Our first competition of the 2022-23 season took place on 27 October 2022 and was also our first competition in our ‘new home’ at Thakeham Village Hall. The judge was Malcom Bull, from Steyning Camera Club, who is well known to our members and was welcomed by Sarah Beard. Malcolm did us proud, giving advice as he reviewed our images and adding numerous amusing anecdotes into the process. This all made for a very enjoyable evening.
The club has changed its scoring system; gone is the system of awarding points out of 20. Now the judge is simply required to pick his favourite print and PDI, plus award ‘Highly Commended’ to as many images as he wishes. This system is preferred by most members and was welcomed by our judge.
Judge’s favourite images of the evening
As always at Storrington, the standard was high and the judge’s favourites were:
- Prints: “To the Point” by Janet Brown – a very creative and very different image of a tall building, with lovely colours and shadows around the base.
- PDI: “Hare Portrait” by George Reekie – a very skilful black and white portrait of a hare. The judge congratulated the photographer for managing to get up close.
Highly Commended
A further 10 images were Highly Commended; 5 prints and 5 PDIs.
Printed Images
- “Prairie Dreams” by Janet Brown – another very creative and colourful image, showing pink flowers, dreamy in soft focus.
- “The final piece” by Kevin Harwood – a small bird delivering the final piece of straw to its partner building a nest. Beautifully taken the image told a story.
- “Drizzling at Trebarwith Strand” by Liz Barber – a long exposure image of a misty drizzly coastal view. The judge enjoyed the moodiness and very subtle colours.
- Pink Flower by Liz Barber – a painterly creative botanical study of a pink flower, with lovely textures, carefully blending in with the background.
- “Waterfall, Northumberland” by Martin Tomes - a dramatic image with lots of input from the photographer. The judge particularly enjoyed the subtle tones.
In total there were 26 printed images; too many to describe them all. The judge was complimentary about all entries.
Projected Images (PDIs)
- “Red-eyed Tree Frog” by George Reekie – with striking colours, in an interesting pose, with subtle textures.
- “Drinking Antics” by Kevin Harwood – a comical image of a giraffe drinking with some difficulty and spilling much of the water. The judge particularly liked the nice tones on the water and the good separation between the background and the subject.
- “High Rise Fantasy” by Liz Barber – which the judge described as very interesting and quite creative; looking as if the high-rise buildings were in a flood plain.
- “Solitude” by Martin Tomes – a lovely image of a lone tree against a misty landscape; the colours giving a moody feel to the image.
- “Sulking” by Nigel Cherry - A very accomplished black and white portrait of a sulking child, which very much conveys the character of the child.
In total there were 37 projected images; too many to describe them all. The judge was complimentary about all entries.
With the judge’s tasks completed, David Seddon gave a vote of thanks to the judge, thanking him for his helpful hints and amusing anecdotes!