Set Subject Competition

Thicket on Misty Morning by Dean Sephton

The set-subject competition was judged 16 April 2021 with members attending via Zoom. The set-subjects were ‘Narrative’ (they tell a story) for the projected images and ‘Pictorial’ (an attractive picture) for the prints. Both the PDIs and prints were made available to our judge, David Smith, before-hand. David praised the standard of the images and the quality of the prints. He was particularly pleased to be given prints to judge, as most clubs have given-up on them for the duration of the Covid pandemic. As well as a score, he gave very well considered comments on each image, useful hints for improvement and threw in some amusing anecdotes in the process. All made for an interesting and entertaining evening.

Best images of the evening

The best PDI of the evening was “Bad News” by David Seddon; a B&W portrait of a person having just received bad news – a strong narrative conveying real emotion.

The best print of the evening was “Thicket on a misty morning” by Dean Sephton, which the judge described as having almost a 3D effect – you could almost walk into it! Both were worthy winners!

Projected Images (PDIs)

Bad News by David Seddon
Bad News by David Seddon

In total there were 30 Projected Images and of these 2 scored the full 20 points, 4 scored 19 points and 4 scored 18 points.

The two images scoring 20 were “Bad News” by David Seddon, already described as the best PDI of the evening and “Eyes on the Ball” by Kevin Harwood – a very attractive and skilfully captured image of a dog running to catch a ball.  

The two images scoring 19 were “The Hierachy of Hats” by Chris West – a very imaginative image of a locomotive and associated workers; their relative status being clear from their hats and “Alone” by Janet Brown – a lonely person sat in a shelter by the sea, which conveyed a strong sense of sadness and loneliness – a strong narrative.

The four images scoring 18 were:

“On the look out!” by Anne Nagle – a charming image of two Little Owls looking up together.

“After a long day” by Martin Tomes – clearly depicting the tiredness of an actress following a full day’s work.

“Learning to skate on the ice!” by Carole Hazzlerigg – showing gulls on the surface of a frozen lake – skilfully photographed given the white colour of the birds

“Mischief and frustration” by Nigel Cherry - a delightful image showing the reaction of a mother to a child’s mischief; the facial expressions say it all.

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

Printeds

In total there were 22 prints. The judge commented on the high standard of printing in the club before going onto give his scores. 2 prints scored 20 points, 2 scored 19 points and 4 scored 18 points.

The 2 prints scoring 20 points were “Thicket on a Misty Morning” by Dean Sephton, already described as best print of the evening and “Winter Low Tide” by Kevin Harwood, showing a delightful image of a beach with the tide out – the colours are beautiful and the format draws the eye into the frame.

The two images scoring 19 points were “Common Blue in the Meadow” by Janet Brown – a skilfully taken macro image of a butterfly and “Eucalyptus” by Martin Tomes – a captivating image showing complementary colours of eucalyptus leaves against a red background.

The four images scoring 18 points were:

“Little Owl” by Anne Nagle – a lovely image of a Little Owl perfectly captured.

“Shades of Green” by Liz Barber – a very creative image of a flower which draws the eye into the frame.

“Red Deer resting” by Nigel Cherry – an image of a large stag showing its magnificent antlers with a raven sat on its head.

“Pale Beauty” by Liz Barber – a stunning and captivating, image of a flower; the colours drawing the eye into the frame.

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