Congratulations to Stephen Coyne who scored a hat trick and won our Howard Edwards Trophy in our annual PDI portrait competition. Judge Mike Lawrence AFIAP DPAGB Hon L&CPU awarded Stephen 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for his ‘Mischief’, Burmese Minx’ and The Soldier in the Shrubbery’. For ‘Mischief’ Mike liked the strong eye contact and cheeky expression. He told us the coloured hair gave a good separation from the background. The tight cropping also adds impact and removes any distractions. In ‘Burmese Minx’ he thought the good quality image again had strong eye contact and good skin tones. He loved the girl’s expression, but wasn’t sure about the red hair grip. However, it was strong enough to gain 2nd place. Stephen’s 3rd placed ‘The Soldier in the Shrubbery’ also has a dark background which hides any distractions. Mike told us that like the other two, it has bright eyes with good contact. With the face bing the brightest part of the photo it’s the natural place for the eye to go to.
Peter Robinson came 1st. and 2nd in the print section, winning the Maurice Ashwin Trophy with his S-Shaped Elle’ and Isobel in Blue’. Keith Mulliner came 3rd with is studio portrait of a ‘Lady with Umbrella’. Mike liked the pose and shape of Peter’s ‘S-Shaped Elle’. He thought the line of the arms leading to and framing the face worked well. Peter entered second placed ‘Isobel in Blue’ just to make up the numbers. It was taken in Venice in 2018 during a trip organised by Wallace Baxter on behalf of club members. Mike liked the pose and skin tones. He thought it was well framed with the lady placed in an arch and the contrasting colours helped her to stand out. Mike told us that Keith Mulliner’s studio portrait, ‘Lady with Umbrella’ had a good separation from the background. He thought the umbrella framed the model well and liked the eye contact. It has a good colour palette, especially with the lay’s hair being similar to her outfit and background.