Stephen Coyne, our MC for our second PDI competition, made me laugh when he jokingly said he likes to see judges struggle. That was really the case during this competition, as judge Les Hitchcock ARPS admitted how difficult it was to decide on the winners.

In the end, Paul Hill’s ‘St. Ives Fisherman’ took top marks in the Colour General section. Les liked the way that warm toned sky contrasted with the blue sea. He thought that the fishing boat was well isolated without any distractions. Stephen Coyne’s atmospheric ‘Glacier Dawn’ nearly piped Paul’s picture, but came a good equal second with Paul Hill’s colour co-ordinated, ‘Blue Biker’. Three excellent images scored 18. They were Kath Hill’s panned equestrian photo of two horses in flow flight entitled ‘Rivals’, Wallace Baxter’s cricket action image called ‘I’m going to be out’ and Peter Robinson’s photo of two lads sliding down a muddy hill called ‘Feet First’.

In the Mono section, our old friend Graham Currey took the first two spots. Well, in a way. Graham posed for us in the summer workshop, and he was the subject in the top two pictures. Les thought that Kath Hill’s winner ‘Dark times’, a low-key study of a plague doctor was excellent. He loved the atmospheric lighting and spooky pose. The other photograph of Graham came second. It was Wallace Baxter’s ‘The Bird Man’. This time Graham posed as a holy man and Wallace skilfully composited a bird into his hand. Paul Hill’s snowy landscape called ‘Peak District farm in Winter’ also scored 19. Paul also received 18 for his street photograph entitled ‘Striding Out’ and Peter Robinson’s ear shattering ‘Drummer’ also scored 18.

In the Nature section, Ian Whiston’s ‘Ruppells Vulture Landing’ took the top marks. Les thought it was a stunning example of a bird in flight caught at just the right moment. It was great to see John Royle’s perseverance pay off when he was awarded 19 marks for his fascinating study of a ‘Leaf-Cutting Ant’. Keith Mulliner also scored 19 for his ‘Tawny Owl in Tree’. Les liked it sharpness and the way in which the owl was framed by the tree hole it sat in. Kath Hill’s ‘Gannets Bonding’ scored 18 together with Ralph Browes’ close-up of an insect  ‘Caught in the Web’

See all the images that scored 18 and over above. All the results can be seen in our results page.