Our annual 4-way interclub competition took place on Monday, 24th November 2025. Musselburgh Camera Club members joined members from Kirkcaldy Photographic Society and Stirling and District Camera Club to visit Edinburgh Photographic Society at their premises in Great King Street in Edinburgh. Edinburgh had laid on a feast of drinks, sandwiches and cakes. The competition was judged by Ricki O’Niell, an internationally acclaimed artist and photographer from Dundee. Ricki had a train to catch, so the competition whizzed by at a faster pace than usual.

Each club had submitted 15 digital images, making a grand total of 60 images. This year we were up against several images that had scored highly in the 2025 SPF Digital Championship, so the competition was tough. Edinburgh’s first image called “Apotheosis” got them onto a good start by getting 19 points. Kirkcaldy followed with a lovely landscape called “Break in the Rain at Tiumpan Head” which scored 17. Musselburgh’s first image was “Barn Own” by Derek Muller, which was awarded 16 points. The disappointing trend continued when of our most dramatic image, George Todd’s “Quad Launch”, only scored 15 because it didn’t look realistic. Most of our images achieved reasonable average scores, but we had fewer top images than the other clubs, and that made a difference. We ended up in last place for the second successive year with the final scores:

• 1st place equal: Edinburgh Photographic Society, 257 points.
• 1st place equal: Kirkcaldy Photographic Society, 257 points.
• 3rd place: Stirling and District Camera Club, 254 points.
• 4th place: Musselburgh Camera Club, 246 points.

The top scoring images in the competition were:

• Root Cellar Delights (Stirling) – 20 points.
• Well-timed Duck (Kirkcaldy) – 20 points.

Our top images were:

• Frosted Whiskers (George Todd) – 19 points.
• Proud Woodpecker (Malcolm Roberts) – 18 points.
• Strength Against the Current (George Todd) – 18 points.
• Dave, Going His Own Way (Derek Muller) – 18 points.

The early finish gave us more time to chat in Edinburgh’s lovely premises. Well done to George, Malcolm and Derek for holding up against such tough competition. It looks like we need to try harder next year.