This week we had the pleasure of welcoming Gordon Scott of Mid Calder Camera Club to judge our Black and White print competition. Gordon told us his liking for black and white photography goes back to the days when black and white film was easy to develop. The medium lets you concentrate on the form and texture of a subject independently of its colour. Some of Gordon’s work can be found in his Mid Calder gallery:

https://www.midcaldercameraclub.org.uk/gallery-gordonscott

47 prints had been entered by 16 members. There were some landscape images, black and white portraits, photographs of buildings and monuments, clever still life creations, and even a black and white wildlife shot. Gordon liked the composition of most of the prints, although he felt some could be cropped or could do with more space. He felt some shots that were almost but not quite symmetrical would have a bigger impact if made symmetrical. A few of the shots could be improved with a little more contrast. Gordon preferred portraits where you could see a connection between the subjects, or a connection between the subject and the photographer. There was plenty of time at the end to discuss the prints over tea and sandwiches, provided by Jennifer Davidson and Carol Edmond. Mike Clark’s “Another Great Dive” was admired as a unique portrait of a diver, showing the diver’s face through his helmet. There was also a discussion about the composition of Liz Sowler’s print “Security Alert at the Sculpture Gallery”, which stood out with its contrasting areas of white and black. John West’s striking, back-lit image of a dandelion in a glass also had a lot of impact. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

• 5th place (49 points)
  • John West
  • Jim Innes
  • Jennifer Davidson
• 4th place (50 points)
  • Steven Beard
  • Kevin Johnson
• 3rd place (51 points)
  • Carol Edmond
• 2nd place (54 points)
  • Joe Fowler
• 1st place (56 points)
  • George Todd

The top images were:

• The Farrier (Joe Fowler) – 20 points
• June (Kevin Johnson) – 20 points
• 10th Lanarkshire Rifles AKA “The Glasgow Highlanders” (George Todd) – 19 points
• Leo (George Todd) – 19 points
• Clansman (George Todd) – 18 points
• Just Dandy (John West) – 18 points
• Rasta Biker (Carol Edmund) – 18 points

Well done to George Todd for winning, to Joe Fowler for a close second, and to Carol Edmond, who’s great portrait “Rasta Biker” secured her third place. Well done also to Kevin Johnson for earning 20 points with his lovely relaxed “June” portrait, and to John West, whose “Just Dandy” ranked amongst the best images. Thank you to Gordon Scott for judging the competition.

• Next week come along to the Fisherrow Centre at 7pm on Thursday, 12th December for our annual quiz night, presented by Gavin Marshall.
• If you have 3 mounted prints to enter for our Human Portrait Print competition, please bring them along on Thursday and give them to George Todd. Please also email a JPEG version of your 3 images to georgetodd1957@me.com.