Club Championship round 4 Textures and Open, Tuesday 21st March

Hi Folks,

Club Championship round 4 Textures and Open, Tuesday 21^st March

Our judge for the evening was Micki Aston from Windsor.

Micki gave a short speech to say as a judge she was here to encourage people to take pictures and not to frighten them and her range of marks will never be below thirteen. Micki said, “If she liked many pictures then so be it, they will all get good marks”.

There was a quick run through of the images for the theme ‘Textures’  and she said after the run, “There were some delightful images”.

The first image to be held back was titled ‘The oil drum’. The picture was well constructed and the hole in the drum was just off centre which guided the eye around the rest of the image, a delightful shot said Micki.

The image titled ‘Corrugated Barrier’ had lots of knobbly bits of rust which looks realistic. Also it had wood at the top with lots of old nails in it. Micki  loved the shape create by the corrugated sheet. Micki asked for it to be held back.

The image ‘Squidgy between the feet’ had Micki loving the feel of mud between the toes of the people walking across the beach. She was enjoying the textures and the colours in the image which worked well and the photographer had done a good job. This was also held back.

The image titled ‘My Levi’s’ had Micki saying, well done to the person who noticed this. Often pieces like this go unnoticed, the stud is placed off centre and the photographer had to be careful of the highlight on brass stud but not too bad. The weave made a great textural pattern and Micki asked for it to be held back.

The image titled ‘Star on Peppers’ had Micki saying, this is nice to look at, how creative this image is and the detail in the peppers is devine. It was held back.

Next to take Micki’s attention was the image titled ‘Game Larder’. How wonderful the pheasants looked with their feathers and the image was almost in 3D. They have such complex colours and in this image they give the thoughts of a Dutch Masterpiece by Rembrandt and Micki was really enjoying the colours.

The image ‘All Nature’s textures’ which had a skeleton of a tree placed in the right position and the photographer had correctly chosen in black & white. Nice textures and shapes and a good foreground. It was also held back

Another image held back was titled ‘Broken Paintwork’ which had different shapes along with peeling paint and nice square pieces at the bottom of the image

The image titled ‘The Crab’, “wow”, said Micki, the eyes of the crab stand out and the textures are just delicious. The image is so well lit showing sharpness and clarity. The crab is central but in this the case it didn’t matter and fitted well in a central position. A very impactful picture which was asked to be held back

The last picture held back was titled ‘Textured Soul’ Micki went on to say, this looks like it has been plucked from someone’s folder and a bit of a cop out lol, but apologised if that wasn’t the case. She could see the texture in the jacket and the guy’s beard and was going to give the photographer the benefit of the doubt and hold it back.

So we had ten held back

The Crab by Peter Carter scored 20

Oil Drum by Peter Carter scored 20

Corrugated Barrier by Kathy Chandler scored 20

Textured Soul by Steve Beckett scored 20

Star on Peppers by Chenxi Ni scored 20 (Judge’s favourite)

Game Larder by Vicki Walton scored 20

My Levi’s by Nick Bennett scored 20

Broken Paintwork by John Timbrell scored 20

All Nature’s Textures by Chris Andrews scored 20

Squidgy between toes by Nick Bennett scored 19

Coffee time

There were 27 entries in the open round

The first was titled ‘Simona’

A forensic image said Micki a beautiful Girl with a lovely face, hair and graceful hands but Micki didn’t care for the Kardashian look and the model is not relaxed giving an awkward feel to the audience, Micki was not in love with the engaging dress but a classy piece of work, which was held back.

The next held back was titled “Luke at Nineteen”

This image breaks all the rules of photography but works, Luke’s eyes are closed but just gives the lovely feeling of nineteen and on the threshold of life. A stunning piece of work which was held back.

The image ‘One Misty Morning’

The thoughts of perhaps Tuscany said Micki but I can see it’s not. A mist coming over with skeleton trees. A lovely image with the sun about to come up. This was also held back

The image ‘She’s mine’

A regular picture of a stag said Micki, I have seen four this week it must be the time for photographing them. However, this image of the stag is the best I have seen. The eyes are sharp, the grass at the front so white and superbly encased in a frame. This was held back

The image ‘Archie’

Archie is gorgeous said Micki and any Grandmother would be pleased with this image. The eyes, the chubby arms and sweet fingers and nothing is over exposed. It was asked to be held back

The image ‘Ruben’

A moody atmosphere and mysterious, lit well using the natural tones outside the window. Natural lighting always works best said Micki and this image has a wonderful feel about it. The grills on the window could have been used in a horror film where perhaps a murder could have taken place. It was held back

The image ‘The Black Loch’

A gorgeous landscape, a sky to die for and the clouds reflecting in the loch, said Micki. Low muted tones and a look of Scotland. It was held back.

 

The image ‘Autumnal bike ride’

Micki said, she was looking to take a similar holiday and this has inspired her. Lovely tones of colour and shadows, she could eat that picture. It was held back

The image ‘Mystic Stream’

A lovely green dell, nicely photographed the shutter speed was chosen to give the water a milky look. This was also held back

So the final nine held back

The result was

One Misty Morning by Neil Lovell scored 19

Simona by … scored 19

Black Loch by Peter Carter scored 20

An Autumnal bike ride by Dawn Cave scored 20 (Judge’s favourite)

Mystic Stream by Stefan Mladevov scored 20

She’s Mine now by Chenxi Ni scored 20

Ruben by Steve Beckett scored 20

Archie by Mike Ashcroft scored 20

Luke at nineteen by Mike Ashcroft scored 20

I am told that Peter Carter has become the first member to have ever score 3 x 20 points in one evening in the club’s competition, so well done Peter.

Next week is

Keynote Speaker – Richard Curtis, Adobe UK