We’re off and running with a static set subject – Architecture Feb 14th Competition
What a fantastic start to our competition year with 22 people entering images, including several new members!
We embraced the set subject of Architecture with more than 60% of entries in this category and a total of 93 images for the night.
Our outing to the North Terrace medical and entertainment precinct yielded a number of images and it was great to see many different interpretations of the same buildings.
Of course there was some international flavour with James Allan capturing contemporary architecture in Seville beautifully and Judy Sara taking us to the amazing Singapore Garden.
Regular judge Peter Phillips gave useful feedback on each image, stressing the importance of good lighting to enhance composition and keeping us entertained with his bad jokes! He provided many helpful hints on technique both during capture and in post processing.
There was a wide variety of styles ranging from Jenny Pedlar’s abstract NGV to David Hope’s more traditional Inspiring and from Don McLeod’s high-key Tokyo Roof Skeleton to Judy Sara’s low-key Car Park at Night.
For more images from the night visit our Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images pages.
City “Architecture” Walk – Sunday January 20th
BPC will hit the city this Sunday, January 20th for a City Walk outing led by Ray Goulter, focusing on Architecture in preparation for our first competition. Meet at the River Cafe car park on the northern side of the Torrens weir on War Memorial Drive at 8am to capture the morning light.
Later arrivals contact Ray to find out the current location of the group.
It is anticipated that participants may split up during the course of the morning and then regroup for coffee at 11.30am at the NRAH Food Court.
Come and join us and see what architectural treasures you can dig up!
2019 Ready to Shoot
Check out our 2019 Programme !
We start the year with a sharing session on January 17th, so bring along some of your favourite images from the summer break either as prints or on a USB. Give a commentary or just show us what you took. Your choice!
We’ll then hit the city on January 20th for a City Walk outing led by Ray Goulter, focusing on Architecture in preparation for our first competition. Meet at the car park on the northern side of the Torrens weir on Memorial Drive at 8am.
Later arrivals contact Ray to find out the current location of the group.
It is anticipated that participants may split up during the course of the morning and then regroup for coffee at 11.30am at the NRAH Food Court.
Have a great year!
Happy New Year 2019!
Happy New Year to all of our members and to interested visitors to our website!
Our year kicks off on Thursday January 17th with a sharing night about what you photographed over the summer break. Bring along some of your images – digital on a USB or large prints to show. Talk about them if you wish or just show us what you came up with.
A few members completed the December “31 Day Challenge” on flickr and while they may share some on the 17th you can check out all of the challenge images on the Blackwood Photo Club Group flickr page.
We have a City Walk scheduled for Sunday January 20th as a lead-in to our first competition on February 14th – Set Subject: Architecture.
Before the competition we have a workshop on Thursday January 31st – “Preparing for Competitions” where you can find out how to prepare both digital images and prints as well as learning the correct procedures for entering.
The full year’s programme will be posted shortly.
Visitors and potential new members are welcome at all of our meetings! Enjoy your photography in 2019!
BPC Annual Exhibition 2018
It was great to see some new faces and names added to the awards in our Annual Exhibition where award recipients were announced on Thursday night, November 22nd. Huge congratulations to Bev Langley (you can’t call yourself a novice anymore!) for Honeyeater in Colour Prints, Judy Sara for Olive Grove in Mono Prints and Golden Morning in Projected Images and Di Gage for Sunset Lake in Album Prints.
We had two sets of ties for 2nd place, with Judy Sara – Huli Wigmen and Helen Whitford – Hello Sunshine! tying for 2nd in Colour Prints and Di Gage – Sydney Harbour and Anthony Kernich – Metro tying in Mono Prints. Glen Langley gained 2nd in Album Prints with Swallow and Di Gage – Madagascan Male Magpie Robin was 3rd. In Projected images Ray Goulter gained 2nd with Alignment V2 and 3rd with Peregrine along with Anthony Kernich who tied for 3rd with Up and Down.
Merits were awarded to Helen Whitford for Lighting up the Rain, One Loose Cannon, Sunset through the Rain, Those Ears! and What? and to Judy Sara for Jaguar, and Seed Pod.
Thank you to our Annual Exhibition 2018 judges David Rowlands, Paula McManus FAPS and John Seidel EFIAP, FAPS.
The following gallery contains all of the Projected Image Entries. Enjoy!
Results for the 2018 Aggregate Awards were as follows.
Projected Images
1st – Photographic Wholesalers Award – Ray Goulter
2nd – James Allan
3rd – Judy Sara
Projected Images – Novice – Bev Langley
Monochrome Prints
1st – Blackwood Times Award – James Allan and Ray Goulter tied
3rd – Mark Pedlar
Colour Prints
1st – Blackwood Photographic Club Award – Helen Whitford
2nd – Jenny Pedlar
3rd – James Allan
Album Prints
1st – JV Spick Award – Gloria Brumfield
2nd – David Hancock
3rd – David Hope
Images of other Award presentations of the night.
Julie Goulter was awarded the Bill Templar Award for service to BPC in 2018. Congratulations Julie on this recognition of your efforts throughout the year!
Julie Goulter – Bill Templar Award for service to BPC during 2018
To see more of our work visit our exhibition over Christmas in the Coventry Library, Stirling from December 16th 2018 to January 6th 2019.
Thinking Inside the Square – August 2nd Competition
Our Set Subject for August 2nd was “Square Crop.” It didn’t matter what the subject of the image was, as long as it suited the square aspect ratio. A number of members came to the party with some creative use of the format. Ray Goulter’s “Alignment”, James Allan’s “Loch Luna”, Howard Seaman’s “Fine Dining”” and Helen Whitford’s “Soursobs” and “Cutie Pie” were all noted by judge, David Rowlands, as suiting the square crop particularly well.
David provided very fair, well rounded comments, elaborating on what he liked and where he could see opportunities to improve the image. I think we all appreciated the fact that he gave every image his full attention.
The Open category attracted some strong images too, with Anthony Kernich’s “Duomo” impressing, and Helen Whitford’s “Hello Sunshine” having impact. James Allan’s “Pigs” and Mark Pedlar’s “Grey Ghosts on Pulteney” both showed a different perspective.
Entry numbers were low again and we’d really like to encourage everyone to participate in the competition, challenge yourselves and your fellow club-mates and take the opportunity to access feedback on your images from both the judge and other members.
Click the links for all of the Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images.
Getting in Close – June 7th Competition
June’s competition saw us getting in close with Macro/Micro/Closeup as the set subject. We took a fairly loose approach to the definition as not everyone has macro equipment. The idea was simply to get in for close detail. However image numbers were down significantly although there was a great turnout of members for a cold winter’s night! We even welcomed a couple of new members!
Our judge, John Hodgson, provided thoughtful comments on each image, with lots of constructive tips. It was great to see new member, Meredith Retallack, among the top images with “Dew Drops”.
Dew Drops – Meredith Retallack
And Judy Sara cleaned up in the Projected images Set Subject with three very different images.
Kerry, Eric and Howard provided some other interesting entries in the set subject.
There were some great images displayed in the Open category as well!
Click the links for more Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images
BPC Annual Exhibition
Blackwood Photographic Club celebrated the work of our members with our 2017 Annual Exhibition on Thursday November 23rd.
It was great to see a range of seasoned and new members enter the competition (although it would always be good to have more!). Awards were presented for Aggregate Scores for each section for the year as well as individual images in each section for the end of year Annual Exhibition.
There were many fantastic images both among the award winners and those which may not have caught the judges’ eyes. Some of the prints will be on display at the Coventry Library, Stirling, from December 31st 2017 to January 14th 2018, so please take advantage of the opportunity to check out our photography.
Annual Exhibition Awards
Projected Images
Hutt Street Photos Award
Good Morning Mum – Ron Hassan
Ron receiving his award from BPC President, Mark Pedlar
WEA Australiana Landscape Award
Fall in the Forest – Helen Whitford
Helen receiving an award
Monochrome Prints
I’ve Been Framed Award
White Naped Raven – James Allan
James receiving one of his awards
Colour Prints
Fotoswift Award
Variable Sunbird – James Allan
Album Prints
Edge Malpas Award
Yellow Rumped Thornbill – James Allan
Click here for the complete Projected Images slideshow
Awards
2017 Aggregates
Projected Images – Photographic Wholesalers Award
1st James Allan, 2nd Chris Schultz, 3rd Kerry Malec
Projected Images Novice
1st Liliana Prucha, 2nd Al Falah Dhanji, 3rd David Hancock
Monochrome Prints – Blackwood Times Award
1st Mark Pedlar, 2nd James Allan, 3rd David Hancock
Mark receiving his award from Julie Goulter, BPC Secretary
Colour Prints – Blackwood Photographic Club Award
1st Jenny Pedlar, 2nd Mark Pedlar, 3rd Howard Seaman
Jenny receiving her award
Album Prints – JV Spick Award
1st James Allan, 2nd Howard Seaman, 3rd Helen Whitford
2017 Annual Exhibition Awards
Projected Images – Hutt Street Photos Award
1st Ron Hassan – Good Morning Mum
2nd James Allan – Purse Slipper Nest
3rd Helen Whitford – The Three Faces of Moyo
Merits – James Allan – Jewel Bug, Jennifer Williams – Kuitpo
WEA Landscape Trophy – Helen Whitford – Fall in the Forest
Monochrome Prints – I’ve Been Framed Award
1st James Allan – White Naped Raven
2nd James Allan – Zebra and Young
3rd James Allan – Stints
Merits – Helen Whitford – Blue and Gold Macaw, Mark Pedlar – Port Willunga Shower
Colour Prints – Fotoswift Award
1st James Allan – Variable Sunbird
2nd Chris Schultz – Antony and the Guitar
3rd Eric Budworth – Match Point
Merit – Eric Budworth – Lake Maligne
Album Prints – Edge Malpas Award
1st James Allan – Yellow Rumped Thornbill
2nd James Allan – Web
3rd Helen Whitford – Malabar Parakeet
Wild about Wildlife
In what has been a rare occurrence in recent years, entries in the Set Subject of Wildlife far outweighed the Open section in the October competition and a larger than usual number of individuals entered images.
It seems we are wild about Wildlife! Perhaps because several of our members have had wonderful safaris overseas, but there was no shortage of Aussie Wildlife in the mix.
James provided a cuteness overload with Purse Slipper Nest.
Purse Slipper Nest – James Allan
Judy wowed us all with her stunning Jaguar image.
Jaguar – Judy Sara
Steve’s Shy Albatross was not so shy.
Albatross, Stewart Island – Steve Wallace
Howard’s Old Master made an impression.
Old Master – Howard Seaman – Open
and Helen’s MY Grevillea raised a smile.
MY Grevillea! – Helen Whitford
Paula McManus of Port Adelaide CC made her debut as a judge and did a great job! As a first timer she was cautious and rather generous with scores but gave constructive criticism and positive feedback aimed at helping people see what they did right and what could be improved. It seems we helped her feel relaxed enough to share a joke and enjoy the experience. 🙂 Thanks Paula!
There were fewer Open entries but some stunning images – notably Anthony Kernich’s Singapore Blue Hour.
Singapore Blue Hour – Anthony Kernich
And Jenny’s Blue Horses provided an artistic touch.
Blue Horses – Jenny Pedlar
Click the links to see all of the Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images .
Light Painting – July 20th Competition
It seems that despite a workshop and an outing dedicated to the set subject Light Painting proved a bit too much of a challenge for many of our members, with entry numbers in the Set Subject very low. But a few brave souls tested the waters with some interesting and creative results.
Kerry Malec turned her image into a Monster Mask which also looks a little like an owl.
Monster Mask – Kerry Malec
Ron Hassan and Duart McLean each had a different take on the Port Willunga sticks.
Seaside Sphere – Duart McLean
The Sticks by Torch – Ron Hassan
And Helen Whitford momentarily fooled judge Matt Makinson with her fake Northern Lights.
Northern Lights – Helen Whitford
Matt, a professional photographer whose business Black and White Photographics provides great service to many photographic club members on the north side of town, gave constructive criticism of every image from a different perspective. As someone who works with illustrative or art photography he focused on techniques to improve the presentation and sale potential of images, addressing elements such as paper type, vignetting and selective treatment to part of an image. Members appreciated Matt’s fresh approach – even if he didn’t grant any 10’s!
For more images from the night visit our Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images pages. (More images coming – check back in a couple of days!)
Peer Review/Critique Nights are Evolving!
Have you attended a BPC Peer Review this year? If not you may not be aware of the changes. The format has evolved in response to feedback at the end of 2016 and now takes the form of round-table, small group discussion where everyone has the opportunity to voice their thoughts in a non-threatening environment.
We’ve discussed features to look for in an image, placing Impact, Emotion, Story-telling and use of Light ahead of the technical aspects (Composition, Focus, Exposure etc.). We still offer the opportunity for members to ask for feedback on specific aspects of their image and to compare images eg. “Is this image better in colour or mono?”, “Which works better, the low angle or the high angle?”
I asked this week which people preferred out of this “straight out of camera” shot and a different image taken on the same night which has been edited. It was interesting to hear the outcome!
Under the Milky Way – Straight out of Camera
Under the Milky way II – Different image, edited
We’ve also dedicated Peer Review nights to either Prints OR Projected Images to ensure that everyone gets to have at least one or two of their images viewed. The next Peer Review night on August 3rd will be Prints Only and everyone is encouraged to bring along at least one print, more if you have them, to share with other club members. The discussion over images has been very animated, thoughtful and has provided useful feedback to those who have shared while inspiring others to have a go at different ideas and techniques presented.
As an added point of interest we’ve introduced a brief presentation at the start of the night where a specific technique may be discussed or famous photographer presented. This time Chris gave us an insight into the work of Trent Parke, challenging us to change our perception of photography and art. You can see the presentation in El Presidente’s Musings.
So if you haven’t been to a Peer Review for a while come and check out the new format and take advantage of the chance to share your images and receive genuine, constructive feedback. 🙂
Landscape/Seascape Competition June 9th
Bwindi Mountains – James Allan
The set subject proved very popular this month, with only two Colour prints entered in the Open section and 24 in Landscape/Seascape and twice as many Set Subject entries as Open in Projected Images. There were some very atmospheric images like James Allan’s Bwindi Mountains and Chris Schultz’s Dusty Sunset.
Dusty Sunset – Chris Schultz
Sam Savage showed us why New Zealand is called the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Long White Cloud – Sam Savage
And Anthony Kernich avoided cliches with a beautiful panorama of the Three Sisters in the rain.
Three Sisters – Anthony Kernich
We welcomed Alberto Giurelli back as our judge (thanks for stepping in at the last minute Alberto!) He entertained us with his stories as he considered each image and tried to see the photographer ‘s intention and view the images with an artistic eye.
It was fantastic to see new member and first-time competitor Bron Williams among the top scores with two of her images.
Cape Leveque – Bron Williams
We didn’t get a triptych but James came up with a quadtych of the Maasai Mara with images taken from a hot air balloon – rather a different take on the landscape theme.
Maasai Mara – James Allan
For more top images visit Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images
Things Come in Threes – April 27th Triptych Competition
Members embraced the Set Subject and challenged themselves to try something new with some brilliant results in our Triptych competition on Thursday night. Judge Susie Lipert took a gentle approach, clearly putting herself in the place of the photographer while she gave constructive comments, talked about what did and didn’t work and gave helpful hints on how images could have been improved. Her comments were broad ranging – very specific to the image and I think her efforts were appreciated by all.
There was a really interesting range of subjects and some people had clearly taken photographs specifically for triptychs.
Eric was very creative…..
Eric Budworth – Life Span
James thought outside the square…..
James Allan – Cogs
Tariq showed off beautiful details…..
Tasriq Mohammad Abdul – Place of Worship
and Helen still couldn’t resist focusing on furry animals!
Helen Whitford – The Three Faces of Moyo
And in Open, James captured a Variable Sunbird in all its shimmering glory!
James Allan – Variable Sunbird – Open
To see more images from the night visit the Top Prints and Top Projected Images which includes a number of extra Editor’s Choices.
Hopefully this Set Subject may have opened minds to the use of triptychs in other competitions as a triptych is great for storytelling and can be used very creatively. It may not be the best mode for our next competition, but then again, maybe you will prove me wrong by entering a fantastic landscape triptych!
Shadows – Oct. 8th
Judy Sara – Attacama Sundeck
Well our last regular competition for the year is done and again a ‘novice’ showed the rest of us how to do Set Subject, with Judy Sara presenting a couple of great ‘Shadows’ images – Attacama Sundeck and Stripes and Straps.
Judy Sara – Stripes and Straps
Judge, Craig Field, considered every image at length and looked at what he considered could improve them, but struggled to find the right words and to see what the author was trying to achieve in a number of instances. His bottom line was, ”Would I like to hang this on my wall?”, acknowledging the subjectivity of judging. (I needed to have a tight grip on my Tiger Tiger print as he left the building! 🙂 ) As with previous judges, some of us gave him a hard time deciding if an image was in category or not, with the Shadows not being significant in the image. Mystery Woman seemed to hit the mark for Craig.
Helen Whitford – Mystery Woman
In 2016 we plan to clarify and explain Set Subject definitions more clearly to hopefully avoid “out of category” images being entered.
It was great to see Robyn Due and Bruce Nankivell also dipping their toes in the water of competition and acquitting themselves well. 🙂 Competition can be daunting, even terrifying at times, but it is also a means of receiving feedback – not only from the judge, but also from fellow club members who may provide a different perspective, and remind us that appreciation of photography, as with all art, is very subjective.
The Annual Exhibition is next and we’d love to see everyone put in at least a couple of their best images. Our last Peer Review demonstrated that there are members who have not been entering competitions but have some fabulous images which we’d love you to share.
Just to finish off, who’s that lurking in the shadows? Great shot Jen!
Jen Williams – Hiding in the Shadows
For more images from the competition don’t forget to visit the Top Prints and Top Projected Images pages.
Cheers
Helen
Nature in the City – Aug. 27th
Helen Whitford_City Gulls
It seems that at Blackwood PC we are all individuals and won’t be told what to photograph! 🙂 Once again our set subject received far fewer entries than the Open section, although Nature in the City seemed like a relatively user-friendly subject. Judge, Keith Seidel, came armed with his ready wit to exchange repartee with Chris over image titles and his penchant for segues. Keith took our images seriously though, thoughtfully discussing aspects which impressed him and offering suggestions for improvement.
It was great to see one of our relatively newer members, David Brown, do well with his artistic images – Microcosm and Silk Screen and battle with Alberto Giurelli and Helen Whitford for top spots in the Colour Prints. Current President, Ashley Hoff, made a great impression with his projected monochromes and James Allan and Gloria Brumfield showed some beautiful nature and wildlife images.
But competitions nights are not just about scores – they’re a great opportunity to receive feedback on your images from an experienced photographer and to show other members your images that you like. All members are encouraged to enter competitions and especially now start gathering your best images for our Annual Exhibition. It would be fantastic to see at least one or two images from all members!
Visit our Top Projected Images and Top Print Images to see some of this month’s great images, and scroll back through the year for perhaps a little inspiration!
The 7 Deadly Sins – Sloth wins! – July 16th
Ron Hassan – Sunset in Turkey – Open
Last month I mentioned that I hoped we’d do better with our Set Subject this time around but it seems that while there was a little envy over other people’s scores and pride in achievement, we mostly displayed sloth (or am I being mean saying we were too lazy to get out there and find some sins to photograph?) Perhaps we’re all too angelic or maybe we need to stick to more conventional Set Subjects? Committee members will be looking for suggestions for 2016!
Out of a total of 68 images presented on the night just 8 were in the Set Subject. At least we didn’t give the judge, Susie Lipert, too much difficulty in deciding what was ‘in category’. Susie gave a lot of thoughtful feedback, showing a preference for sharpness throughout the image and often urging us to get in tighter. She made the poignant comment that maybe what the author intended was not what she was seeing. Subjectivity in judging is unavoidable, and I’m sure we all want the judge to ‘get’ our image, but this is never guaranteed!
We were all very pleased to see Ron Hassan’s “Sunset in Turkey” get the recognition it deserves with a 10. Gloria Brumfield is also shining this year with some brilliant wildlife and nature images.
Gloria Brumfield – Is it Edible? – Open
Ursula Prucha impressed the judge with her night light scenes, taking out all the Projected Image tops.
Ursula Prucha – West Terrace Light Show – Open
It was great to see an excellent turnout on such a cold night and brilliant to again see a number of new members and visitors. It would be great to see entries from our new members in the next competition – “Nature in the City”!
As always, click the links for Top Prints and Top Projected Images.
Cheers
Helen 🙂
Minilimist, Milinimist……Minimalist…got it! – June 4th
Jennifer Williams_On Reflection_Set
Minimalist Landscape ….tricky to say, even harder to define and apparently almost impossible to actually select pictures for which truly fit the category!
Perhaps we needed to go back to school and have a lesson on what a Minimalist Landscape is! We created a bit of a headache for judge, Suzanne Opitz, in trying to decide which images were “in category” and which were not, as only around half of the images submitted for the set subject truly qualified as both “minimalist” and “landscape”! Jennifer Williams nailed it with “On Reflection”, and Huw Rosser dabbling in the waters of the Novice section with “On the Edge”, taught us a lesson in Minimalism.
Huw Rosser_On the Edge_Set
Suzanne seemed relieved each time a section switched from Minimalist Landscape to the Open category (and not just because “minimalist” is a bit of a tongue twister). Then her self-confessed penchant for vignetting and cropping came out as she urged us to get in tighter and darken our edges.
It was great to see some newer members venturing into competition and other members demonstrating their developing processing skills.
Click on the links to see the rest of the Top Prints and Top Projected Images.
We might have struggled with Minimalist Landscape, but I predict we’ll all be experts on the next set subject – “The 7 Deadly Sins” 🙂
Cheers
Helen
On the Move in October!
James Allan_Flying in the Face of Gravity_Set
“Subject in Motion” was the set subject for our October competition. We saw a good variety of moving objects and styles of capturing them. Judge, John Hodgson, gave fair, considered appraisal, making the point again that it was just HIS opinion, and the same image may be received very differently by a different judge. This came home to me when I was most pleased by his comments on one of my lowest scoring images because he ‘got’ was I was trying to do. I’d entered the same image with a previous judge, who completely misinterpreted what I thought I was saying. I think they gave me the same score, but I was just happy that, in this instance, John ‘”got it”!
It was great to see Les Ludgate enter, and take a top score for “Catch me if You Can!” Hopefully we’ll see more from you Les!
Les Ludgate_Catch me if you Can_Set
For more Top Scoring images, and a few Editors Choices, please visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Projected Images pages.
Can’t wait to see your best work in our Annual Exhibition!
Helen
September Competition – Landscape
James Allan_Twin Falls_Landscape
September 25th saw us trial a new method of entering prints for competition, with titles sent online prior to competition night. With entrants able to simply walk in and hang their prints on the wall we saved time and freed up half a dozen people, who would previously have been madly recording names and titles and hanging prints, to socialise, relax and enjoy the night. We were very happy with the new system which looks set to make life much easier!
Derek Rogers was our judge and he provided helpful critique of each image – told us what he saw as the good and the poor aspects and gave suggestions for improvement. The general consensus was that he’d been fair, encouraging and quite positive but, as always seems to be the case (because judges are human and photographers are human), some scores were a little surprising and sometimes the judge just doesn’t ‘get’ what the photographer thought the image was about! Ah, the joys of competition! Overall though, thank you Derek for a great job!
It was great to see one of our newer members doing well in this and recent competitions – congratulations to Gloria Brumfield on having some of the top scoring images! Looks like those SAPF classes are paying off! (You’ll probably tell me those photos were taken before you did the classes, huh?)
To see some of the top images from the night go to Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Projected Images.
There is just one more regular competition to come, followed by the Annual Exhibition. If you’ve been quietly watching from the sidelines, perhaps now is the time to dip your toe in the water and join the competition!
Found! February 13th 2014
Steve Wallace_Links from the Past_Set
On February 13th we found ourselves viewing Found Objects, although not a huge number, as only around a quarter of the prints were in the Set Subject category. James Allan led the way with a number images of shed animal skins of varying types. In Projected images the breakdown between Set and Open was roughly 50/50. It was great to see a total of 18 members represented in our first competition for the year. Congratulations to Alberto Giurelli who threw down the challenge in his new club, receiving three of the four 10’s that were awarded for the night! Well done to Chris Schultz for bagging the other one!
Our judge Vicki Easom, from Port Adelaide Club, took a consistent and quite positive approach, giving a few tips along the way. Thanks for your efforts Vicki!
The range of genres and styles certainly made interesting viewing and some members are showing real creativity in their handling and processing of images. It looks like we’re in for a challenging and inspirational year!
To see the Top Scoring Images visit our Top Digital and Top Print pages.
Here’s to an exciting and productive 2014!
Cheers
Helen 🙂
Annual Exhibition 2013
The year has gone
The comps are done
The judges scored
Awards were won!
The Annual Exhibition on Thursday November 22nd saw a great turn-out of members and guests to celebrate the year of photographic endeavour, learning, friendship and achievement that was Blackwood Photographic Club in 2013.
The club could not function without a huge effort from those willing to be involved, from our new President, Ashley Hoff, who did an admirable job of hosting his first Annual, previous President Chris Schultz who put enormous energy into ably guiding us through the greater portion of 2013, to all the members who help with setting up and taking down of equipment, organising supper etc., and of course, all who bravely fronted up to the judges with images for competition.
One person who has gone above and beyond the call was James Allan who was awarded the Bill Templar Award for 2013. James has put an enormous amount of time and effort into arranging outings throughout the year where many members have shared their knowledge, honed their skills and made new friends. He has collated and edited Camera Clips where he has gathered and written a range of interesting articles and shared images from the outings. He also put together another fabulous calendar, sourcing images from as many members as possible to make it a truly representative and inclusive showcase of the club’s work.
Thanks to Lydia Strutton AAPS, (SAPF Secretary) and Andy Smylie, AAPS, AFIAP, who judged our images earlier on November 9th, and to Lydia for returning on Thursday night where she was roped into presenting the awards. As for the results of the Annual Exhibition competition, it seems you had to have a name beginning with J or H to rank in the top images. Congratulations to James, Jo, John, Jenny, Jim, Heather and Helen for placings! (Sympathies to those whose names do not begin with J or H!) To all who entered the Annual and also the regular competitions through-out the year, thank-you and congratulations on a great effort! Regardless of scores and awards, it is you the photographers who courageously present images, knowing that the judging is incredibly subjective, knowing that not everyone will ‘get’ what you were trying to achieve, knowing that you are still learning and experimenting with camera and post-processing techniques, knowing that your printer might not be giving you the results you thought you had, knowing that you might feel ‘shot down’ or go home on a high because something you did struck a chord with someone, it is YOU who make the competitions and who make the club what it is!
Here are the Trophy Winners and a few of the other certificate recipients that were present
Annual Exhibition Competition Results
Projected Images
Jo Tabe – More from Wana
| 1st Hutt St Photos Award | Jo Tabe | More from Wana |
| 2nd | Heather Connolly | April Fog |
| 3rd | John Vidgeon | Waiting for a Grub |
| Merit | James Allan | Hanging Rock |
| WEA Landscape Tropy | Jo Tabe | More from Wana |
Monochrome Prints
Helen Whitford – Hello There!
| 1st I’ve Been Framed Award | Helen Whitford | Hello There |
| 2nd | Helen Whitford | Nice Kitty |
| 3rd | Helen Whitford | Otter |
| Merit | Jo Tabe | Keen |
Colour Prints
Helen Whitford – King of Beasts
| 1st Mal Klopp Award | Helen Whitford | King of Beasts |
| 2nd | Jim McKendry | Bird of Paradise |
| 3rd | Jenny Pedlar | Island Boats |
| Merit | Jenny Pedlar | That’s where I left Them! |
| Merit | Jo Tabe | Portland Lighthouse |
Album Prints
Jo Tabe – Just a Donkey
| 1st | Jo Tabe | Just a Donkey |
| 2nd | James Allan | Eric’s Frypan |
| 3rd | Helen Whitford | Dewy Cactus |
| Merit | James Allan | Mallee Buds |
Annual Aggregate Results
Projected Images
| 1st | Photographic Wholesalers Award | Helen Whitford |
| 2nd | James Allan | |
| 3rd | Chris Schultz |
Monochrome Prints
| 1st | Blackwood Times Award | James Allan |
| 2nd | Jo Tabe | |
| 3rd | Helen Whitford |
Colour Prints
| 1st | Blackwood Photo Club Award | Helen Whitford |
| 2nd | John Vidgeon | |
| 3rd | James Allan |
Album Prints
| 1st | JV Spick Award | Helen Whitford |
| 2nd | James Allan | |
| 3rd | Heather Connolly |
To see all the Top Scoring Images from throughout the year visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages.
Getting Industrious – October 24th
Chris Schultz’ Steelworks
It was a hive of industry at the back of the room preparing prints to hang for this month’s Urban/Industrial Landscape competition.
Actually, while print numbers were down a little we had a great range of images and some interesting interpretations of the theme, as well as some impressive open section photographs.
Our judge Lindsay Poland, from Diamonds/Photographic Wholesalers, initially needed a little encouragement to elaborate on scores and make comments, but as he warmed up to the task he gave helpful hints and tips, added personal anecdotes and generally engaged the club members in a positive manner. We even squeezed a couple of 10’s out of him – congratulations to Jo and Eric who achieved this rare feat! Thanks to Lindsay for a great job. It was good to have your professional eye cast over our efforts!
It was interesting to note that females were few and far between on this particular night. Perhaps less interest in the selected theme? Perhaps purely coincidental. (Or did I miss a really good chick flick on tele? 😉 )
Check out the top images pages. Congratulations to Jo Tabe whose work particularly impressed our professional photographer judge!
To see the Top Scoring Images visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages.
Helen 😉
Emotions Ran High! Sept. 26th 2013
Artistic handling of a studio shot by Jo Tabe
When the prearranged judge called in sick a couple of days before the competition, (hope you’re feeling better David!) emotions ran high as the committee debated what to do. Should we swap with a Peer Review? Should we have some form of Community Judging? Should we run around in circles like a chook with it’s head cut off? The decision was not final until moments before the competition was to begin, when Alberto Giurelli, who had just signed up as a new member, (welcome Alberto!) kindly offered to be our judge for the evening.
The set subject of “Emotions” brought out some beautiful and engaging images, while the Open section was again well represented. Alberto judged with enthusiasm and a refreshingly positive outlook, talking about what part of an image spoke to him, what he thought the author was probably trying to communicate as well as technical aspects that were either well handled or could use improvement. He sprinkled his comments with welcome humour, survived being heckled by the crowd and overall helped to make the evening a positive experience for exhibitors. There was an impressive range of images of a high standard and it was great to see a couple of members braving the competition when they have been more reticent in the past, and doing quite well. The fact that there were relatively fewer entries than usual meant there was more time to chat and enjoy the images when the judging was completed.
By the end of the evening I think the emotions were mostly happiness and relief, with no sign of the angst and confusion that had been trying to get a foothold earlier in the week. Thank you to Chris (El ex-presidente) for handling the rearrangement of the evening (while new President Ashley had escaped to Singapore 😉 ) and to Alberto for filling the breach in a positive and generous manner.
To see the Top Scoring Images visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages.
Helen Whitford 😉
“Lines” Competition August 1st 2013
We drew the line, followed the line, toed the line and tried not to cross the line as our efforts this month went before judge, Matt Makinson of Black & White Photographics.
Matt has worked as a professional photographer but has concentrated on the printing side of the business in recent years. As a printer in commercial photography he brought a different perspective to judging, closely scrutinizing the quality of the print and picking up flaws such as colour casts, pixellation etc.
He also strongly encouraged us to make use of vignetting (but to keep it subtle) so that the eye is not drawn away to light corners of a photograph. Like most judges he also pointed out distractions which could be removed to improve a picture, such as bright patches, marks from a dirty filter or objects cut off by the frame.
His commercial eye favoured an arty style and he suggested possible markets for a number of images such as Council brochures and magazines, as well as hanging on someone’s wall. Heather did particularly well with some quite abstract images. His dislike of flies and cacti may have cost Kerry a couple of points (bad luck, not bad photography Kerry!) but overall his remarks were encouraging and positive.
I think we all enjoyed his little anecdotes along the way, as well as his show and tell with a magnificent print of Uluru, which helped make it a pleasant evening.
To see the Top Scoring Images visit our Top Scoring Prints and Top Scoring Digital Images pages and scroll down to August.
Cheers
Helen : )
Blackwood Photographic Club of South Australia Inc. 