Our first competition of the 2023-24 season was ‘any subject’ and took place on 19 October 2023. It was judged by David Hughes of Godalming Camera Club and an accomplished wildlife photographer.
Throughout, David gave copious feedback which was helpful to all and made for a very enjoyable evening. He was particularly impressed by the quality of the printing.
For this season the scoring system has been changed; judges are being asked to choose their favourite image and then a number of Highly Commended and Commended images.
Judge’s favourite images of the evening:
As always at Storrington, the standard was high. The judge’s favourites were:
- Prints: “Kaffir Lily” by Liz Barber – a delightful image which could easily be a painting. The colours and textures are very carefully handled giving a very pleasing atmosphere.
- PDI: “All the fun of the fair” by George Reekie – an image with a strong narrative - a young boy on a fair ground ride; his apprehension or fear clearly showing.
A further 3 images were Highly Commended and 7 images Commended.
Printed Images:
- Highly Commended: “Summer colours” by Daisy Kane – a very different floral image comprising at least two images super-imposed giving a real atmosphere. The eye immediately goes to the red flower in the centre.
- Highly Commended: “Hummingbird in Paradise” by Ruth Rusby – a beautiful and unusual image of a Hummingbird perched on a lichen covered branch, with lots of detail.
- Commended: “Blue Hour, South Downs” by Alex Swyer – has a lovely early morning feel to it with mist over the Downs. The regression through.
- Commended: “Storm Noa“ by Alex Swyer – shows the terrific force of waves on the harbour wall with a lighthouse just visible - you can feel it.
- Commended: “Crackington Stream” by Martin Tomes – a long exposure image showing water flowing around an attractive rock with pebbles in the foreground with lots of interest.
In total there were 28 printed images; too many to describe them all in detail. The judge was complimentary about all entries.
Projected Images (PDIs):
- Highly Commended: “Flamingo” by Alex Swyer – a lovely image of a flamingo against a black background showing lots of detail of the bird resting.
- Commended: “Pink Perfection” by Alex Swyer – a nice image of a Japanese Anemone with lots of detail and a lovely diffuse background.
- Commended: “Butterfly” by Daisy Kane – a very skilfully taken and very detailed image of a butterfly on a flower.
- Commended: “Hovering Bee” by David Seddon – a very well captured image of a bee in flight, with movement in the wings and lots of detail in the body.
- Commended: “Eye contact between strangers!” by Nigel Cherry – a well captured and intriguing shot of two dog owners passing outside a restaurant - eye contact between both the people and the dogs.
In total there were 36 projected images; too many to describe them all in detail. The judge was complimentary about all entries.
With the judge’s tasks completed, Chris West gave a vote of thanks, bringing an enjoyable evening to a conclusion.