Hi Folks,
Tuesday was the club’s 3rd round of the league challenge cup and the theme was ‘outside the window’ plus the open round. The Judge for the evening was Mikki Aston.
Mikki said she had been asked by the committee to spread out the points and as such, she said, she will give points between 13 – 20. Mikki pointed out that she wanted to encourage photographers and not discourage them, so she will only give helpful criticism.
Mikki asked for a run through first of all the twenty four images on the theme round.
There were eight images held back by Mikki,
the first of which was titled,
Looking out of my window
A railway shot in sepia giving a nice feel and atmosphere said Mikki. immediately reminding her of the 1930’s film ‘Brief Encounter’. The lighting was particularly good around the girl on the platform.
The second to be held back was titled,
Aylesbury Tower
Mikki loved the blacks and whites in the image and a great sky and nicely vignetted, a wow picture
The third to be held back was titled,
I can see you
A great expression captured on the guy’s face which brings out his personality. The orange jacket in the corner would normally be a problem but in this case it works giving an indication of the guy being perhaps a railway worker. A nice image with the skin tones perfect and excellent picture
The fourth to be held back was titled,
I’m staying right here
The image gave Mikki a good feeling she loved the windmill in the window but wondered if the brightness on the steering wheel was a little too bright but was just being picky.
The fifth held back was titled
Steamy Cafe
Indeed ‘steamy’, said Mikki, may be from eating noodles but appears to be in London, guessing near the Lloyd’s building. More or less a street scene and in monochrome you can get away with all sorts. There is a ghostly like figure behind the glass but with any writing one has to be careful, as people want to read the writing rather than look at the image but just works in this image.
The sixth image held back was titled,
Who are you
A stunning effect almost scary said Mikki the water on the window is like a scene from a horror film. Mikki said she likes those sort of films
The seven to be held back was titled
Checking the menu outside the window
Reminded Mikki of the 1960’s in monochrome has a feel of a French film. The leather jacket against a good background, a graphic shot which is a stunning image of the man looking at the menu, an enjoyable picture.
and the eighth and last to be held back was titled,
Looking hootside of the window
A stunning shot of an owl looking out of the slot surrounded by nice brick work
After all eight were put on screen
the results of those held back were as follows :
who are you by Nick Bennett, 20 points (Judge’s choice)
Aylesbury Towers by Mike Ashcroft, 20 points
Looking Hootside the window by Nick Razey, 20 points
Checking the menu outside the window by Chenxi Ni, 20 points
Looking out of my window by Keith Perfect, 19 points
Steamy cafe by John Timbrell, 19 points
I’m staying right here by Chris Andrews, 19 points
I can see you by Peter Carter, 19 points
Then a coffee break
Then there were 21 images in the Open round for Mikki to run through
Of these the first to be held back was titled,
Snow in the Air
Which reminded Mikki of a visit to Yellowstone park when it was -20 degrees. One gets some detail in the snow texture of bits of trees. Mikki was enjoying the image which was graphic and minimalistic
The second to be held back was titled,
Eyes on you
What an interesting image with the owl puffed up said Mikki, very effective may be losing just a little sharpness on the top of the head but has a nice background
The third one held back was titled
Say it with flowers
Like the poster from American Beauty with the girl covered in roses. The girl has an interesting face the image has a romantic feel with an edgy face contrast. An interesting picture.
The fourth held back was titled,
Sunset breeze
Lovely girl with a lovely face relaxed and enjoying the moment a soft image. Mikki was enjoying the shoulder which was placed nicely. Pink modern hair with a crown of flowers almost giving her an East European look. Nice negative spacing on the right and nothing is burnt out
The fifth to be held back was titled
Barn Owl
A marvellous job in getting the bird in flight. The bird is well lit against the black background
The last to be held back was titled,
Tea ladies
Quite a good reaction from the audience with this one. A marvellous re-enactment of the poster, super job with great detail and texture
Then all six were reviewed by Mikki and the results were as follows:
Tea Ladies by Kathy Chantler, 20 points (Judge’s favourite)
Barn Owl by Chenxi Ni, 20 points
Say it with flowers by Julia Cleaver, 20 points
Snow in the Air by Kathy Chantler, 19 points
Sunset Breeze by Nick Bennett, 19 points
Eyes on you by Chenxi Ni, 19 points
The full results will appear soon
Lighting with Speedlites
Tuesday January 30, 2018 from 20:15 to 22:15
Speedlites are a versatile and portable form of lighting. Most of us do not use them to their full potential, if at all.
Brian Worley has agreed to deliver a talk and live demonstration to raise your interest in this portable lighting, that we all probably have. For the first half of the evening, Brian will explain the key things to bear in mind, when working with small flash, and then for the second half of the evening we will see live demonstration of how these tools can be used to create pictures.
Brian will work with a camera connected to the projector, so as the live shoot progresses we can all see the results of each technique and change in the lighting.
You don’t need to bring your own cameras or flashes.