Our first competition of the new 2025 internal season took place on Tuesday 4th March, with many members making it to the Hall and a few on Zoom. This round had an 'Open' theme and the judge was the EAF's David Steel, making his first visit to the Society.
Our Chairman, Nick Bowman, introduced David and then the competition began.
Print Competition
Twenty members presented prints in the first half of the evening.
David praised the eclectic range of subjects and photographic styles. He pointed out beneficial crops and where some had clipped subjects. He cautioned that he might suggest the ideal conditions but knew that this was not always possible when capturing subjects 'in the moment'.
Seven images were held back for a second look in the print category. Ultimately, the maximum 20 points were awarded to 'The Doll Maker' by Michael Ciancia; 'Riding The Storm, Morocco' by Nick Bowman; 'Kader Atia, Hayward Gallery' by Margaret Marks:
Michael Ciancia - 'The Doll Maker' (20)
'Riding The Storm, Morocco' by Nick Bowman (20)
'Kader Atia, Hayward Gallery' by Margaret Marks (20)
DPI Competition
Thirty members entered the DPI competition in the second half of the evening.
David praised some well-observed subjects. He pointed out where a photographer had missed the chance to highlight the subject of an image through lighting (contemporaneous or via post-production) or cropping.
Seven images were held back and, ultimately, just one image was awarded the maximum 20 points. This was - 'Not Shaken, Nor Stirred' by Chris Murray:
'Not Shaken, Nor Stirred' (20) by Chris Murray
Finally
You can see all the entries for this first round of our internal competition in the Galleries section of this website.
The Results of the Session and the results/cumulative totals for this 2025 Season are accessible from the Internal Competitions Page of the Society Website (and Documents Section).
Thanks to Debbie Smyth, Stephen Ingall and Dennis Law, for managing the IT/image projection, & to Rob Wilkinson for handling the Prints.
Dan Waller
Competitions’ Secretary