Our first competition of the new season took place this week. David Ferguson, president of Falkirk Camera Club, visited to judge our digital projected images competition. David said when he had first started in photography he owned a Kodak 126 Instamatic camera. He shot and developed his own film and once worked in the photography section at Boots. If your print once came back with a “needs improvement” sticker it’s possible that David put it there. 🙂 You can see David’s more recent work on his web site:

David Ferguson Photography

There were 48 images altogether, entered by 16 members, covering a wide range of subjects, including wildlife, landscape, sport, portrait and architecture shots, and some really imaginative still life creations. David commented on the high quality of the entries, which meant there were a lot of high marks. Each image was assessed on its exposure, sharpness and composition, and David suggested changes in the cropping or spacing that may improve the impact of some of the images; although he pointed out this was his own opinion, and other viewers may see things differently. Some images could be improved by lifting the shadows, adjusting the contrast or converting them to black and white. Some studio shots could have been improved by adjusting the lighting to bring out more facial detail or reduce blemishes. Notable images were a paperclip figure beach scene (At the Beach) submitted by John West, which none of us could figure out how it was done. There was also an innovative back of the head shot (Leading the Way) created by new member Melanie Gallacher, which broke all the rules but worked and secured a maximum 20 points. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

• 5th place (53 points)
  • John West
• 4th place (54 points)
  • Joe Fowler
  • Jennifer Davidson
  • Melanie Gallacher
• 3rd place (55 points)
  • Mike Clark
  • Carol Edmund
  • Derek Muller
• 2nd place (58 points)
  • George Todd
• 1st place (59 points)
  • Malcolm Roberts

There were many top images:

• Place Your Bets (Joe Fowler) – 20 points
• Nuthatch (Malcolm Roberts) – 20 points
• Tap Dance (Malcolm Roberts) – 20 points
• Battling the Rapids (George Todd) – 20 points
• Hi There (Carol Edmond) – 20 points
• Leading the Way (Melanie Gallacher) – 20 points
• Caught in the Middle (Malcolm Roberts) – 19 points
• Osprey With Catch (George Todd) – 19 points
• Ferrier Working in the Smiddy (George Todd) – 19 points
• Braving the Rapids (Mike Clark) – 19 points
• Strong Competition (Derek Muller) – 19 points
• Carriage Driving (Jennifer Davidson) – 19 points

Well done to Malcolm Roberts for winning with a fantastic 59/60 points! Thank you David for judging our competition, and thank you to everyone who entered.

Next week, 24th October, we will be having a review of this competition. Please have a go at making the changes suggested by David and bring in your edited images. We can also discuss how to “lift the shadows” or “bring out the sky”, or any other adjustments mentioned. Perhaps John could tell us how he created his beach scene? Besides working on your own images, what were your favourite images of the evening?