Unfortunately, the judge for our first Print Competition of the season didn’t turn up. However, we are fortunate to have a couple of members who are experienced judges and didn’t enter this competition. So, we were very grateful to member Ian Whiston for stepping in to judge the competition for us. It was the second competition he’d judged on that day!
Ian judged the 12 prints in the colour section first. He awarded 20 marks to Peter Robinson’s ‘Splashing Horse’, he liked the action of the well-lit horse splashing through the water. Keith Mulliner’s studio portrait ‘Erica with her flowers and pink ribbon’ came second. Ian told us it had some fine detail and a natural background with good colour harmony. Peter Robinson’s ‘Steampunk in Whitby’ came equal third. Ian thought it was a well posed, environmental portrait in appropriate surroundings. Wallace Baxter’s canoeist action print of ‘Willow Rodie’ also scored 18 and Ian liked the close crop which gave it more impact.
Another of Wallace Baxter’s canoeist prints won the mono section. Ian thought ‘A focused Robert Holdway’ showed the effort of the canoeist due to his strained expression. Ian liked the impact of a close crop and the splashing water. Peter Robinson’s candid ‘Afternoon tea’ was awarded 19 marks. Ian liked the moment telling us it was well exposed with good details. Keith Mulliner’s portrait of ‘Clair wearing gypsy dress’ scored 18 and Ian liked the pose and separation from the background. Yet another of Keith Mulliner’s canoeist photos was awarded 18. ‘I don’t like this’ gave the competitor plenty of space to move into and Ian liked the expression, action and active water.
The Nature section has the largest entry with 15 prints. They were of high quality making a difficult job for the judge. Keith Mulliner’s ‘Snipe after food in the rain’ took top marks and Ian, a nature photography specialist, liked the sharp detail, good environment and water droplets. Ray Hill’s beautiful print of a ‘Common Female Kestrel’ scored 19 marks. Ian again liked the detail, composition and warm colour pallet. Peter Robinson’s playful ‘Orangutan lookout’ also scored 19 with Ian liking the ape’s expression and the natural environment. Keith’s ‘Immature Gannet in flight’ was awarded 18 marks. Ian liked Keith’s viewpoint and that the gannet had space to move into. Keith’s ‘Northern Goshawk on Prey’ also scored 18. Ian liked the detail of the stunning bird and none distracting background.
All the images that scored 18 or over in our first Print competition of the season can be seen in the slideshow above. All the results can be seen in our Results page.