We were welcomed back by Kathy (Chairperson) and many of us were glad to get back to a routine after Christmas and with a new lockdown. To be able to have something to focus on and be able to chat with friends is invaluable.
Last night we were able to submit three images for a critique from three judges that belong to our club. Kathy Chantler, Alan Taberer, and Julia Cleaver kindly gave their opinions and shared their knowledge on how to improve our work.
There were 44 images in total from fifteen members, so each judge worked with one person at a time talking through their three images.
Each member explained to the judge what they were trying to achieve and what aspect of the image they were concerned about.
As usual there was a wide variety of images. Peter had worked on lighting, experimenting with some flour (he used as snow) producing a fun image with Penguins and a Polar bear. The aim was to have some fun but also to look at composition and lighting. Alan offered advice on this image.
Some people had worked on landscapes including David J, Jan, and John with a wonderful image of Crummock Water.
Some comments were made about images needing a little more in them to add more story to a picture. The images had good lead in lines, and that one image may work if tried from a different angle.
Tami and Brian had submitted portraits both of a high standard, but attention to detail such as darkening down areas and not allowing a subject to be too busy were discussed. We were reminded to always look at the edges of pictures to make sure we had not left in something that was not needed. Small vignettes also draw the eye in to the subject.
Derek put in a stunning early morning image of the reservoir and everyone agreed it did not need any improvements. Sherron and Mike submitted some wildlife pictures and again the importance of light was discussed, and humour in pictures.
Steve had caught a wonderful image of woodland with a magical look and heaps of atmosphere with the mist coming through trees. Julia suggested that a little cropping at the front of the image might enhance the look and bring the viewer into the image.
Chenxi and David G wanted advice on their entries. Chenxi had two space pictures with beautiful colours which he wondered would be acceptable in competition. David had used light painting to capture some magnificent images and Carol had used an inverted filter on her trees and canal scene which she also wondered if would be suitable for competition. Alan suggested we try the images as sometimes we must try and take a risk.
Sue and Sarah had gone for some architectural images of the London eye and Sue has taken a Birmingham building wall, in abstract form. Kathy felt that the London eye and bridge structure of Sarah’s images competed for attention, and to focus on one item might be preferable. A suggestion to Sue to crop a little of her picture or alter the angle to balance the area where a square had a corner missing, might enhance the view.
This is a snapshot of the comments and images shown during the evening as three images were critiqued by each judge.
The evening was informative for us all as we learned things to try to improve our images for competitions. Thanks to Kathy, Alan and Julia who offered very fair appraisals and praised many aspects of our work.