The fifth competition of the year is always for set subjects; this year the topics being ‘Low Key’ for prints and ‘High Key’ for PDIs. It took place on 18 April 2024 and was judged by Bob Webzell. A larger-than-life character, Bob is not only a very experienced photographer but also a past president of Brighton & Hove Camera Club, an A-list photographic judge and, surprisingly, an Honorary Maasai Elder, which he describes as the greatest honour of his life. He started the evening by explaining his interpretation of high and low-key photography and jokingly thanked us for giving him the opportunity to make so many enemies!
Bob chose his favourite images and then a number of Highly Commended and Commended images. He was particularly impressed by the variety and quality of the entries.
Judge’s favourite images of the evening:
The judge’s favourites were:
- Prints: “Rastafarian Posing” by David Seddon – which Bob described as a very pleasing and strong image, very close to what he was expecting to see as ‘Low Key’!
- PDI: “Luminescent Orchid” by Nigel Cherry – a strong high-key image – the centre shouts at you yet the rest is dreamy, soft focus and pastel.
A further 3 prints were Highly Commended and 4 Commended and 3 PDIs were Highly Commended were 5 Commended.
Printed Images:
- Highly Commended: “Monochrome Rose” by Dean Sephton – a beautifully crafted low-key image of a rose, exactly what was expected in a low-key image.
- Highly Commended: “Waterfall” by Liz Barber - a very natural image showing the full dynamic range, white highlights to black shadows.
- Highly Commended: “Dried” by Martin Tomes – a dried flower with delightful colours and textures, despite initially being mistaken for a “dirty pair of trousers and a huge phallus!”
- Commended: “Lone walker” by Alex Swyer – an almost ghostly atmospheric image of a walker passing trees in mist.
- Commended: “New Present” again by Alex Swyer – a very interesting image of a boy holding a ‘plasma ball’ with lovely colours and very well printed.
- Commended: “London” by David Seddon – a very interesting image of the ‘Gherkin’ with interesting tonality.
- Commended: “How far to go” by Martin Tomes – an interesting, dark image of a sign ‘under the arches’.
In total there were 20 prints, too many to comment on all in detail but the judge was complimentary about all of them.
Projected Images (PDIs)
- Highly Commended: “Really White Stuff” by Chris West – a nice image of white kitchen ware, including a bottle of gin!
- Highly Commended: “Just Chillin” by David Seddon – a high-key image of a monkey with lots of interesting detail in the face.
- Highly Commended: “The Pier” by Janet Brown – a good composition, with lots of space and light leading the eye to the subject – a seat.
- Commended: “Dreaming in pink” by Nigel Cherry – an interesting delicate image of a pink flower.
- Commended: “A Spoonful of Magnolia” by Janet Brown – a delicate image of a Magnolia flower sat in a spoon with a nice reflection.
- Commended: “Riding in the wet” by George Reekie – a very creative image with lots of shapes in the surrounding white foreground.
- Commended: “Beach Walk for Two” by Dean Sephton – lots of detail in the foreground and with a couple silhouetted in the background.
- Commended: “Spring light” by Daisy Kane – an interesting composition with teasel in the foreground and a small tree in the background.
In total there were 27 projected images; too many to describe them all in detail. The judge was complimentary about all of them and mentioned the large variety of genres and styles.
With the judge’s tasks completed, Janet Brown gave a vote of thanks, bringing an enjoyable evening to a conclusion.