RULES GOVERNING THE NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS' PORTFOLIO
1. The organisation shall be known as the Nature Photographers' Portfolio (NPP).
2. The purpose of the NPP is to provide an opportunity for members to exchange information and improve their photographic technique principally through the medium of portfolios of prints and images on-line.
3. Members shall be Natural History photographers who are committed to acting in a responsible way towards their photographic subjects, in conformity with such Codes of Practice as may be in force, and within the Law.
Any member proved to be in breach of the Law relating to Natural History or Wildlife shall immediately cease to be a member.
4. The NPP shall operate under the guidance of a Council, which will be chaired by the President and consist of the President elect, the General Secretary, who shall be responsible for the overall administration and the Finances and the two Folio Secretaries.
Some duties may be combined. Council may co-opt an additional member should it be desirable or necessary and will nominate the President Elect who will become President at the next Bi-ennial General Meeting. He/she will hold the office for 2 years and cannot be re-appointed.
Other Council members shall be elected for 2 years and be eligible for re-election. The President to have a casting vote. Council will normally conduct business by email, but will meet formally prior to the Biennial General Meeting.
5. A biennial Convention shall be held, during which there will be a General Meeting. Nominations for Officers should be submitted to the General Secretary six weeks prior to the Convention, such nominations to be in writing, proposed and seconded, and with the nominees consent.
6. The financial year shall commence on the 1st September. A subscription to cover administration costs shall be due on that date annually. A bank account in the name of the NPP shall be held at a bank or building society approved by the Council.
Cheques drawn on the general account shall require one signature only. The General Secretary and the Print Folio Secretary shall be the appointed signatories. Should these Offices be combined, Council may appoint the second signatory. Funds for specific purposes shall be placed in a deposit or investment account.
7. The active membership of the NPP shall be limited to sixty two.[62]. The total number participating in the online folio shall be forty eight [48]. If necessary, waiting lists may be created for this folio, existing members taking precedence over new comers. Acceptance of new members and the functioning of the portfolios is at the discretion of the Officers. Members failing to conform with the procedures instituted by the Officers for the efficient circulation of the portfolios may be removed from the list of members if three such breaches of procedure occur. Members who do not actively participate in a portfolio over a period of several months will be asked to explain their inactivity. If they continue to be inactive without good reason, their membership of the folio will be withdrawn. Members must be active in at least one folio; if not they will be asked to resign their membership of the NPP. They may however, if inactive through age or infirmity, request that they be accorded the status of Member Emeritus, subject to approval by Council. Such members would be eligible to attend Conventions, receive portfolios and comment on entries. Such members would be in addition to the ceiling membership of sixty two.
8. Entries to the portfolios, or any images shown with an NPP accreditation, should convey the essential truth of what the photographer saw at the time it was taken. In presenting images members must declare any non-routine manipulation in an informative way: no attempt should be made to deceive.
9. The privilege of Honorary Membership shall be accorded after 40 years of membership.
G. White, General Secretary. Revision 6: October 2017.