28th April; Panel of Prints and Open Print competitions, judged by Amanda Wright

Many thanks to Amanda Wright for her helpful and informative judging.

The Open section was won by Sanjay Mistry with his impactful street monochrome ‘In a World of her Own’;  second and third places went to YC Wei’s ‘Corridor’ and ‘Morning Run’. Highly commended were ‘The Chimney Sweep’ and ‘Private Message’ both by Judy Buckley-Sharp.  Congratulations all.

Winning Open Print by Sanjay Mistry

The Panel of Prints Trophy and congratulations go to Avril Candler for ‘Into the Woods’; ‘Lost Souls of London’ by Sanjay was second and Peter Polkinghorne’s ‘Sicilian Details’ third.  Highly commended were  ‘Mothers and Children’ by Avril, ‘Paddington’ by Judy and ‘Cure All’ by Mark Buckley-Sharp. Peter’s ‘Black and  White Patterns’ was commended.

Panel of Prints Trophy Winner
by Avril Candler

Very many thanks to everyone who entered and supported the evening and special thanks to Amanda for her judging and  participation in the open forum.

We return to Century for the  final print competition of our 24/25 season comprising Triptych and Open sections which will be judged by Kevin Day.

In the  meantime, have a good May Bank holiday and enjoy the glorious weather.

14th April: Members’ Evening

Very many thanks to Mark Buckley-Sharp, Pradeep Luther and Avril Candler for their excellent presentations on three very different subjects.

Mark took us back to the fifteenth century and the conquest of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, by the Ottomans  led by King Mehmed II.  A fascinating historical lecture about the ingenuity, logistical difficulties and sophisticated (for the time) munitions.  Mark’s photographs illustrated the pressure points, the topography of the time, the strategic decisions made, paintings recording the aftermath and how traces of the conquest are still visible today.  The plaque below shows the date King Mehmed entered the city and Istanbul rose.

The 570th anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest is to be celebrated in the Turkish metropolis on Monday May 29.  Amazing to think Mehmed was only 21 years old!

Fall of Constantinople by Mark Buckley-Sharp

 

Pradeep took us to his garden and his Trace camera tethered in a strategic place to his fence to capture sensor-triggered shots of garden fauna.  He described the camera in detail and showed a series of stills and videos of the fox who likes to jump the fence into the neighbour’s garden…….and back, sometimes with a hapless pigeon gripped between those ‘big teeth’! It’s certainly a fun way of producing great pictures and a very cost-effective hobby.

Trace Camera Talk by Pradeep Luther

Our third talk by Avril was a trip down memory lane (a personal history!) in pictures  from her first foray with a digital camera,  joining the camera club  and being immersed in everything it’s programme had to offer.  Using photos of bees, butterflies, hoverflies and flies to illustrate the beauty and challenge of shooting fluttery, buzzy creatures (almost all taken in the garden) before moving on to show some creative images,  including a couple of pictures with poems.

 

Small Creatures by Avril L Candler

Once again, many thanks to Mark, Pradeep and Avril for their hard work and time putting together three informative and enjoyable talks, much appreciated by everyone.

Next meeting:  28th April at Century for our Panel of Prints and Open Print competitions which will be judged by Amanda Wright.

In the meantime, have a good Easter, enjoy the break……….and chocolate!

7th April: People and Portraits and Open Projected competitions, judged by David Smith LRPS CPAGB BPE1

Thanks to David for his discerning commentaries across both competitions.

The Open section was won by Judith Gimber with ‘Flamingo Flurry’; Trevor Alexander’s ‘Rainy London’ was second and ‘Flower Art’ by John Draper third.  Highly commended were ‘Bridge of Light’ by Judy Buckley-Sharp, and ‘In the Hammam’ and ‘Little Venice’ by Mark Buckley-Sharp.  Congratulations all.

Winning Image by Judith Gimber

As this concludes the monthly Open projected competitions, it is a pleasure to announce that Judith takes the top spot.  Many congratulations Judith.

 

The People and Portrait trophy  and congratulations go to Sanjay Mistry for ‘What You Thinking’:  Peter Keeble’s ‘Terry 2024’ was second and ‘Rapper’ by John Draper third.  Highly commended were ‘All their Worldly Goods’ by Judith Gimber,  ‘Carnival Diamond’ by Mark Buckley-Sharp and ‘Parisian Reading the Daily Paper by John Draper.

 

 

Trophy Winner by Sanjay Mistry

Once again, thanks to everyone who entered and supported the evening and special thanks to David for his excellent judging.

Next week we are back in Century for a members’ evening of talks and presentations.

In the meantime enjoy this early (and welcome) summer!