So I need to kick this week’s blog off with an apology: ironically for someone whose profession is within IT, I seem to have lost all of the (copious) notes that I took on Wednesday .. oops .. I’ll blame my iPad I think!
The downside of this situation for me is that I will now have to try and construct a blog from memory. The upside for you the reader, is that you will likely have a lot less of my waffle to wade through 😊. Hopefully a cup of tea will help inspire me, as I am currently looking at a very (very!) blank screen ..!
This week we enjoyed the second of our three “Open PDI” (projected digital image) competitions, this one being judged by Richard Sharman ARPS. This was Richard’s first visit to Photocraft and I can understand why, as it took him almost an hour and half to get to us! So a big thank you again to Richard for giving up almost 5 hours of his time to judge for us!
As is customary, we started off with our Standard Class prints, of which there were 12 to enjoy. I don’t need my notes to remind me how impressed I was by a number of the images that flashed up during the preview: they were so good, I genuinely wondered whether Chris had somehow got the images in the two classes mixed up! Richard clearly had similar thoughts, as he started off his judging by acknowledging the extremely high standard of entries, so well done to everyone that entered.
In total Richard held back 6 images, all of which were given a score. I really can’t remember the exact order in which the images were scored, so let’s assume the following is right eh? 😉
The first Commended image was “Purple Tulip”. This was one of my personal favourites, and like me, Richard appreciated the simplicity of this image. The lack of any distractions in the background and the simple palette of green and purple really worked well in terms of focussing the eye on this beautiful flower.
“And so summer comes to an end – 29-9-24” was the second Commended image of the night. Richard was particularly taken by the clouds in this one, although he did wonder if the image would have benefitted from a bit more of a crop on the left hand side.
The only Highly Commended image in this class was “Oranges and Lemons”. Again, Richard was very appreciative of the beautiful and harmonious palette, and the sharpness throughout the flower image.
Third place went to “Solitary”. Richard was very complimentary about the decision to put the horizon so low down in the frame, as this focuses the viewers attention on the lovely sky. Simplicity is clearly something that Richard enjoys (me too!) so this image scored well on that front too. The eagle-eyed will notice a bird sitting on top of the lamppost, something that wildlife photographer Richard was unlikely to miss!
Second place went to “Quayside”. Richard was very taken by the experimental nature of this image, the way the curves framed the image, and the choice of colours which all worked very well together.
And finally, first place went to “Slap That Bass”. It was very clear from Richards comments that he was extremely impressed with this “capture the moment” image, praising the choice of subject, the way the musician is focussed on his hand, and the general atmosphere of this image. A very well deserved win for Martin!
Well done to all of the scoring photographers: your work is excellent and would easily stand its ground in the Advanced Class!
Speaking of the Advanced Class, we had 30 images to enjoy. Richard held back more images than he ultimately gave a score to, which is an approach that I don’t think I’ve seen before .. I expect that at the end of the scoring there were a few disappointed members in the room who thought they were in for a chance of the top score but left with nothing .. brutal .. !
“Gorgeous Exhausts” was our first Commended image in the Advanced Class. Richard enjoyed the shapes and reflections and wondered whether this image would work even better in monochrome (which might bring out the interesting shapes even more strongly).
The “verging on impressionist” look in “Park Colours” was noted by Richard, who also commented on the lovely autumnal colours and pleasing composition.
The third Commended image was “An Autumn Walk”. Several times during the evening Richard noted that green (and white) are particularly difficult colours to capture well, and this image succeeded on that front. In addition to the proficient handling of the greens, the framing of the walker and dog was called out.
The first Highly Commended image was “Just a Little Closer”. Richard is a keen wildlife photographer, and his advice was that when taking wildlife pictures it is really important to ensure that the subject’s eye is sharp, and (in the case of birds) the plumage also has lots of detail. This image scored well on both counts!
The second Highly Commended image, “Wood Pigeons Scrapping”, expertly freezes the frantic action in pin-sharp detail. In addition, Richard also noted the way in which the colours of the birds had been realistically reproduced.
The third Highly Commended image broke from the theme of birds and instead gave us some “Church Steps” to enjoy. Richard was very taken by the way the steps took the eye up to the church. He also very much enjoyed the muted palette of colours: the yellow tones of the stairs, the pink in the church, and the blue hue of the sky.
Third place went to “City of London from the Southbank”. The decision to make this a monochrome image was praised as this remove distractions which can be an issue in busy city scenes. Richard also enjoyed the blend of old and modern architecture, and the choice to use a long exposure, which smoothed and simplified the river.
Second place went to “Seceda” with its very strong recessions. Richard called out the whites in the clouds, the detail in the scree slope, and the fact that the lone figure helped give scale as well as draw the eye into the scene beyond (I think he might have said that the lone figure made the image, but I could be mistaken!).
And finally, first place went to “Sand Yacht Racing”. A number of times during the evening Richard praised members for being a bit adventurous and experimental with their photography, and our winning image was a great example of that: blurred and with a very simple colour palette .. excellent work once again Dave!
Apologies to anyone if missed any key comments that Richard might have made on your work: the alternative to trying to remember was to take inspiration from our evening last week and ask ChatGPT to make something up for me .. goodness knows what you would have ended up with then!
An excellent blog Mark and you were host as,well!