WEDNESDAY 4th DECEMBER 2024
If someone had been only listening to much of the comments made on the evening of our second Monochrome competitions – PDI and Print – they could be forgiven for thinking we were discussing musical scores rather than photography. We had “sharp”, “flat” and “tonal range” mentioned quite a few times!
Our judge for the night, Graham Mansfield, was making a swift return to Photocraft, having judged an open print competition last April. Since then, he’s moved near Basingstoke but is still a member of Guildford Camera Club.
It was refreshing to hear Graham open with his thoughts on our new “scoring” system – placements rather than points – as he felt this gave him more scope to talk about the images without the pressing need to make sure his words and scores were aligned.
We started with our Standard Class mono prints and the head-to-head that is Martin D vs Paul S!
Graham was very much impressed with the quality of the work on show and so, with just the six prints, held all back and this resulted in the following placements:
COMMENDED:
Paul’s print raised a smile from Graham – he liked the positions of the two people and the humour created. Overall, Graham suggested the lightness could have been dialled back to add more texture.
This print Graham found interesting. The mount caught his eye and he felt able to comment on it as it was not going to be something to influence the scoring – an interesting comment when you think of how many judges in the past have commented on mounting. The faces were a little too bright and some dodging and burning would have helped to recover detail.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Martin’s image caught Graham’s attention with its great viewpoint. A very good sky added even more and the tonal range was spot on.
THIRD
Graham liked this street photography image – no need for eye contact with this one. He found the pose a little “staid” and suggested the subject could have been directed to look into the megaphone. As the title of the image came from the words in the print, Graham also raised the fact that the end of the words were just out of frame. Nevertheless, it was a worthy third place.
SECOND
Martin D took us into the smoky cellars with this fine work. Graham immediately liked it as he is a frequent attendee of live music events. What caught his eye were the bokeh and little highlight details captured in the reflection on the table. Overall, this all created a great “club atmosphere”
FIRST
I think we all knew we had our winner as Graham started his comments. “A lovely feel, great texture and a full tonal range” He enjoyed the composition and the way the cottage and tree were presented in the print. His only guidance was that care is needed around object edges when masking – very true when the sky is involved.
So well done Martin D for taking first and second.
Onto our Advanced class and once again, Graham was impressed by the range of work. Out of the 16 prints, seven were held back and produced the following placements:
COMMENDED
David M gave us this print and Graham immediately took a liking to the texture and detail. The backlit hair on the person was a very good plus point as well. Graham suggested that dialling back the overall brightness would have lifted the detail even more.
David M took a second commended with this. For Graham, it was all about the texture and how well this came through in what looked like flat light. Perhaps a drop in exposure would get even more from the wood?
Mark B’s St. Paul’s took the third commended place. Graham really liked the way the image is constructed and the details/tones plus depth of field were “super!”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Your writer was chuffed to be highly commended with this image from Skye. Graham commented on the contrast and how it makes the print “pop”. The composition means the viewer can journey through the image.
THIRD
David M got all three images into the held-back set and this came top of his crop. Graham was curious to know what he was looking at as the composition made him think. No, there are no mirrors, just some steps.
SECOND
Mark B’s second place was with this lovely abstract image. “A gallery image,” said Graham, who liked the subtle graphic presentation.
FIRST
Well done to Alfred! This print was one Graham took a liking to from the off. He enjoyed the look and feel, “like an old pub wall print…” was how he put it. The misty background made this one stand out. As an aside, Alfred told us that he had previously called it “Porthlevan harbour in the mist” but that only led to “more mist needed!” comments! Ah, the fickleness of photo judges…
After our break, we were all set up to view the PDIs and once again this got underway with the Standard Class.
Graham again expressed his pleasant surprise at just how good these were. From the nine, we had five held back to give us:
COMMENDED
Barbara’s image was noted for its good lighting and viewpoint.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Martin’s image was described as “gritty” with great contrast. The look could have been taken many years ago.
THIRD
Barbara’s tree was praised for giving us a journey through the image and for excellent layering.
SECOND
Martin gave us the music once again and Graham liked the variable focus that adds so much atmosphere. The movement in the hand adds to this.
FIRST
Anita’s wonderful shot of the mountain range was a standout image. Graham praised the range of tones and that we have a person in the scene to add scale.
Well done Anita!
Clearly the Advanced Class had a hard act to follow and Graham was quick to stress that he expected to see good quality. This is the place where we went into the musical arena even more as “sharp” and “flat” were uttered many times – not often positively. From the 22, we had half held back to produce the following:
COMMENDED
Alfred gave us an image with good exposure and viewpoint. Graham singled out the quality of the sharpness of this.
Chris’s image was one Graham did enjoy and his only instruction was to take it again but this time, to get lower down so that the girl’s legs fit into the gap in the bridge.
Kevin’s triptych caught Graham’s eye and he liked the story. His advice was to not have such big borders around each of the three components.
Alfred took us to the seaside and Graham liked the tones of this image, along with the good composition.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Mandy’s pelicans were praised for the good use of sidelight to enhance the plumage.
A double for Mandy – Graham enjoyed the detail and sharpness in all the right places. The background added good context.
Dave S’s woodland was another where Graham liked the viewpoint. The added blur effect to the top of the image gave it something different.
Chris’s car was well taken with good panning to give the sense of movement.
THIRD
David A took third spot with this dramatic shot. Again, the textures made it stand out. Graham’s only thought was whether the person could have been placed elsewhere in the frame. Always hard to know what works in such a shot.
SECOND
Kevin won the image title of the night award and took second place with this. Graham was taken by the simplicity of the shot, with good detail in the trunks to make them stand out from the rest of the image.
FIRST
Chris took top spot with these three sailing boats. Graham commented on the “perfect” exposure, the use of the letterbox crop, the good background and the positioning of the three sailing boats. The shimmering water and the faded background work very well.
Congratulations to Chris and to all who were recognised on the night.
Thanks to Graham as well for his open and enjoyable comments.
And finally, if you have read this but do not feel it is that good, then perhaps it will look better from further away.
Thank you.
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