The BPPA and Pool C

Following the first round of matches after the resumption of English football, The British Press Photographers Association are delighted with the working relationship that they have created following the Premier League’s launch of Operation Restart.


The BPPA board have been instrumental in securing positions for the smaller agencies and freelancers across the UK proportionate to access given to the newswires and publication positions.


Before we undertook the project there was no Pool C – which meant no access for those outside of the national and international agencies and newspapers.


The goal we set out in gaining positions was achieved and in continuance with fairness for all and to be representative of the whole industry. Members took a vote on a random draw system with the majority voting in favour of the draw.


The board undertook a huge juggling act adhering to the Premier League and individual club requests, whilst supporting sports photographers at their time of need during a global pandemic which brought much of our industry to its knees.

New relationships have been forged as a result of this process and The BPPA are now in constant communication with the Premier League, Data Co Ltd, the English Football League as well as press officers at the majority of the member clubs.

This is a positive step forward for our association. We welcome the new relationships that we have formed as a result of our involvement with Operation Restart with the clubs and league now approaching and involving us is a huge leap forward for The BPPA.

This temporary ‘working solution’, albeit not ideal for everyone, is as fair as it can be and ensures that the match access opportunities for the smaller agencies are distributed on an rota basis. We have worked hard with the individual clubs to find a common ground which means that access is offered to all license holders.

The BPPA are happy to continue operating this draw system on behalf of photographers and the individual clubs and we would ask that all Data Co Ltd licence holders applying for games respect the process in place.
Positive feedback from club press officers has been very encouraging for The BPPA and we request that anyone who has any concerns with the accreditation process speak to us directly rather than the clubs as they have been inundated with calls from photographers.

Covid-19 has placed a massive amount of pressure on everyone in the industry and we are happy to work with you all to make as positive an outcome as possible for everyone in our industry.


The BPPA is an organisation that prides itself on ethics, professionalism and camaraderie for every one of our colleagues.

To see the latest news about the EPL Draws please visit the Facebook Page that we have set up to keep those interested in touch.

Important notice for members of The BPPA

Whilst the world is experiencing turbulent times due to the Covid 19 pandemic The BPPA will try to offer as much support and advice to our members as we can.

At a specially convened Board Meeting there was a unanimous vote to offer all members the option of taking a payment holiday from their membership subscriptions for an initial period of three months.

We don’t want anyone to think that they have to give up their membership of the association just because their work has dried up and their income has been drastically reduced.

If you are experiencing, or are about to experience, any financial hardship because of the pandemic then please email [email protected] and we will suspend your payments whilst leaving your membership status as “paid” so that you can still make use of any and all membership benefits.

Best wishes
The BPPA Board

Sally Soames 1937-2019

Sally Soames and fellow members of The Press Photographers Association (which became The BPPA) at their first London exhibition at The Barbican. Photo ©Brian Harris.

Sally Soames who worked as a photographer for The Sunday Times for more than three decades died aged 82 at her home in north London on the 5th of October 2019.

Sally, like many of her generation had no formal training as a photographer, starting out by winning a photography competition run by a London evening paper. She was noticed by the Observer where she contributed work during the 1960’s before being taken onto the Sunday Times before the decade was out. She stayed on her beloved paper for more than 32 years working for esteemed editor Harry Evans and design maestro Edwin Taylor, reluctantly retiring due to problems with her knees and as black and white analogue film photography gave way to colour and subsequently digital image making.

Sally told me in the early 90’s that she was scouring London and buying up all the Nikon FM2 film cameras that she could find once she had been told that her favourite camera wasn’t going to be made anymore. I don’t think Sally and modern digital technology would have got on together, so a good time to call it a day.

Sally was a pure image maker, the eyes were everything, get the eyes sharp and you will have your reader, she said to me once. She would talk her subject into submission if he or she proved to be reluctant to have their photograph taken. She charmed and cajoled, often writing to her subject in advance of the photography session as well as reading their work if an author, or watching their films or plays if an actor. She saw herself and her work as the equal of the writer and the written word when covering an interview, not for Sally the three minute photo-op session dictated by a hovering PR, which is now seen to be the norm, Sally demanded and got as much time as she needed to produce her work.

Although Sally did specialise in portrait work for the paper, producing some of the most eye catching imagery to grace the pages of any newspaper in the land she was also a dab hand on the political scene. I personally worked alongside her on many occasions, Sally on the ST and myself on The Times at many a political conference during the 70’s through the 80’s. I was always surprised to see her visual summation of the week in her paper, normally a quiet reflective moment caught without fuss, just a fine quality image that would make you think a while.

I also worked alongside Sally in Israel whilst covering a general election in June 1981 featuring Menachem Begin and Moshe Dyan, both of whom she had entré to with one phone call. Her portrait of General Dyan on the Golan Heights ranks, IMHO, as one of her finest images. She introduced me around to those that mattered and arranged passes and some access to this then relative green horn, but that was just so typical of Sally, she would help just about anyone but especially new guys and gals on the block…there is a long line of news photographers working now who all owe Sally a great debt of personal gratitude, myself included.

 She had a heart felt affinity with Israel, being born Jewish (born Winkleman), and when based there during the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab States led by Egypt and Syria in October 1973 she was recalled by Kelvin Brodie her Sunday Times picture editor (and a former top flight news photographer) as it was deemed by the ST management as being too dangerous for Sally to stay after the death of ST correspondent Nick Tomalin. The group of Arab commandos who stormed the beach outside her Tel Aviv beach front hotel made the point more emphatically. She returned to Israel a week later to cover the km101 peace talks.

Sally may have been slight of frame and stature but she was strong and a fighter…Sally never ever gave up, she always found a way to achieve what she wanted, with a gushing smile, a hand hold, a squeeze and it must be said a fair bit of feminine schmoozing…Sally really was one of those unique individuals who was a friend to many, a mentor to many more and a bloody good photographer…oh, and a really nice woman. RIP Sally.

Brian Harris © 2019

An open response to a recent social media post about gender in press photography

The BPPA has come in for some criticism from a group called Women Photographers of the UK about what they refer to as the uneven representation of women in the current Assignments 2019 exhibition. You can read their open letter here on Medium. This is a response from Lynne Cameron, Vice Chair of The BPPA.
 
Dear Suzanne, Anna and Susannah
 
We would like to reassure those expressing concerns about the representation of women in our industry that we are very aware of the issues and are currently working on projects to support and help current and future female members of the organisation. We were disappointed that these concerns were not directed to The BPPA in the first instance as we welcome all constructive criticism. It is one of our core values to work transparently with all parties in any matter related to photography.
 
The issue of gender imbalance is a complex one, not just related to photography but to wider society.
 
The association is proactively working to improve such imbalances. As an example The BPPA elected me as Vice Chair and Julie Edwards as our Social Media and Website Editor at last year’s AGM. We are both long-standing professional photographers who have first hand experience of gender related issues within our industry. Julie and I are bringing our experiences, energy and ideas to The Board and welcome further positive constructive comments which could help address this wider topic.
 
In relation to the exhibition (it is not a competition) we would like to reassure those concerned that images were curated by highly regarded members of the profession who were deliberately not given any information about the name or gender of the photographers in order to make the selection process ‘about the images’ as far as is humanly possible.
 
We are extremely proud of Assignments – an exhibition designed to promote and highlight the amazing work that is being produced by our members.
 
The Board of The BPPA welcomes constructive input from anyone who wants to help to promote and inspire great photography. If you have ideas on what more can be done on the issues raised then please get in contact with me or any of the other members of our Board.
 
Lynne Cameron
 
Vice Chair, The BPPA
 
 
 
Statistics:
 
1. The BPPA has 321 paid-up members of whom 40 are women – which is approximately 12.46%.
2. 16 photographers joined or rejoined in order to take part in Assignments 2019 of whom 25% were women.
3. 161 photographers entered photographs for Assignments 2019 of whom 18 were women – 11.2%
4. 1,351 photographs were entered of which 148 were entered by women – 10.95%
5. 110 photographs were selected for exhibition of which 10 were by women – 9.3%

We are pleased to announce the first of the Curators for Assignments

Photo by : Brian Harris
Photo by : Brian Harris

We are pleased to announce the first of the Curators for Assignments – Tom Stoddart!
Now established as one of the worlds most respected photojournalists Tom Stoddart began his photographic career on a local newspaper in his native North-East of England, before moving to London to work for a variety of papers on Fleet Street.
During a long and varied career he has witnessed such international events as the war in Lebanon, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the election of President Nelson Mandela, the bloody siege of Sarajevo and the wars against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
We are thrilled that Tom has agreed to join our panel of curators this year.
If you want to take part you had better hurry – you only have until friday to submit your entry.. Visit the assignments website for details.

Assignments is back – and not just in London!


The exhibition of the best of British press photography returns – and as well as the London show we are taking over the The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke on Trent for a whole month.
The opening night is Tuesday 23 July- and will run until Sunday 25th of August to coincide with summer holiday season.
We are doing things slightly differently this year – full details on the website – but here are the key facts:

  • Entries open on April 1
  • Entries close April 12th
  • Pictures taken between 31st August 2017 and 14th April 2019 are eligible
  • We have increased the maximum number of pictures you can enter to 10 this year
  • There is a £10 registration fee to help us pay for everything
  • There is NO framing fee this year – our friends at Canon and Fixation are very kindly picking up the bill for us!
  • We will be doing the “catalogue” and the “contact sheet” again
  • (every image entered makes the contact sheet – so you can choose your own favourites)
  • Everyone who enters gets a pair of invites to the opening night party!
  • The exhibition is open to BPPA members – but if you have lapsed or haven’t got round to joining you can do so now

Check out the Assignments website for the full rules and details of how to enter: https://assignments.thebppa.com
You haven’t got long – so get hunting through those hard drives now!!