General Notes from the Secretary
Not a lot of comments from me this month. It was good to see Eric Keevey back in the saddle again with his presence at the last meeting, and Dennis Mace. We have missed their regular presence since the start of the year. We did superbly well at the Regnum Print Competition with about a fifth of the membership enjoyed by Chichester who were joint winners with us. With only 22 members signed up this year we must keep trying to improve our skills until the next time, and then perhaps we can become the outright winners. All of us should try to get a few more people to join to boost the choices available when we enter the inter club competitions. A super start to our photographic year.
Slide Competition
The Judge, Roger Tapner, gave a measured and constructive assessment of the slides and for once there were few complaints from members. The set subject “Water” was followed to a variable degree but even those slides with the most tenuous link to water were treated kindly by the judge and not rejected out of hand as happens in competitions elsewhere.
Martin had a great success with two 20’s and a 19, including the “Best Slide” (Honfleur). Derek scored 20 & 18 & Jean a 19, John & Rolf got 18’s. The result of this round means that no one now has a commanding lead which makes the future more exciting. This round had a special interest for me as neither the judge nor most of the members knew that one member had entered 3 slides which had been shot originally on a digital camera and the quite small files then “written” on to film. These slides were of fine quality and achieved high marks. Most slide competitions have had falling entries in recent years due to the general move to digital and producing slides this way could be their salvation – at least until reasonably priced digital projectors can match the performance of film projectors.
I have to report that the Sussex Photographic Federation’s Slide competition on 20 November was a total shambles for the Club – due in considerable measure to the organising club’s incompetence. We had to find slides for our entry at little more than 24 hours notice so we could only draw on those few members that could be quickly contacted. The judge made some quite puzzling assessments and also seemed to be biased towards monochrome. However no excuses – the result was that we came equal last (with Horsham), out of 17 clubs. In this competition there is a trophy awarded for the most improved club; at least we are now in pole position for this next year. The one bright aspect of the afternoon was that two SCC members won prizes in the raffle!
Ian MacWhirter
Print Competition
The set subject competitions always produce a wide variety of interpretations, some offerings requiring some mind bending to allow them to qualify the criteria. The prints were largely OK, but some of the slides were questionable in my humble opinion.
Our star photographer and printer had all his entries on the board for the final placings getting two 20s and a 19. Very well done Ian. Ian MacWhirter’s ‘Waterfall’ was the overall winner, but his ‘Skogarfoss, Iceland’ also got 20 and his ‘Melting Pack Ice’ got 19. Brilliant!
My ‘Dogs enjoying Water’ picked up 20, and we had a second 19 with Martin Tomes ‘Azay-le-Rideu’.
Then we had just two 18s, ‘Splash of Light’ by Martin Tomes, and ‘Still Waters’ by Peter Picthall. Very well done to all the winners.
Ian now shoots into the lead in the overall running total and will be very hard to beat.
The judge, Roger Tapner LRPS, said how much he enjoys coming to Storrington, and we enjoy having him. Report on the Regnum Print competition
Nine members of the club came to Henfield Village Hall to cheer on our entry, and towards the end, we were all cheering.
The judge was Mr. ‘hyperactive’ Bob Webzell ARPS the ex chairman of Brighton CC. He did not stand in one spot for more than 10 seconds whilst judging, but he kept us amused with comical quips, and we more often than not agreed with what he said. He clearly did not like anything done with one of Photoshop’s filters such as’ posterisation’ for example.
Our first picture got a modest mark as did most of the others in that round. However, in rounds 2,3,4, and 5, Storrington got nothing but 19’s and 20’s and we were 6 points ahead of everyone at the end of round 5. Sadly, the judge did not share our enthusiasm for our last print, and Chichester pulled level with us.
So, we were joint FIRST with Chichester. Think about it, they have about 100 members and we have just about 10 print workers. What a feather in our cap.
We owe the result to Martin Tomes, Ian MacWhirter and Jean MacWhirter who got all the high, marks. The selection committee of Alf Taylor, Martin Tomes, Peter Picthall and with a few inputs from me, made a choice from all the pictures that everyone kindly let me have for all the exhibitions and I think that the whole panel was very good. Anyway, here are all the scores:
Round 1 ‘Eye on the Ball’ by Peter Picthall 15 Round 2 ‘Terns in Surf’ by Jean MacWhirter 19 Round 3 ‘Adur Valley Sunrise’ by Martin Tomes 19 Round 4 ‘Black-browed Albatross’ by Ian MacWhirter 20 Round 5 ‘Spitfire’ by Martin Tomes 20 Round 6 ‘About to be picked’ by Alf Taylor 14We were congratulated by lots of our friends from other clubs, including several judges. Some, like Cliff Carter, thought that it was really great that such a small club did so well.
My thanks are due to everyone for lending me their pictures, to the supporters on the night and particularly to the selection committee. Very well done everyone
Derek Grieve