as we are not doing CPI. The same applies to 'Electronic Imaging' (EID).

Now look under Nature. When you get to 5th February, you will see an entry for Great British Small Print Circuit, and a little information about it, including contact and website details. This indicates we have a Nature section. The same applies when looking under Photo Travel. However, under the Pictorial Print section, there are 2 sub-sections. Generally, salons are to be found under the first section which has no heading. The GBSPC is a "Small Print" circuit, so you need to look for the Small Print sub-section, where again, we are listed under our closing date of 5th February. Since there is a website address, you should follow the link, where you will find full details and entry forms.

The second and newest method, is to use the online version of the PSA Journal. You will need to have a PSA membership, and use your log-in details to access it. Once you are in the correct place, the procedure is exactly the same as for the paper version of the journal.

The third method is to access the PSA Exhibition listings website, click on Exhibitions, and once again the method is the same as in the journal.

For FIAP, there are 2 methods to find salons. The first is to go to a website run by Willy Suys. Salons here are listed by closing date.

In the image above, you can see the start of the entry for February, with the GBSPC highlighted. The numbers at the left hand side are the FIAP listing numbers and are of the utmost importance should you decide to apply for your AFIAP/EFIAP at a later date. There is much information in the accompanying table, and again, a link for the contact and website. Follow the website for full details and entry form.

The second method for finding FIAP salons is to go an alternative website from FIAP themselves which lists links for entry forms directly. The ones at the bottom highlghted in yellow are still available. All others have passed their closing dates. This method is not as reliable as the first method, as not all salon organizers inform this site of their existence.

Graeme Webb
Dec 2009