In a good start for Set Subjects in 2022, Architecture accounted for 75% of entries – a popular choice!

We changed a couple of sections this year, dropping Album prints and dividing Projected Images into separate Colour and Monochrome sections.

Judge, David Rowlands, provided thoughtful comments on each image.  In Architecture he particularly looked for a different perspective and ways in which the photographer made the “art” their own.

The high scores were well spread with Di Gage doing particularly well from photographing Port Adelaide with Old Port Woolsheds, Old Port Woolsheds 2 and Woolsheds as well as The Cloisters, Iona Abbey.

Judy Sara’s Windows and Different Structures impressed David with their simplicity and clean lines, as did Steve Wallace’s Old against New.

The more classic Pont d’Avignon and Maison Carée by Gordon Lindqvist, along with Heather Connolly’s Big end of Town, Judy Sara’s Palm House and Geometric and Sheila Gatehouse’s Building up to the Sky, You Can’t Hide your Best Angle and Hart’s Mill rounded out the Set Subject High scores.

In the smaller Open sections the most successful photographs were Judy Sara’s Ladybird on Duty, Helen Whitford’s Post Coital Screech, Ray Goulter’s Tree Skeletons and Balmy Afternoon and Meredith Retallack’s Orange Spider Wasp.

It was great to see a good number of different entrants doing well!

Click the links for galleries of Top Prints and Top Projected Images

Our Annual Exhibition was held on Thursday November 18^th with a good turn-out of members to celebrate our achievements for the year.

It was great to see some different faces among the award recipients, including Sheila Gatehouse who won Top Colour Print with Lily, Ray Goulter with Top PDI, Lillies after Rain and Heather Connolly with the Top Album Print, Wanderer Feeding. Judy Sara’s Spoonbill Perching was the Top Monochrome Print and also earned the Nature Award. Judy also did extremely well in Aggregates!

The Australian Landscape Award was won by Steve Wallace with Lindsay Waterhole and the Portrait Award went to Parry by Frances Allan.

The awards were presented by Julie Goulter, the club’s president.
The full list of awards was as follows:

Projected Digital Images

1^st  Hutt St Photos Award – Ray Goulter – Lillies after Rain

2^nd  Vicki Kramer – Hear the Little People

3^rd  Sam Savage – Screech

Merit   James Allan – Wood Duck Nesting

Merit  Heather Connolly – Magpie Lark

Merit  Paul Hughes – Much Easier after Covid

Click HERE to see a video presentation of all the projected digital image entries.

Aggregate – PDIs

1^st Photographic Wholesalers Award – Judy Sara

2^nd James Allan

=3^rd  Vicky Kramer & Jenny Pedlar

Monochrome Prints

1^st Judy Sara – Spoonbill Perching

2^nd Frances Allan – Pimelia

3^rd Di Gage – On the Prowl

Merit – Frances Allan – Parry

Merit – Judy Sara – Poppy

Aggregate – Monochrome Prints

1^st Blackwood Times Award – Judy Sara

2^nd James Allan

3^rd  Vicki Kramer

Colour Prints

1^st Fotoswift Award – Sheila Gatehouse – Lily

2^nd Sam Savage – Beautiful Firetail

3^rd Judy Sara – Up, Up and Away!

Merit  Di Gage – Coming in for a Landing

Merit  Steve Wallace – Lindsay Waterhole

Merit   Helen Whitford – Bee, Mama!

Merit  Helen Whitford – Cormorant Preening

Aggregate Colour Prints

1^st Blackwood Photographic Club Award – Judy Sara

2^nd James Allan

3^rd Vicki Kramer

Album Prints

1^st Ege Malpas Award- Heather Connolly – Wanderer Feeding

2^nd Sheila Gatehouse – Sean

3^rd Helen Whitford – Willie Wagtail

Merit   Sheila Gatehouse – Sunflower

Aggregate – Album Prints

1^st Vicki Kramer

2^nd Helen Whitford

3^rd Heather Connolly

Landscape Award – Steve Wallace – Lindsay Waterhole

Nature Award – Judy Sara – Spoonbill Perching

Portrait Award – Frances Allan –  Parry

Thank you to our judges, Brad Hodge, Suzanne Opitz AFIAP AAPS and Peter Barrien EFIAP FAPS.

Service Awards

Di Gage was presented the Bill Templer award for service to the club.

Julie thanked the following people for their assistance throughout the year.

The Set Subject of Birds in Nature joined Head and Shoulders Portrait as our most popular this year, each accounting for over 70% of entries respectively.  This demonstrates where our photographic passion lies!

Still, only 12 members entered the competition and it would be great to see more members enter the fray!

There were some stunning photographs with beautiful captures of birds in action – flying, feeding, calling and interacting but images of birds simply perching and resting were also impressive.

Don was impressed overall with the standard of our bird photography and loved Judy Sara’s Fish Dinner, Screeching Seriema, Spoonbill Perching, Landed, Wren Huddle and Cape Grassbird.

Frances Allan demonstrated a talent for capturing the moment and the light and was rewarded by judge, Don Brooks, with multiple 10s.  Her Splendid Wren in How Splendid wowed everybody and The Smile made everybody smile, despite Shoebills being an “ugly” bird according to the judge and Art Deco Eyes was something a little different.

Di Gage’s Coming in for a Landing, Eastern Yellow Robin and Fairy Wren, Helen Whitford’s Am I Welcome?, Bee, Mama!, Cormorant Preening and Lori, James Allan’s Tell the Truth, Hope to Die, Ansty Osprey and Feeding Time, Sam Savage’s On the Move and Screech and Sheila Gatehouse’s Fairy Wren in the Rain rounded out the Set Subject high scores.

There were also some beautiful photographs among those which didn’t make the top scores as the competition in this Set Subject was fierce.  And I haven’t even mentioned the Open category!

For all of the high scoring images, including Open Section photographs, go to Top Prints and Top Projected Digital Images

This competition saw an almost equal number of entries in the set subject and open categories. Members’ interpretations of the subject was quite varied, with many images depicting love between animals as well as humans.

Vicki Kramer’s entries were all in the set subject, with Labour of Love, Loving Sons Bidding Farewell and Twins Love among the top scoring images.

Paul Hughes entered a collage, Walter and Doris, showing aspects of a couple’s loving life together.

Judy Sara’s Cormorant Love Story was a clever interpretation of the topic.

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In the open category James Allan’s Landscape gained the top score. The Judge, Geoff Smith, was impressed with the composition and lighting; a great shot both technically and aesthetically.

James also had success with Dunes and Collapse of Greater Plains

Di Gage’s Fairy Wren and Sam Savage’s Morning Light were also among the top scoring images.

At the Peer review workshop next week we will be looking at imitation as a technique to unleash creativity. To kick off the discussion I would like you to look at these famous monochrome portraits, select an image and have a crack at emulating the style. Bring your images along to the workshop where we can discuss how it went. Regards James.

Not sure what to do? Here is an example.

Above is an image I took that was inspired by the famous image below.

I am interested to see what you all come up with. Regards James.