24 November 2025 (4 Way Inter-Club Competition)

Posted on 26/11/2025 by stevenmbeard

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.

20 November 2024 (4 Way Inter-Club Competition)

Posted on 22/11/2024 by stevenmbeard

On Wednesday, 20th November 2024, MCC members fought their way through the delays on the Edinburgh city bypass to join Stirling, Edinburgh & Kirkcaldy at the Birds and Bees restaurant in Stirling for the annual 4-way interclub competition. The competition was hosted by Stirling & District Camera Club and judged by Eddie Telford of Milngavie and Bearsden Camera Club.

Each club had submitted 15 digital images, making a grand total of 60 images. The competition began with Edinburgh’s image of a firefighter tackling a forest fire, which achieved 19 points; then Stirling’s image of an American wren caught in mid flight approaching its nest hole, which scored the first 20 points of the night. Next up was Musselburgh’s still image of a nuthatch on a tree, which couldn’t compete with the dynamism of the wren and received just 16 points. This was followed by Kirkcaldy’s beautiful landscape image of a lone tree against a mountain background, which got 18 points. This first round summed up what was in store for the rest of the evening. We had some good images, but the other clubs’ images had something more. For example, George Todd’s portrait of the boxer “Kalon” was beaten Kirkcaldy’s image “On Target” of two boxers caught in mid fight. In the second half, you could hear the disappointment from Musselburgh members when Carol Edmond’s portrait “Hi There” received a very positive description but was awarded a disappointing 17 points. By contrast, Stirling surged ahead with four of their 15 images receiving 20 points and another 19 points. Edinburgh managed a 20 and a 19 and Kirkcaldy a 19. It just wasn’t Musselburgh’s night. 😦 The final scores were:

1st place: Stirling and District Camera Club, 267 points.
2nd place: Kirkcaldy Photographic Society, 258 points.
3rd place: Edinburgh Photographic Society, 253 points.
4th place: Musselburgh Camera Club, 248 points.

None of our images achieved the top spot this year, but one came close:

Harvest Queen (George Todd) – 18 points.

Although we were unhappy, Stirling cheered us up by offering a lovely selection of drinks, sandwiches and cakes. We were up against some very strong competition this year, especially from Stirling who had a cracking selection. Strong competition lowers the scores, so well done to George, Joe, Derek, Mike and Carol for scoring 17+ points against such odds. We’ll be back next year and ready for a much better result.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition

Posted on 12/01/2024 by stevenmbeard

Musselburgh Camera Club members may be interested to know that the National Museum of Scotland are showing the “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” exhibition again this year. The exhibition runs from 20th January until 6th May 2024. More information can be found on the museum’s web site:

https://www.nms.ac.uk/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/national-museum-of-scotland/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year/

Club Photoshoot at Figgate Park, Portobello

Posted on 10/04/2022 by stevenmbeard

Next week’s Musselburgh Camera Club photoshoot will be taking place at Figgate Park (Figgy Park) in Portobello. We will meet there on Thursday, 14th April from 7pm onwards and stay as long as the light allows. I understand there are some lovely walks and opportunities for photographing water birds. I don’t know the area as well as some members, but it looks like Hamilton Drive has the best parking opportunities, so I will aim to be at this entrance by 7pm:

Map of Hamilton Driv e entrance

Click here for a map, courtesy of the Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club.

Figgate is quite a small park, so if you arrive after 7pm or use a different entrance I’m sure you’ll bump into other members while wandering around.

I look forward to seeing you there, Steven.

Battle of Prestonpans, 18-19 September 2021

Posted on 22/08/2021 by musselburghcameraclub

The Battle of Prestonpans re-enactment takes place this year at Greenhills park in Prestonpans during the weekend of Saturday, 18th and Sunday, 19th September 2021. More information and tickets can be found at the following link:

http://www.scottishbattlefields.org/events-1/2021/9/18/battle-of-prestonpans-1745-re-enactment-weekend

There are also some online events taking place to commemorate the battle. See the following links for more information:

https://lothianloop.com/2020/09/08/prestonpans-275-online-festival-announced-to-mark-anniversary-of-battle-of-prestonpans/

https://prestonpans275.org/creative-project/

Socially Distanced Photoshoot – Granton Harbour Edinburgh

Posted on 17/04/2021 by stevenmbeard

This is to let you know I am planning to visit Granton Harbour in Edinburgh for a possible photoshoot around 3pm on Sunday afternoon. I hope there will be street parking available. Google tells me there is some parking at the Gypsy Brae recreation area nearby if I can’t find anything. You don’t have to go to the harbour at the same time as me, and members who live nearer than me might prefer to visit around sunrise or sunset and get some better lighting conditions. You also don’t need to go this weekend. If you are not working full time, a weekday visit may be less crowded.

There are other photoshoot options available for members who don’t want to travel into Edinburgh, or if Granton Harbour turns out to be too crowded (there were a lot of folk heading for the coast today):

Craigmillar Castle: Still in Edinburgh but less likely to be crowded in warm sunny weather.
Fisherrow Harbour, Port Seton Harbour and Dunbar Harbour: Some alternative harbours in East Lothian, with Dunbar easily accessible from the Borders.
Hailes Castle: An alternative castle in East Lothian. I visited the castle last weekend. There are no staff at the site, but you can wander around the castle grounds. I found a good spot to take photos of the castle down by the river. There is only very limited parking available, so it’s best to arrive early.

Wherever and whenever we end up, we can meet this coming Thursday, 22nd April, to compare our experiences.

Best of luck!

Steven

Socially Distanced Photoshoot – Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh

Posted on 13/09/2020 by musselburghcameraclub

This is to let you know I have booked a time slot to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh at 15:00-17:00 on Saturday, 19th September 2020. I am planning to enter by the West gate at Arboretum Place, as there is more parking there.

The current rules will not let us all meet up at the gardens, but I suggest members make their own arrangements to visit the gardens and take photos. You don’t have to choose the same time slot as me (especially if the weather forecast changes between now and when you book!). If you arrange to visit the gardens between now and 24th September we can meet by Zoom, share our experience and offer each other advice. After that there’s nothing to stop anyone going back to the gardens a second time to take that advice into account. I hope everyone will eventually get the same out of it as a normal photoshoot, even if it takes longer.

As a reminder, the “nature and wildlife” images are due on 3rd December 2020 and the “flowers and horticulture” images on 4th March 2021, so there’s still plenty of time.

See you at the virtual trophy presentation this Thursday.

Steven

Borders Digital Challenge 2020

Posted on 06/03/2020 by musselburghcameraclub

The Borders Digital Challenge competition takes place on Sunday, 15th March 2020 from 2pm to 5pm at the Tower Mill Cinema, 2 Kirkstile, Hawick, TD9 0AE. The event is being hosted by Hawick Camera Club. Come and see our images projected onto a large screen. The Tower Mill Cinema is part of the Heart of Hawick, and there is a cafe on site. Can we win this competition a 3rd time in a row, and if we do will they let us come back next year?

Click here for information on the venue.

Click here for a map and directions.

Match An Image Competition – Thursday, 24th October

Posted on 21/10/2019 by musselburghcameraclub

This Thursday we will not be meeting in our usual room at Fisherrow. We will be travelling to North Berwick Photographic Society for an away match of the annual “Match An Image” competition. Thank you to everyone who sent in their weird and wonderful images.

The competition takes place at Abbey Church, High Street, North Berwick, EH39 4HE. You can find directions here on the North Berwick club web site. Karen Stout, the North Berwick club chair, has also provided the following map

Directions to North Berwick Photographic Society.

and says: “If you are looking at the church straight on from the High Street, the entrance to use is in Church Road on the left hand side of the church. It’s a modern glass walled porch. Once inside you walk straight ahead across the corridor that goes off to your left and into the little vestibule. The hall where we hold our meetings is through the glass doors on your left and down some stairs.”

The competition starts around 8pm and should finish around 9:45-10pm, with a break for tea at half time. I will be there early to set up the MCC laptop. I would be grateful for some volunteers to keep score or help us manage our images. See you there. This time I hope we’ll give them a run for their money…

MCC Trip to the Trossachs – This Weekend

Posted on 17/10/2019 by musselburghcameraclub

Jim Tod has provided more information about this weekend’s club trip to Loch Ard in the Trossachs. Jim is proposing to go on Saturday morning, as the weather forecast looks better that day, and there is a chance of some morning mist. If you would like to go on the trip please sign the list on club noticeboard this evening. (I will be passing Jim’s contact details to those who signed up, in case you need to get in touch on the day.) Jim recommends bringing warm clothing and wellies. (Some photographic equipment would also help! 🙂 )

On the subject of car sharing, Jim is happy to pick up 2 members from Eskbank railway station car park at 5:50-6:00am on Saturday. Please call him if you would like a lift.

Jim has provided some maps showing the meet-up points. The first map shows an overview of Loch Ard. The 7:30am meeting point is on the right, on the road from Aberfoyle, and the 10:30am meeting point is on the left, near Kinlochard village hall.