We were delighted to welcome Campbell Skinner to the club to judge our Digital Projected Images competition. Campbell is president of Greenock Camera Club and is internationally recognised for his stunning sport photography. You can see some of Campbell’s work on his web site:

https://www.campbellskinnerphoto.com/

Campbell began by telling us not to give too much weight to the marks he was about to give out. Feedback is more important than marks, and understanding why your image didn’t get a higher mark will help you improve. 33 members had entered 66 images covering a wide range of subjects, including sport, wildlife, landscape, portrait and abstract art. Campbell recommended that we look carefully to make sure that the title of an image is relevant and doesn’t clash with what we are seeing. Does it matter if the train is going to Aviemore when that isn’t apparent from the picture, or if the reflection of the red door was taken at Gosford? In another example, a canoeing shot entitled “Tight Turn” didn’t show what they were turning around. Campbell recommended that when attending a sporting event (such as the Grandtully slalom) that you recky the place first. Look where the light is coming from, look where the players might get involved, decide on the best place to stand to capture those players, and check what is visible behind them in the background. If there are distractions in the background, try to remove them by moving or using a wide aperture to blur them out. He also recommended that portrait, sport and wildlife shots be taken at eye level. If the players are on the ground, get down to their level. Try to avoid portraits where the subject’s eyes are turned instead of their head. A lot of shots had been taken in dull or over-harsh lighting conditions. If the lighting is dull, Campbell recommended using the dodge and burn tools to highlight your subjects, lighten eyes, reveal details and darken the background. Wildlife shots should stand out as if you could “touch” the subject. If your shot is taken in poor lighting, you could also try again at a different time of day. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

• 5th place (50 points)
  • Jim Innes
• 4th place (51 points)
  • Steven Beard
  • Mike Clark
• 3rd place (52 points)
  • Amber Morris
• 2nd place (56 points)
  • George Todd
• 1st place (57 points)
  • Derek Muller

The top images were:

• Frosted Whiskers (George Todd) – 20 points
• Dave Going His Own Way (Derek Muller) – 20 points
• National Museum (Steven Beard) – 19 points
• Strength Against the Current (George Todd) – 19 points
• She Dances With Fire (Derek Muller) – 19 points
• Proud Woodpecker (Malcolm Roberts) – 18 points
• Rapid Run (Mike Clark) – 18 points
• Hurricane and Spitfire (Steve Williams) – 18 points
• Sold Out (Elaine Gilroy) – 18 points
• Going for a Win (Jim Innes) – 18 points
• Barn Own (Derek Muller) – 18 points
• Beach Day (Amber Morris) – 18 points

Well done to Derek Muller for winning with 57/60 points, to George for coming a very close second and to Amber for achieving her first medal. Thank you Campbell for judging our competition and giving us a lot to think about.

We will be reviewing this competition on 23th October. In the meantime, have a go at making some of the changes recommended by Campbell. We can also use that evening to give our own feedback. Which were your favourite images?

Next week, 16th October, Derek will be collecting entries for the Colour Print Competition. We will be having a club night based on a technique, rule of composition or theme; so please bring in an image (or a small collection of images) on a technique, rule or theme that interests you. Here are some examples to help you find inspiration:

• Telling a story about a subject in 6 images (as suggested by Charles Everitt).
• Making a triptych out of 3 related images.
• Still life photography (with or without John West’s paperclip figures).
• ICM photography.
• Time lapse photography.
• Street Photography (as inspired by Graeme Barclay).
• Combining images to make a composite.
• Using depth of field creatively.
• Using art tools to improve photographs.
• Etc…

I look forward to seeing what you bring along. I’ll be showing you some of my attempts at 3-D photography.