In an effort to re-vitalise the annual Photographic Exhibition, the Bermuda Society of Arts is hoping to entice the Island's professional photographers back into the fold.

To this end, one of America's top photographers has been invited to critique the professional section and to act as juror for the amateur division of this year's show.

National Geographic photographer Sam Abell has accepted an invitation to visit Bermuda for the exhibition which opens on Friday, January 17.

A slide show of his work will also be staged at the Bermuda National Gallery.

Leading Bermudian photographer DeForest (Shorty) Trimingham says that, feeling disappointed by the lack of support for the show last year, he was anxious to revive interest. It was his idea, on behalf of the Society, to invite his friend, Mr. Abell, to come to Bermuda.

"He is one of the finest photographers of this age in his particular field of photography,'' enthuses Mr. Trimingham who was, himself, recently awarded a show at the prestigious Leica Gallery in New York. "I thought it would be very stimulating for everyone -- photographers and art lovers in general -- to have someone of his calibre to come and critique as well as give us a slide show of his work. He is also a wonderful lecturer and a very nice man! I would like to stress,'' adds Mr. Trimingham, "that this will provide a showcase, a totally non-competitive exposure for the pros. We have some professional photographers on this Island who are extremely talented and we would like them to become involved in the Society once again.'' Mr. Trimingham notes that present-day technology is opening up exciting new aspects for the serious photographer, such as "Combining the visual art of photography with other related media -- such as paintings or prints, and maybe changing colours or deleting things as a means to an artistic end rather than as an end in itself. I don't like to see people using eye-catching procedures just for the sake of it. As photographers, we should be able to previsualise: if we don't know what we are trying to say in photographic terms, there is not much point in doing it!'' Society of Arts president Elmer Midgett says the Society fully supports the idea of bringing in eminently qualified and impartial jurors -- a move adopted for the past couple of years for regular Members' Shows. "At the same time, we are eliminating the judgmental aspect, with prizes in each category being abandoned. This will bring the Photographic Show in line with other Society shows. After all,'' he adds with a laugh, "we don't award prizes for `the best painting of a pink cottage' or `the best beach painting'! We hope very much that the professional photographers will display their work this year as I think people need to be reminded of the degree of professionalism that exists here. And under no circumstances, should our professional photographers have to submit to jurying by unqualified people.'' Sam Abell, who learned the art of photography from his father at their home in Ohio, has worked with the National Geographic Society since 1970, having illustrated over 20 articles on various cultural and wilderness subjects. In 1990 Eastman Kodak and Thomasson-Grant published a retrospective monograph of his work entitled `Stay This Moment', with a companion exhibit held at the International Centre of Photography in New York.

Mr. Abell, who has lectured and exhibited his photographs to audiences all over the world, has published five other books in the past five years, three on the American Civil War, one on the American West and another on gardens of the world.

In the autobiographical essay that accompanies `Stay This Moment', he writes that "spiritually driven work constitutes the core of photography's contribution to culture.'' He is inevitably drawn, he says, "to that which in life is enduring, be it a landscape, a culture, or an idea. I have found surprisingly little that endures. This has given my search a sort of sadness as well as a solemn beauty, and it is this elegiac quality that ultimately unites my images across the assignments and the years.'' "Having Sam here,'' says Mr. Trimingham, "should be a rare treat for Bermuda and I should think that professionals will jump at the chance to have their work critiqued by someone of his stature. I think his visit here will excite a great many people. Bermuda's photographers, as a whole, need to be encouraged and to have their vision expanded.'' Photographers are invited to submit works in the categories of:- Portrait; Landscape; Fine Art; Underwater; Journalism; Colour; Black and White; Mixed Media.

The exhibition is open to Professionals, Amateurs and Students/Juniors and entries are limited to four per person. Entry forms may be obtained from the Society of Arts Gallery in City Hall. The Gallery will be closed between January 21 through January 3 but forms will be left outside the Gallery for collection. Submission dates are January 7, 8 and 9 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

For further details, please telephone the Bermuda Society of Arts at 292-3824.

SAM'S VIEW -- One of the many National Geographic covers shot by staff photographer Sam Abell. This picture is part of his June 1996 portfolio on Australia's Cape York Peninsula and shows an Aboriginal teenager taking a swim in a billabong (water hole). (See story on Page 50) COVER STORY -- Round Pond, Allagash River, Maine, is shown on the cover of Sam Abell's 1990 book.