Morpeth Camera Club: First Open Competition of the season

On Tuesday, October 8, Alan Wilson, a member of Whickham Photographic Club, accepted the challenge to judge their first Open Competition of the season.

Among the images entered were well-composed triptychs of trains and of flowers, moody monochrome landscapes and abandoned farmsteads. Slow shutter speed images of waterfalls and streams, sunsets and moonrises, creative flips and abstract impressions.

Detailed close-up shots of flowers, playful pets, colourful wildfowl and imposing art works were also included.

Commenting on each entry, Alan advised, when appropriate, on composition, saturation, front-to-back sharpness and depth of field.

Local scenes reminded those in attendance that we do not have to travel far to find good images and that looking for a different viewpoint can yield unexpected results.

Alan stated that while he enjoyed open competitions and the thrill of reviewing club members’ submissions, the diverse range of subjects among the 63 images posed a considerable challenge.

This forced him to make some tough decisions in selecting the award winners, emphasising that his choices were solely based on his own opinions at the time.

Four images were selected as Highly Commended – ‘Tenacity’ by Dave Birch, a study of a drainpipe, wall and weed, simplistic but balanced with complimentary colours; ‘Sculpted by the Tide’ by Davy Bolam, an image that drew you in with its feel, shapes and texture, leaving no clue to its scale; ‘Rust on Blue’ by Peter Downs, a very minimalist composition with good use of colour; ‘Sunlit Blossom’ by Paul Appleby, a well-crafted and executed artistic impression.

Alan then announced his top five images, in reverse order.

In fifth place was ‘Dragonfly in Flight’ by Glyn Trueman, a stunning capture of a moving insect with no distractions.

Fourth place went to ‘Last Light from the Scar’ by Brian Morris, a timeless landscape with great depth leading you through the image.

In third place was ‘Destination Unknown’ by Dave Birch, an atmospheric seascape image with good use of space.

Second place went to ‘Joules Britannia’ by Paul Kidd, a studio image of a female figure that was well captured, yet surrounded by movement.

In first place was ‘Juvenile Stonechat Darting at Insect’ by Paul Appleby, a unique natural history moment that captured a bird in flight looking for food.

Club chairman Peter Downs then expressed gratitude to Alan for his insightful critique of all the entries.

He also acknowledged Alan’s ability to uncover the hidden stories behind some of the images through his interactions with the audience throughout the evening.