Winner on the night (3) competition print and open, Tuesday 27th March 2018

Hi Folks,

The third ‘winner on the night’ competition took place on Tuesday. The judge for the evening was Keith Long of Banbury.

Keith opened the evening by giving a little talk about himself and the course he took to become a judge. He said there were about twenty starting the course but only five finishing it.

At the end of the course the tutor asked him if he would like to judge his clubs next competition. Keith was very pleased asked why him and the tutor said he had asked everybody else and they were all too busy lol.

After one competition Keith had judged, an unhappy member asked him what he did for a living and Keith replied a chemist. The person said, well i’m an optician perhaps you should come and see me lol.

Before the the images came up Keith said he liked birds in flight and animals and hated boats. Oh dear, I thought, I have a harbour full of them in my first image lol.

So the start of the competition for prints and Keith had previously had a quick look at the nine prints on display but asked for a run through on screen for our benefit.

The first print was titled ,

Puffin in Flight

Keith said it is very difficult to photograph puffins because of the contrasting black and white colours and to get this one in flight and just about to land was a super shot. Most picture of birds are what he called ‘birds on a stick’ and a judge really wants more interest and this picture certainly has that. Keith loved the out of focus background and a good presentation.

Keith asked for it to be held back

 

The next to be held back was titled,

Tooth picking

Two chimps with the main character super sharp the body is dark but lovely lighting on the arms. The photographer has used the lighting to separate the two apart. Keith jokingly suggested the chimp might show two finger to the judge and not three.

 

The last to be held back was titled,

Girl spinning with red scarf

A good title to help the judge, said Keith. Not all movement in pictures work but this does, who would have thought black and pink go together. The photographer was brave to have photographed white boots against a white background but the background  is a semi white. The key line given works well.

One the judge said he would hang on his wall.

 

So the final result was

1st, Girl spinning with red scarf by John Timbrell, 20 points (judge’s choice)

2nd, Puffin in Flight by Chenxi Ni, 19 points

3rd, Tooth picking by Chenxi Ni, 19 points

 

Coffee time

 

In the second half there were 25 images to run through for the judge. Keith said, my word, you do make it difficult as a club producing so many good images.

The first to be held back was titled,

Stag Roar

A dramatic image with the grass nicely out of focus just works, the arrangement of colours and the separation of light from the dark background.

 

An image titled,

Ruined was given an 18

Just like the contractors, back on Monday to finish it, said Keith. Keith liked the texture of the snow and bravery of the photographer to go out into the elements to get the shot. The sky is not flat but perhaps could be made more.

 

The next to be held back was titled,

I walk these lonely steps

Captured in the moment of time with the lady crossing the corners, it could have been a timeless picture apart from the lady using her iphone. Lots of shady looking characters below the stairs on the left, perhaps an arranged photo shoot.

 

The next print titled,

Fells first snow got an 18

A really nice shot with a great sky. The tree on the left is an important part of the picture and perhaps the photographer needed to capture just the one tree by moving to a different angle. Keith seemed reluctant to have a lot of sheep in the picture which for him made it untidy.

 

The next to be held back was titled,

World Champion lands in the snow

Keith was puzzled by the title of snow but then spotted it in the background. Well captured and done with a slow shutter speed as the car wheels are still spinning.

 

The next to be held back was titled,

A perfect pair

It would make a super print on the wall said Keith and the colours all go together.

 

The next to be held back was titled,

Master of the stratocaster

A minimum use of light said Keith, gritty texture which he is working with himself at the moment. It has interesting detail but only four fingers showing on the chap. a key line is needed.

 

The next to be held back was titled,

In the loop

This is captured at the right time of day with the perfect lighting and all hangs together well

 

The next to be held back was titled,

Silhouette in an art gallery

A simple composition which could be timeless except for the phone. All nicely set up.

 

The next to be held back was titled.

hoodie by night

Nice lighting and texture on the jacket with the face of the guy looking ahead.

 

The next to be held back was titled,

captivated by light

Soft and delicate, the eyes are closed but does not matter. Quite a grainy picture but all the elements hang together nicely. He just might have done away with the chain at the bottom.

 

so the final result

Nine were held back of which two got a mark of 17, whereas, two others not held back got 18’s (so added those two in as well)

1st, Stag roar by Nick Bennett, 20 points (Judge’s choice)

2nd, Captivated by light by Brian Worley, 19 points

3rd, Master of the Stratocaster by Nick Bennett, 19 points

Jt 4th, Hoodie by night by Nick Bennett, 19 points

Jt 4th, A perfect pair by Kathy Chantler, 19 points

Jt 4th, Silhouette in a gallery by John Timbrell, 19 points

Jt 7th, World Champion landing in the snow by Brian Worley, 18 points

Jt 7th, Ruined by Chris Andrews, 18 points

Jt 7th Fells first snow by Peter Carter, 18 points

Jt 10th, In the loop by Chris Andrews, 17 points

Jt 10th I walk these lonely steps by Steve Beckett, 17 points

 

Next week is

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