The final meeting of the season began with a prizegiving. Most winners had been announced previously but the award of the Pictall Cup for an outstanding contribution to the club is announced at this time and Janet Brown ARPS was this year's winner. Janet concluded many years on the club committee including time as treasurer and chairman and can always be found helping out at club events. A true stalwart of the club and an example to all.
The 6th and final competition of the photographic year took place on 15 May and was for the judge to make his selection of the best images from the previous five competitions; that is, choosing the ‘Best of Year’. Our judge was Andrew Mills who has spent many years as a professional photographer and also as a university lecturer in photography.
The fifth competition of the year took place on 17 April and was a set subject competition. For prints the set subject was Macro/Closeup and for projected images it was Urban/City. The judge was Darren Pullman; a very experienced, distinguished (and quite witty) judge from Carshalton Camera Club. Darren started off by telling us that he would be looking for images which fitted the set subjects well.
The fourth competition of the year took place on 6 March; the images being on any subject. The judge was Paul O’Toole of Littlehampton Camera Club and well known to Storrington Camera Club. Known for his sense of humour, as well as his extensive knowledge of photography, Paul kept us entertained whilst reviewing our photographs.
Paul 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. He gave us many expert tips during the course of the evening.
Intent on travelling in retirement Mike Cullis, an award winning photographer, sought advice on the one place to visit. It appears that the Falkland Islands was this place. It offered a different experience, was a special place and presented the opportunity to create an audio/visual presentation where the accompanying music would reflect the character of the wildlife portrayed. Just getting there was a challenge. The RAF flight from Brize Norton was not the most salubrious of travel experiences. Guest accommodation on the islands was limited and resources, including water, were scarce.
Peter Merry, a photographer from Guildford retired during the pandemic and, when he was able to travel embarked with his wife on a journey around Europe on an inter-rail pass for 30 days visiting 10 countries and 13 cities. As a consequence we could have been treated/subjected to an evening of holiday snaps, but Peter was into projects and determined on an objective to take 20 photographs that would stand the test of time and remain meaningful for many years. The route was planned with the Inter-Rail app.
The third competition of the year took place on 23rd January. The judge was Paul Graber ARPS, a former chairman of Guildford Photographic Society. Paul was making a return visit, having judged for us before.
Paul 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. He gave us many expert tips as he went through our images.
Judge’s favourite images of the evening
The judge’s favourites were:
Wildlife photography can be demanding enough at the best of times but doing it with flash is a task that is not for the faint hearted. Wendy Ball, a local photographer from Steyning Camera Club explained its fascination and the journey she took to master its techniques and trials. She began a few years ago with no experience and little understanding and sought assistance from others to begin to learn the requirements and techniques.
Richard Sharman ARPS finds joy in nature by studying and photographing its behaviour and actions. He does not totally eschew the portrait, but whilst illustrating the photographic beauty of some images he pointed out the absence of action. He contrasted a sedge warbler clinging to a reed with a pair of kingfishers sitting on a bank exchanging a fish. He watched for five minutes whilst the male tantalised the female with a fish until he finally surrendered it.
The second competition of the year took place on 28th November. The judge was Ken Scott, known to all for training judges and being president of Steyning Camera Club. Ken is very keen for photographers to demonstrate Expressive Quality in their images – something he would be looking for as he reviewed our images.
Ken 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:
