Tag Archives: Comedy

26 March 2026 (Set Subject Round 3 – Comedy)

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The last of our 3-part set subject tournament concluded this week, on the theme of “comedy”. We finished round 2 with Derek Muller 5 points ahead. Here we find out if any of the remaining contenders can score enough points to catch up. The competition was judged by Jim Innes, a top scorer in last year’s competition. There were 33 images entered by 11 members. Jim said that the “comedy” theme had been quite hard to judge because everyone had different idea what was funny. He judged each entry on the quality of the image, how funny it was, and how well the title helped the comedy. As usual, members had been very creative in their entries. There were images of comedic acts from the theatre or the Edinburgh festival, including George Todd’s photograph of a comedy act between 2 dogs in costume. There were also comedy wildlife images, pictures of people doing silly things, a comedy still life with googly eyes, and some pictures of fellow club members in silly costumes or jostling to get their camera in the right place. Malcolm Roberts’ photoshopped version of Musselburgh’s “Honest Toun” road sign raised a laugh. Jim commented on the composition, exposure and sharpness of each image and whether he found it funny. Some entries had a funny title but didn’t seem funny in themselves. Nicola Cawthorne’s “Brown Bag Lunch” became funnier after the competition had finished, when we zoomed in to discover that the “lunch” is actually a pigeon! The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 4th place (49 points)
    • Elaine Gilroy
    • Carol Edmond
  • 3rd place (50 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
    • Mike Clark
    • Derek Muller
  • 2nd place (54 points)
    • John Fowler
    • George Todd
  • 1st place (56 points)
    • Steven Beard
    • Jennifer Davidson

The top images were:

  • The Fruit of All Evil (Steven Beard) – 20 points
  • Help! I’ve Got An Itch! (Jennifer Davidson) – 20 points
  • What Time Is It? My Watch has Stopped (George Todd) – 19 points
  • I Just Need One More Shot (Jennifer Davidson) – 19 points
  • Peeping Penny (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Hurry Up (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Ready Steady Woof (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Funny Faces (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • How Are You Doing That? (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • Joe Relaxing At Home Circa 1946 (George Todd) – 18 points
  • Sharing A Moment (Mike Clark) – 18 points
  • This Isn’t Mean to be Funny (Elaine Gilroy) – 18 points
  • Call Yourself Photographers (Derek Muller) – 18 points

Well done to Steven Beard and Jennifer Davidson, who won this round with a 20 point image each. They both win the right to judge next year’s competition. Jennifer judged this competition 2 years ago, so it looks like Steven will be judging. After consulting the final spreadsheet I can reveal that the final result from all three competitions is:

  • 1st place
    • Derek Muller (53 + 56 = 109)
  • 2nd place
    • George Todd (54 + 54 = 108)
    • Jennifer Davidson (52 + 56 = 108)
  • 3rd place
    • Steven Beard (51 + 56 = 107)
  • 4th place
    • John Fowler (51 + 54 = 105)
  • 5th place
    • Mike Clark (54 + 50 = 104)
    • Carol Edmond (51 + 53 = 104)
  • 6th place
    • Malcolm Roberts (51 + 50 = 101)
    • Jim Innes (49 + 52 = 101)

George and Jennifer almost made it, but they couldn’t quite reach Derek Muller’s unassailable 109 points. Congratulations to Derek, who wins the trophy. Jennifer and Steven came from behind, which shows how everything can change after the 3rd round.

  • This is the last competition of the season, and George needs to engrave the trophies for the AGM. If you won a trophy last year please return it to George as soon as possible.
  • Next week we will be hosting Haddington Camera Club and Penicuik Photography Club for the 3-way competition. If you have any spare home baking or other treats to share please bring them along.

11 Dec 2025 (Eddie Telford: Remember Photography is Fun – Part 2)

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This week Eddie Telford returned to Musselburgh Camera Club to give us another custom talk. When he last spoke to us back in April 2024 the custom themes were “Remember Photography is Fun” and “Around the World in 80 Images”. This time he resumed the “Remember Photography is Fun” theme and added some advice on the theme of “From Beginner to Advanced”. Eddie began by telling us not to worry about competitions and scores. The main reason to take up photography is to have fun. Eddie showed us some examples of the joke photographs he had made: for example a photograph of someone slumped over a chair mimicking a yoga āsana, or showing the mischief at home that children got up to during the Covid pandemic. The “Nessie” toy (who likes whisky and now has his own passport) features in many of Eddie’s fun travel photographs.

Eddie described his recent experience photographing the Women’s Open Golf Championship at Dundonald Links. He sets his camera to silent mode and takes his photos from a distance with a long lens (to avoid disturbing the players) and tries to take one shot just at the moment the ball is struck. If he is lucky, the ball will still be in the shot. Eddie also likes bunker shots because the sand can fly into some dramatic shapes. Besides the action shots, Eddie also captures portraits of the players, first when they are concentrating on their shot or posing with their trophy, and then a few minutes later when they have relaxed. The relaxed portraits looks more natural. Eddie also showed us some images he captured at a youth competition organised by Bowls Scotland. The story begins with drone images showing the initial setup, followed by some action shots, this time captured at the moment when the player releases the ball.

Eddie is a member of Ayr Photographic Society and often supplies images to Ayrshire Magazine. Eddie was keen to point out that Ayr Photographic Society won the SPF Digital Championship this year for the first time in 35 years! He described two fashion photoshoots he made for the magazine: one was with the 2024 Miss Scotland, shot on the Ayrshire sea front, and the other was a shoot with the winner of Miss Great Britain at Turnberry. There was also a photoshoot covering the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Institute. Eddie was surprised at the images chosen by the magazine, but they wanted images that emphasised the characteristics (such as the jewellery or a particular look) featured in their articles. Eddie prefers natural-looking shots where the model looks relaxed. Magazines also like images that have a lot of empty space where they can add titles. Eddie also showed us how photographers and artists can help each other. He has collaborated with local artist, Rona Mcseveny, who converted Eddie’s photograph of Ayr Town Hall into an artwork which became the Lord Provost’s official Christmas Card.

Eddie showed us an audio-visual he made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day in Ayr, including the “Field of Heroes” art exhibition. Eddie finished with an audio-visual advertising the spectacular scenery of Dunure, which was used to raise money for Dynamic Dunure, a local charity. We finished the night with a chat with Eddie over tea and biscuits. Thank you Eddie for a another great presentation. We look forward to your next visit.

Next week we have our Christmas night out at the Lido restaurant in Musselburgh. Our table is booked from 7pm on Thursday, 19th December 2025. See you there.

22 February 2024 (Eddie Telford: Around the World in 80 Images)

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This week Eddie Telford returned to Musselburgh to give us a custom talk based around two themes: “Remember Photography is Fun” and “Around the World in 80 Images”. Eddie began by showing us a short comedy video showing the antics of the “Nessie” toy that he takes with him on his travels. A Loch Ness monster who likes his whisky. 🙂 He then showed us a selection of humorous photos with silly poses, odd juxtapositions and unfortunate angles of view which showed the funny side of photography. Eddie showed that photography can be fun and entertaining, and is more than just entering competitions.

The second half of Eddie’s talk showed a varied selection of photographs taken on his travels around the world, covering at least 4 continents. I lost count of the number of countries he mentioned. His presentation was peppered with fun anecdotes and good advice about presentation and choosing the right title. He showed us some “before and after” images showing the edits he had made in response to judges’ comments. Eddie was not averse to viewing a scene from the best angle, sometimes donning waders to get the shot from the middle of a river. We finished the night with a chat with Eddie over tea and biscuits. Thank you Eddie for a great presentation and an entertaining evening.

Next week, 29th February, Malcolm Roberts will reveal the results of the “Contrasting Textures” set subject competition; and the week after, on 7th March, we will be saying “hello” again to our friends from Mölnlycke Fotoclubb, in Gothenburg.