Category Archives: Competitions

06 April 2023 (Digital Knockout Competition)

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As we approach the end of our 2022/23 season, we reached our annual digital knockout competition. This year’s knockout was on the theme of “black and white”, which had been chose at last year’s AGM. As this is an informal knock-out without a judge, members could interpret this theme any way they wished, although strongly coloured images were not popular in the voting rounds.

15 members entered a total of 43 digital images, plus one print which couldn’t be digitised in time. Members once again showed their creativity in interpreting the theme. There were black and white images of strongly shaped or textured objects, such as the Shard, a tunnel under St. Andrews Castle, shadows and refractions of household objects viewed through glass, black and white portraits, and some black and white wildlife and nature images, including some misty woodland scenes and portraits of birds. Then there were also images of black and white subjects photographed in colour, such as a piano, salt and pepper, a Dalmatian dog, or a pair of lemurs. The images were ordered randomly and paired together in a series of head-to-head rounds until only 3 remained. Members then voted for their favourite to determine the final placings, and the result was:

  • 3rd place
    • Peek a Boo (Jennifer Davidson)
  • 2nd place
    • Mortonhall (Karen Woodcock)
  • 1st Place
    • Clear Head (Jennifer Davidson)

Well done to Jennifer Davidson, whose winning image showed a black and white image of a glass head which emphasised the edges. Jennifer wins an Easter egg! Well done also to new member, Karen Woodcock, whose beautiful woodland image secured her second place. Jennifer’s third placed image showed a black and white portrait of some children alongside a black and white lamb.

  • The dates for our 2023 library exhibition have been announced. The club would like some volunteers to help transfer our prints between libraries on the following dates. All the libraries except Gullane will need our display stands. Please contact Ed or Steven if you would like to volunteer.
    • 6th May 2023: Setting up the exhibition at Gullane library.
    • 20th May 2023: Transferring the exhibition from Gullane to Prestonpans.
    • 3rd June 2023: Transferring the exhibition from Prestonpans to Port Seton.
    • 17th June 2023: Transferring the exhibition from Port Seton to Longniddry
    • 1st July 2023: Transferring the exhibition from Longniddry to Musselburgh
    • 15th July 2023: Taking down the exhibition from Musselburgh library.
  • Next Thursday we have the club’s outdoor photoshoot. We will be meeting at Cockenzie harbour at 7pm on Thursday, 13th April, and will explore the coastline from the site of the former power station up to Port Seton harbour.

 

16 March 2023 (Human Portrait Print Competition)

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Neil Spowart visited Musselburgh Camera Club this week to judge our human portrait print competition, our last formal competition of the season. Sadly, I missed this competition because of car problems, so apologies for not being there.

This was a smaller competition than usual, with just 22 prints entered by 8 members. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 4th place (47 points)
    • Jim Innes
    • Derek Muller
  • 3rd place (48 points)
    • Mike Clark
  • 2nd place (49 points)
    • George Todd
    • John West
  • 1st place (51 points)
    • Joe Fowler
    • Carol Edmund

The top images were:

  • Milla (Joe Fowler) – 18 points
  • Katrine (John West) – 18 points
  • Pensive (Carol Edmund) – 18 points
  • Grandad (Carol Edmund) – 18 points

Well done to the joint winners, Joe and Carol. It looks like it was a tight competition, with just 1 mark separating 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Thank you to everyone who entered and thank you to Neil Spowart for judging the competition for us.

  • On Thursday 23rd March we’ll have a special “set of six” night which includes a poster competition. If you have any images that would work on a club poster, or have any ideas for poster design, please bring them along (or send them to George Todd) and we’ll choose our favourite.
  • George Todd is collecting club trophies for engraving. Please bring them along.

My car isn’t being serviced this Thursday so there’s a fair chance I’ll make it next time. See you there.

09 March 2023 (Swedish Interclub)

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This week we were delighted to be joined once again by members from Mölnlycke Fotoclubb, in Gothenburg, Sweden for our annual interclub meeting. The meeting was hosted at the Fisherrow Centre and Mölnlycke Fotoclubb members joined us by Zoom.

The evening began with Musselburgh members reviewing the 15 images submitted by Mölnlycke Fotoclubb. The images once again demonstrated the creativity of our Swedish counterparts at Mölnlycke Fotoclubb. Members commented on the images and each then voted for their top 4 favourites. The most popular images were:

  • 1st place (13 votes)
    • A joyful and unusual portrait of a woman splashing in the water. Unusual because the water droplets were captured in perfect focus, with the woman blurring into the background. The technique made the image very eye-catching, like a health spa advertisement. We felt the moment had been captured perfectly.
  • 2nd place (11 votes)
    • An unusual and beautiful image of a cormorant captured in silhouette against a golden sunset sky. The photographer had enhanced the image by adding a texture, which we learned had been done using an in-camera ICM technique. A very impressive image.
  • 3rd place (9 votes)
    • A lovely wedding portrait, showing the bride as a side-on portrait framed by a bokeh of sparkly lights in the background.
  • 4th place (8 votes)
    • A really unusual abstract in muted colours, showing an intriguing array of similar shapes leading the eye through the frame. We learned the image was an ICM made while photographing a group of ducks.
  • 5th place (5 votes)
    • A close-up shot of the edge of some melting ice. We liked the subtle shades of colour, and the fact that the ice resembled the Mediterranean coastline.

Mölnlycke Fotoclubb members then commented on our 16 images. Their members had chosen several favourites, but there was only one clear winner:

  • Favourites:
    • Autumn Reflections (Elaine Gilroy)
    • Forest Huntress (George Todd)
    • Glen Coe Water (Mike Clark).
    • Kingfisher on the Rocks (Malcolm Roberts)
    • Lovely Cup of Tea (Joe Fowler)
    • Nuthatch (Gavin Marshall)
    • Sunset in Arisaig looking towards Eigg & Rhum (Gordon Davidson)
  • The Winner!
    • The Rescue (John West)

Well done to John West, whose creative image of a rescue made with paperclip figures (in Swedish blue and yellow) was declared to be our winner on the night.

  • This coming Thursday we have the results of the Human Portrait print competition, judged by Neil Spowart. Since this is a print competition I recommend that members come to Fisherrow to view it in person, rather than connecting by Zoom.
  • We are approaching the end of the season, and George Todd will be collecting trophies so he can have them engraved ready for the AGM and trophy presentation on 27th April. If you were lucky enough to win a trophy last year, please bring it along to Fisherrow.

02 February 2023 (Set Subject Competition C – Landscape)

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Our set subject competition concluded on Thursday with the third and final part, on the theme of “Landscape”. George Todd had won last year’s competition and judged our entries. George mentioned that he liked landscape images to contain three balanced parts: something interesting in the foreground to lead in your eye; something in the middle distance; and something in the far distance to give depth to the image. He also mentioned that landscape images containing bodies of water work better when there is a landscape in the distance (with the water ending in a distance island or distant mountains, for example).

14 members had entered 42 images altogether. Most of the images showed scenes from Scotland, although there were a few from as far afield as England, Ireland, Iceland and Arizona. George found that some scenes were spoiled by the inclusion of people and houses in the far distance which didn’t add anything or act as focal points. George also pointed out how one image was spoiled by a large number of footprints in the foreground sand. He recommended photographing sandy scenes early in the day before other tourists have arrived to spoil the pristine surface. He also explained how landscape images could be made more punchy and colourful using a “levels” adjustment in Photoshop. Images that were a little too hazy and flat in the distance and could be improved with the Photoshop “de-haze” filter. Overall, George was impressed with the quality of the entries, especially from new members Ross Robertson, Jim Innes and Derek Muller, and there were a lot of high marks. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (50 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
  • 4th place (51 points)
    • Steven Beard
    • Steve Williams
    • Elaine Gilroy
    • Jim Innes
  • 3rd place (52 points)
    • Mike Clark
    • Derek Muller
  • 2nd place (53 points)
    • Joe Fowler
    • Ross Robertson
  • 1st place (54 points)
    • Gordon Davidson

The top images were:

  • Sunset in Arisaig looking towards Eigg and Rhum (Gordon Davidson) – 20 points
  • Wild Ponies (Joe Fowler) – 19 points
  • On the Trail (Steven Beard) – 19 points
  • Glen Coe Water (Mike Clark) – 19 points
  • Sky High (Ross Robertson) – 19 points
  • Icy Fjord (Steve Williams) – 18 points
  • Autumn Reflections (Elaine Gilroy) – 18 points
  • Natural Light Show over Urquhart Castle (Derek Muller) – 18 points
  • The Desert Guardians ensure the sun is extinguished after another burning day (Derek Muller) – 18 points

Well done to Gordon Davidson, who had the top image, achieved the highest mark, and has won the right to judge next year’s competition if he so wishes. Also well done to Derek Muller for submitting the most imaginative and amusing titles! The scoring was very close and, now that George has consulted his final spreadsheet, I can reveal that the final result from all three competitions is:

  • 1st place
    • Joe Fowler (54 + 53 = 107)
    • Malcolm Roberts (57 + 50 = 107)
  • 2nd place
    • Mike Clark (52 + 52 = 104)
  • 3rd place
    • Steven Beard (52 + 51 = 103)
    • George Todd (55 + 48 = 103)
    • Derek Muller (51 + 52 = 103)
    • Gordon Davidson (49 + 54 = 103)
  • 4th place
    • Steve Williams (51 + 51 = 102)
  • 5th place
    • Carol Edmund (50 + 49 = 99)
  • 6th place
    • John West (49 + 49= 98)

Well done to Joe and Malcolm for jointly winning the trophy! The scoring was so close this year that there are a lot of medal winners. Well done to you all.

  • Since we are coming up to the last few competitions of the season, it is time to start returning your trophies from last year to George so he can engrave them ready for the AGM.
  • This coming Thursday, 9th March 2023, we will be hosting our annual meeting with Mölnlycke Fotoklubb from Gothenburg. The meeting will be held by Zoom, but we will also show the meeting at Fisherrow. Come along a comment on Mölnlycke’s images and vote for your favourites.

23 February 2023 (3-Way Inter-club Competition)

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This week Musselburgh Camera Club welcomed Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club and Haddington Camera Club to the Fisherrow Centre in Musselburgh for our first face to face 3-way interclub competition for 3 years. The previous two competitions had been held by Zoom only.

The meeting was broadcast on Zoom for members who couldn’t make it.  Those who could attend in person were treated to tea, biscuits and cakes, thanks to catering by Jennifer Davidson, Liz Sowler and John West.

The competition was judged by Stephen Lipton who had judged our black and white print competition a few weeks earlier.  Stephen once again entertained us with his stories and invited us to comment on his assessment of each image displayed.  Each club submitted 15 images each, making a total of 45 images.  The competition began with the 3 clubs neck-and neck. After the first 12 images, Beeslack and Haddington had 68 points and Musselburgh had 67 points. When we reached the half way point, Musselburgh were starting to edge ahead on 136 points to Beeslack’s 130 and Haddington’s 131. The trend continued, and when Musselburgh secured the top image of the night with George Todd’s “Durbar Monk” there was no going back. The final scores were:

  • First place (257 points) Musselburgh Camera Club
  • Second place (244 points) Haddington Camera Club
  • Third place (241 points) Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club

The top images of the night were spread amongst the three clubs:

  • Durbar Monk (Musselburgh Camera Club) – 20 points
  • Centre of Heart Nebula in Constellation Cassiopeia (Haddington Camera Club) – 19 points
  • More Than Breezy (Beeslack Penicuik Camera Club) – 19 points

The top Musselburgh images were:

  • Durbar Monk  – 20 points
  • Mountain Hare in the Snow – 18 points
  • Owl In Flight  – 18 points
  • Lovely Cup of Tea – 18 points

It was a delight to be able to entertain Beeslack and Haddington face to face again. Thank you to Stephen Lipton for judging the competition and for timing his presentation to let us finish in time for an early tea break.  Well done to Musselburgh Camera club for a decisive win.

  • George Todd is collecting prints for the Human Portrait print competition this weekend. Please contact George if you are planning to enter and haven’t yet given him your prints.
  • George has his work cut out, as this Thursday, 2nd March, he will be judging our final set subject competition on “Landscape”. Come along on Thursday to see the conclusion to this competition.
  • I have been informed there is also a Wex Photographic Open Day taking place in Edinburgh at 10am-5pm on 2nd March.

See you on Thursday,

Steven

26 January 2023 (Set Subject Competition B – Wildlife)

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The second part of our set subject competition took place this week, on the theme of “Wildlife”. Steven Beard had won last year’s competition and earned the right to be the judge this year. Steven began by warning members of the strict rules that usually go with wildife photography competitions. The usual definition of wildlife photography is “Photographs documenting various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat“. The creatures portrayed in the photographs should be wild (not domesticated or kept in a zoo) and the habitat should be shown as-is (no cloning, composites or physical alterations). Organisations running competitions, such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year, will usually have strict rules, and will ask you to submit copies of the RAW files that came straight out of your camera to prove you didn’t change anything. Despite the strict rules, there are techniques you can use to improve your images. Cropping and brightness and contrast adjustments are also usually allowed. Having said this, the audience were relieved to hear that Steven would not be taking the rules so strictly. The images would be judged on their impact, on the story they tell, on the connection they make with the viewer, and on their overall quality.

14 members had entered 42 images altogether. There was a wide range of subjects, ranging from birds and insects photographed in the garden to wild animals photographed overseas on safari. Good images were the ones taken roughly at eye level, so there was a connection with the viewer, and which showed a story, such as Elaine Gilroy’s image of a swan carrying her cygnets on her back. Good images were also focussed on the subject and had a sufficiently narrow depth of field to blur the background. Avoiding distractions is difficult if you can’t clone them away. Choosing your camera position can help (if that is possible). Some images had bright objects or bright stripes in the background which could be darkened by burning. There were some images with cloning artefacts, which would have disqualified them from most wildlife photography competitions (but would have been ok for nature photography, where the rules are less strict). It is worth looking over your images carefully at 100% to locate and remove artefacts before submitting them. Also check the corners for distractions. The very best images were the ones with impact when seen amongst the rest. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (48 points)
    • George Todd
    • John West
  • 4th place (49 points)
    • Gavin Marshall
    • Mike Clark
    • Carol Edmund
  • 3rd place (51 points)
    • Steve Williams
    • Derek Muller
  • 2nd place (54 points)
    • Joe Fowler
  • 1st place (57 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts

The top images were:

  • Goldfinch Deep in Thought (Malcolm Roberts) – 20 points
  • Owl in Flight (Steve Williams) – 20 points
  • Snow Leopards (Joe Fowler) – 19 points
  • Robin (Malcolm Roberts) – 19 points
  • Meal Time (Joe Fowler) – 18 points
  • Blue Tit (Malcolm Roberts) – 18 points
  • Gatekeeper Butterfly (John West) – 18 points
  • Bees Around Honey (Carol Edmund) – 18 points
  • Fly By (Derek Muller) – 18 points

Malcolm Roberts’ score of just 3 points less than full marks earns him the right to judge next year’s competition. Well done Malcolm. The league table after two competitions looks like this:

Joe Fowler (— + 54 = ??)
Malcolm Roberts (49 + 57 = 106)
Steven Beard (52 + — = ??)
George Todd (55 + 48 = 103)
Mike Clark (52 + 49 = 101)
Steve Williams (48 + 51 = 99)
Carol Edmund (50 + 49 = 99)
Derek Muller (46 + 51 = 97)
John West (49 + 48 = 97)
Gavin Marshall (44 + 49 = 93)
Gordon Davidson (49 + 43 = 92)

Malcolm Roberts has jumped up the rankings and leapfrogged George Todd, who is still in a strong position. Joe Fowler and Steven Beard lurk as dark horses. But as this as a “best two out of three” competition there is still everything to play for. Entries for the final part of the competition on “Landscape” are due on 9th February 2023.

A reminder that next week we will be joining Beeslack Pencuik Camera club at Beeslack High School for our annual audio visual evening. Here is a map to help you get there:

https://goo.gl/maps/oEgsHmr3WGDankS58

12 January 2023 (Match An Image Competition)

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I was delighted this week to welcome North Berwick Photographic Society back to Musselburgh for the long-missed “Match an Image” competition. This competition format is almost impossible to host by Zoom and couldn’t take place during the pandemic. Our last match was back in October 2019, when the competition was hosted by North Berwick. This time it was our turn to host the competition, and Jennifer, Liz and George Smith welcomed our guests with some delicious tea and cakes.

The competition was judged by Gordon Scott and followed the same rules as before. Each club in turn displays an image and the other club attempts to match it in some way. Points are awarded to the first image if it cannot be matched, or to the second image if the challenged club matches it. A bonus point is awarded to the club which has the better of the two images when they match.

Musselburgh began the competition with John West’s iconic “For Khandles” image. North Berwick were amused by the title but couldn’t match the image. A good start. However, they replied with a fantasy swirl image which we attempted to match with a close-up of some flamingo feathers and failed. We replied with the first of our many motorbike images. North Berwick managed to match it but we got the bonus point by having the better image. Then North Berwick took the lead when we attempted to flummox them with Joe Fowler’s “Scotland The Brave”: an image of a queue next to a row of portable toilets. They managed to match it with a picture of some colourful beach huts and get the bonus point! By the time we reached the interval, North Berwick were leading by 14 points to 13.

During the second half we discovered that North Berwick couldn’t match our motorbike, horse and wildlife images and we couldn’t match their fantasy abstract and night photography images. When they posted an image of a shark we thought we could match it with one of Mike Clark’s underwater images but, alas, the lack of a shark in Mike’s image meant there wasn’t a match. We also attempted to match one of their night scenes with an image of a little girl who happened to be in the same pose as the figure in their image, but it was judged not to be close enough. But then North Berwick lead with an image of a bird and we pounced on it with Malcolm Roberts’ “Kingfisher on the Rocks” image. The image was judged to be a match and the better of the two, which nudged us ahead. There were no more matches, and at the end of the competition Musselburgh won by 25 points to 24. A very close call.

Thank you to everyone whose images were included, and to North Berwick for coming along. It was a particularly fun evening, especially as it was an interclub competition where participants are allowed to heckle. It must be a difficult to judge all those matches in front of a critical audience, and I thank Gordon Scott for putting up with us. I look forward to a rematch at North Berwick next year.

Next week our next speaker, John Glynn, will show us how to think creatively. John says he will be bringing along a lot of interesting objects and prints to show us, so it sounds like this talk will be another occasion where you’ll get a lot more out of it by attending in person.

05 January 2023 (Set Subject Competition A – Castles)

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We returned after the Christmas break to the first of our 3 set subject competitions: competition A on the subject of “Castles”.  The competition was judged by Joe Fowler, who had won the competition in 2022.  Joe explained that he judges photographs based on two factors: composition and light. Composition is important. Don’t just point a camera at a castle and press the shutter, walk around the castle and see how it looks from different angles. Can you avoid any distractions by using a different viewpoint? Lighting is equally important. How is the light shining on the castle, and which viewing angle would make the best use of the lighting? Choose your time of day carefully, as bright lighting can overexpose your sky, and dull lighting can make the sky boring (although some members had got around this by using sky replacement).  Joe recommended everyone be their own judge. Look at your work and imagine how you would describe it as a judge.

45 images had been entered by 15 members.  Joe commented on the composition and lighting of each image. There were some images where the prime subject (the castle) was too far away and not prominent enough. Some images could have been taken from a better angle, and Joe pointed out examples where the direction of view didn’t match the direction of the light, which created a “one dimensional” image with only half the castle properly lit. There were also some distractions, such as a modern ice cream van in front of Edinburgh castle or an ugly white gun in front of Eilean Donan castle. In some cases the sky replacement had created a conflict. If you add a new feature to an image make sure the light and shadows match, and if you add a new sky check that it matches the reflection in the water.  Joe also pointed out that many images had trees and bushes blocking the foreground and detracting from the view of the castle.  So, next time you photograph a castle you have a choice: either take some walking boots so you can walk around and find the best view, or take a chainsaw so you can remove any trees that block your view!

The scoring was very close, and the top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (48 points)
    • Stephen Williams
    • Derek Muller
  • 4th place (49 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
    • Gordon Davidson
    • John West
    • Jim Innes
  • 3rd place (50 points)
    • Carol Edmund
  • 2nd place (52 points)
    • Steven Beard
    • Mike Clark
  • 1st place (55 points)
    • George Todd

The top images were:

  • Through the Valley to Dunnotar Castle (George Todd) – 20 points
  • Tantallon Castle (Carol Edmund) – 20 points
  • Edinburgh Castle Lights (Mike Clark) – 19 points
  • Eilean Donan (Jim Innes) – 19 points
  • Dunottar Castle (Malcolm Roberts) – 18 points
  • Hailes Castle (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • Sunset of Tantallon Castle (George Todd) – 18 points

Well done to George Todd, who wins the right to judge yet another competition next year.  This is the first of a 3-part competition, with the final result depending on the total score from the best 2 competitions; and with so many members getting good scores this still leaves the trophy open to anyone. The next part of the competition takes place in 3 weeks time, on 26th January 2023.

And on that subject, I have to point out a mistake in my previous message. This week is not the hand-in date for the human portrait print competition. It is the hand-in date for the next set subject competition. Please send your 3 JPEG images on the theme of “wildlife” to George Todd as soon as possible. (Human portrait prints are not needed until 23rd February 2023 – panic over).

Next week we are hosting the “Match an Image” competition, with North Berwick Photographic Society as our special guests. This competition is too complex to host by Zoom, so I hope as many members as possible will join us in room G6 at Fisherrow. The session starts at 7pm on Thursday, 12th January 2023.

Set Subject Competition: Castles

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A reminder that this coming Thursday, 8th December, is our last meeting at Fisherrow before the Christmas social evening. It is also the submission date for our first set subject competition of 2022/23. Please send your 3 JPEG images on the theme of “Castles” (sized to 1600×1200 pixels maximum) to George Todd this week. Submitting them now gives Joe a chance to judge the images over the Christmas break. The results will be announced when we return on 5th January.

Best of luck.

24 November 2022 (Black and White Print Competition)

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This week we had the second of our three print competitions. Stephen Lipton travelled all the way from Greenock to judge our Black and White Print Competition. Stephen said that he always judges prints by looking at them in daylight and recommended that we do the same. The appearance of a print depends not only on the quality of the original image, but on the quality paper and on the lighting under which it is viewed. Never submit a print before first viewing it in daylight. Stephen also wondered how many of us setup our cameras to capture raw black and white images, rather than taking a colour image and converting it to black and white. This allows you to see what a scene would look like in black and white as soon as you capture it. A good place to see excellent quality black and white images is in the work of American photographer, Ansel Adams. He was a master of black and white photography and invented an exposure technique know as the zone system. You can see some of Ansel Adam’s work in his gallery:

Welcome
The Ansel Adams Gallery

There were 39 prints to judge, entered by 13 members. Stephen displayed each print and invited members to share their opinions. Stephen said that the eye usually takes a journey though a print, starting at the edge, following a succession of points and ending at a focal point. He liked to see some space around a print to help the eye along that journey, and he felt some of the prints submitted were a bit too tightly cropped. He also disliked the overuse of vignettes. Some of the prints submitted lacked contrast, and he referred to Ansel Adams’ zone system. Make sure that each print covers all the zones. Dodging and burning can help bring out details across the full tonal range. Some of the prints lacked detail in the sky, and he suggested darkening the blue areas to enhance the contrast. This lead to a discussion about sky replacement, which Stephen was not in favour of. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 4th place (47 points)
    • Gavin Marshall
    • Stephen Williams
    • Elaine Gilroy
    •  
  • 3rd place (51 points)
    • Mike Clark
    • Carol Edmund
  • 2nd place (54 points)
    • George Todd
  • 1st place (56 points)
    • Joe Fowler

The top images were:

  • A Cup of Tea (Joe Fowler) – 20 points
  • The Forge (Joe Fowler) – 19 points
  • With Gritted Teeth (George Todd) – 19 points
  • Bath Time Before School (George Todd) – 18 points
  • My Beard and I (Carol Edmund) – 18 points

Well done Joe Fowler for a well-deserved win, and to George, Carol and Mike. And thank you to Stephen for judging the competition and telling us his fascinating stories.

Next week it is quiz night, with Stephen Williams as the quizmaster. Bring your thinking caps.