This week we welcomed Rob Bonfield back to Photocraft for the first Open PDI Competition of the club year.  Rob is an SPA judge and a member of the Woking Photographic Society, and has visited us to judge several times before.  This is his first trip to our new home at the St Patrick’s Centre.

We had 21 images submitted in the Standard Class, and 30 images in the Advanced Class.  As is usual at Photocraft we had a wide range of subject matter provided from the members, making this an interesting evening for the audience and the usual challenge for our judge.

This is our first competition to use our new award system.  Rob was asked to select pictures for first, second and third place, together with those images he considered to be worth the award of Commended or Highly  Commended. These awards will be converted into a score carried forward to our annual summary, for consideration when the competitions are complete at the end of season.

Rob provided useful critiques for individual images, where necessary making recommendations which in his view would improve the appearance or presentation of the individual images. Several points of interest arose from the judge’s comments, the most frequently repeated being as set out below:-

• colour balance within the image, especially where complementary colours have been incorporated
• quality of the background in the image, whether good bokeh or overly bright distractions
• distractions generally around the frame, taking the eye away from the subject
• many images were considered to have a less than optimal crop, failing  to best emphasise the subject area.
• sky details, either too bland or overly enhanced

Standard Class

In the Standard Class competition we had six images receiving awards from our judge this evening.

The first image awarded Commended was ‘Gothic Mansion Panorama’ by Martin D. This was described as well composed, well seen, and well executed.   The image is reproduced below.

The next image awarded Commended was ‘Kirsty’ by Paul S. Rob described this as an environmental portrait, effective in a grungy way, and interesting.  The image is shown below.

The first image given the Highly Commended award was ‘Blue-hue Irises’ by Barbara A. Rob described this image as a delightful, with the soft blue and yellow colours working well together, and with a viewpoint that adds to the level of interest. He felt that a tighter crop to the the left hand side of the image would have improved the impact.

The image awarded third place was ‘Sundown at Climping’ by Anita G, shown below.  Our judge enjoyed the simple foreground providing leading lines into the image, and the good tonal range in the sky. He described it as a good, well composed image overall with a successful crop. He felt that the image would have been stronger had the horizon been brighter.

The image awarded second place was ‘Backlit  Leaf’ by Martin D. Rob considered this to be a perfect example of the ‘less is more’ approach to photography, being well executed and with plenty of structure and texture in the abstract image. He pointed out that it is not easy to achieve a photograph with an accurate focus across the whole image in such an exposure, but that this had been achieved here.

Our winning image awarded first place on the evening was ‘Marina reflections’ by Anita G, shown below.  Another ‘less is more’ image, described as gorgeous by our judge. Presented inverted, it forms an abstract image with shapes, form, balance, and colour all working well together.

Advanced Class

Within our  Advanced Class competition we had seven images receiving awards this evening

The first of these images receiving the Commended award was ‘Daybreak’ by Dave S. Our judge was drawn to this image which he considered to be clever, with a heavy vignette and silhouettes bringing in a level of mystery. Overall he was intrigued by the boat and the image location.  The image is reproduced below.

Our next image receiving a Commended award was ‘Time to buy a new clock’ by Philip R. This image was described as creative, interesting, and well executed, and is shown below.

The first image awarded Highly Commended was ‘Brrrrr!’ by Kevin B. This was described as a very delicate image, with a limited colour palette which worked well overall. The feel of the picture was good.

Our next image awarded Highly Commended Was ‘Stormy Sky over the Scottish Highlands’ by Chris R, shown below. Rob complemented the believable sky in this image, and pointed out the way the trees helped to hold the viewer’s eye In the centre of the image. The sheep in the foreground add further interest.

The image awarded third place was ‘Becalmed’ by Dave S. This image was described as a very simple, well composed, and well executed.  The image is reproduced below.

The image awarded second place was ‘Hen Sparrow after hoverfly’ by Mandy B. This image was described as a great shot, brilliantly executed. Rob went on to describe how difficult it is to achieve an image of this type.

Our overall winner on the evening, awarded first place, was ‘Southern Hawker Dragonfly detail’ by Dave S. Rob described this as stunning, a great composition, brilliantly executed, and is our last image reproduced below.

Our congratulations go to all of the award winners on the night, and our thanks go to Rob Bonfield for his work in judging our images, and for providing his useful critique throughout the evening

Author: David M