Fourth Competition of the year, 2020 -2021

Sweet Peas by Kristina Byng

Our 4th competition took place on 22 April and was judged by Rob White; best known for his underwater photography but with wide experience of other genres. The competition took place over zoom and included both prints, previously forwarded to Rob, and projected images (PDIs).  As well as a score, he gave well considered comments on each image, together with useful hints for improvement. Rob was impressed by the standard of photography, as shown by the high scores.

Best images of the evening

The best PDI of the evening was “Twas a dark and stormy night ….!” by Nigel Cherry, a striking image of a man peering through a window on a stormy night, which the judge described as having an immediate and strong impact, “I wouldn’t want to meet him on a dark night”.  

The best print of the evening was “Sweet peas” by Kristina Byng – a lovely and delicate image of sweet peas made especially beautiful by printing on matt paper, giving the appearance of a painting. A lovely composition, with instant impact.

… both were worthy winners!

Results in more detail

Projected Images (PDIs)

Twas a dark & stormy night ....! by Nigel Cherry
Twas a dark & stormy night ....! by Nigel Cherry

In total there were 18 projected images, of which 4 scored the full 20 points, 2 scored 19 points and 4 scored 18 points, illustrating the high standard.

The four images scoring 20 were:

  • “Twas a dark and stormy night …!” by Nigel Cherry, already described as the best PDI of the evening.
  • “Photographer on the edge”, a B&W image showing a photographer taking an photo of a lovely architectural scene, which really appealed to the judge.
  • “The Merry Dancers” by Janet Brown, a charming image of the Aurora Borealis. The judge praised the skill required and said, if it was his, he would put it on his wall – the ultimate compliment!
  • “Olympic Champion in Action” again by Janet Brown, a perfectly crafted, high impact, bright image of an Olympic canoeist full of action.

The two images scoring 19 were: “Broken fence” by David Seddon, a charming B&W beach scene cleverly processed  and “Heading over the ridge” by Dean Sephton a clever wildlife shot of deer going over the brow of a hill.

The four images scoring 18 were: “Reflection in the buffet car (Bluebell railway)” - a very clever and well spotted railway scene, “Walkers” by Daisy Kane – a lovely woodland scene with plenty of mood, “Slider turtles – Costa Rica” by Chris West – an interesting view showing the courting behaviour of two turtles and “Gull’s snack of the day!” by Anne Nagle – a well captured view of a gull having caught an insect.

The remaining projected images were also complimented but are too numerous to mention individually.

Printed Images

In total there were 22 prints. The judge was impressed by the high standard of printing, which reflected in the number of high scores. Out of a total of 22 prints, 6 scored the full 20 points, 4 scored 19 points and 5 scored 18 points.

The 6 prints scoring 20 points were:

  • “Sweet peas” by Kristina Byng – a lovely composition and best print of the evening, already described.
  • “Illumination Revelation” by Chris West – a very clever image evoking the sense of being in an Egyptian tomb! “The whole environment contributes to the image” said the judge.
  • “Autumn’s Acer” by Janet Brown – a very unusual image which “at first glance looks like a painting” and which the judge liked very much.
  • “A visit from Management” by Chris West – a well-crafted B&W image showing a railway scene with strong interaction between the participants.
  • “The Aubergine!” by Janet Brown – of which the judge said “The more I look at this the more I am drawn to it. The mono presentation shows the textures well. Everything in the image contributes.”  
  • “Winter Morning River Arun” by Daisy Kane – another which could be mistaken as a painting and which the judge said he would gladly have it on his wall; the ultimate compliment.

The 4 prints scoring 19 marks were:

  • “Tithe barn – Bradford on Avon” by Dean Sephton, a lovely B&W image with light from one side.
  • “Flighty feathers” by Kevin Harwood, a stunning image of a bird in flight, a difficult shot to get.
  • “Seat swirl” by Martin Tombs, a well spotted and artistic view of a metal park bench.
  • “Romantic meal for two” by Nigel Cherry showing a night time image of two Hedgehogs in the garden.

Those scoring 18 marks were: “G & T” by Dean Sephton - a very nice study of glass of gin and tonic with gin bottles alongside, “Winter Symmetry” by Kevin Harwood - a very artistic beach view with a stunning sky, “Last days of summer” by Bill Butland - a lovely B&W study of a viaduct – a very good composition, “Desert elephants” by Anne Nagle - a nice view of a mother elephant and calf in the wild and “Still life in stone” by Norman Kilby - nicely composed artistic view of large colourful stones.

The other prints were also complimented but are too numerous to describe individually.

The judge’s comments on all images, both prints and PDIs, may be viewed in the attached files and the images themselves may be viewed by following the links at the head of this report!

Following a very enjoyable evening, Martin Tomes brought the event to a conclusion with a vote of thanks to David, whose careful judging and useful suggestions gave a very interesting evening!

File Attachment
Submitted by Nigel Cherry on