The last competition of the year is always the ‘best of the year’ when everyone submits what they consider their best entries from the season’s competitions for the judge to give his or her opinion of the ‘best of the best’.
Our judge for the competition was Caroline Preece; her second visit to the club this year. Consistent with the talk she gave earlier in the year “Tools not Rules” Caroline always encourages alternative approaches and explained that she hoped everyone would take something useful from her comments.
Caroline chose her favourite images and then a number of Highly Commended and Commended images. She was particularly impressed by the variety and quality of the entries.
Judge’s favourite images - ‘The Best of Year’:
The judge’s favourites were:
- Prints: “Fruit of a new beginning after Malevich” by Norman Kirby – which Caroline described as a fine example of abstract art, with lots of thought having gone into it. The black square grounds the image, whilst the red object on the diagonal adds a dynamic.
- PDI: “A cloudy sunset” by Dean Sephton – an image with lots of atmosphere at many levels; we all see something different! The bright area near the centre captures the eye and works well.
A further 5 prints were Highly Commended and 2 Commended and 3 PDIs were Highly Commended were 3 Commended.
Printed Images:
- Highly Commended: “Rastafarian Posing” by David Seddon – which Caroline felt shows a good connection with the viewer and radiates character and warmth.
- Highly Commended “Summer Colours” by Daisy Kane – with an abundance of colours and textures and a large central flower to ground the viewer in the image.
- Highly Commended: “Phantom Cappucino Divebomber” by Kristina Byng – with layers of interest and the aircraft evident amongst the ‘clouds’.
- Highly Commended: “Early Morning Sunrise in North Cornwall” by Liz Barber – a lovely image, sweeping in from the side but leaving the viewer to use his or her imagination.
- Highly Commended: “Green Iguana” by Ruth Rusby – an image which makes the viewer smile and has warm tones giving the Iguana real personality.
- Commended: “Just another day in Tuscany” by Chris West – a wonderfully interesting landscape with very calming tones.
- Commended: “Beach Reflections” by Martin Tomes – an intriguing image of a beach with a person talking a stroll, with hills in the misty background.
In total there were 20 prints, too many to comment on all in detail here but the judge was complimentary about all of them.
Projected Images (PDIs)
- Highly Commended: “Shell-shocked” by George Reekie – an image of an American soldier powerfully conveying a sense of emptiness and desperation.
- Highly Commended: “Pink Perfection” by Alex Swyer – a delicate image of a pink flower conveying a feeling of gentleness and calm.
- Commended: “Autumn Reds” by Daisy Kane – an impressionistic image of a wood, rich in greens and reds.
- Commended: “I said pull a FUNNY face!” by Nigel Cherry – an image of a boy who leaps out of the page at the viewer whilst creating a smile on your face.
- Commended: “On the nose” by Ruth Rusby – a lovely animal photo with a compelling story which makes the viewer look.
In total there were 26 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, Chris West congratulated the winners and gave a vote of thanks, bringing an enjoyable evening to a conclusion.