PICTURES: New East Sutherland Camera Club members scoop top places in contest
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East Sutherland Camera Club’s move to Dornoch has attracted many new members from Sutherland and Easter Ross, writes club secretary Andy Kirby.
Many of them entered the first of the club’s monthly competitions and demonstrated their photographic talent.
The competition was an ‘open’ one and therefore had no specific subject.
Judge Piers Hemy from Cromarty Camera Club gave a detailed analysis of each image, drawing out ways in which it could have been improved either when taking the image or in assessing it afterwards.
There was agreement that his comments were very fair and that he provided good tips which all could take on board whether or not it was their image being critiqued.
It was particularly pleasing to see the work of new members being placed highly.
First in the colour section was ‘Barny’ - a stunning image of a barn owl in flight by new member David Baker from Migdale.
David caught the owl in a perfect flight position in his beautifully exposed and well focussed image. The image could not have been improved on and was a very worthy winner.
Nickey Fraser, a new member from Tain, followed the avian theme with a compelling and appropriately titled owl image, ‘Look into my Eyes’, which won her second place in the colour section.
The eyes sucked you into the image and were beautifully framed by pin-sharp plumage.
Club chairman Alan Butcher from Golspie came third with ‘Pit Stop’.
The image demonstrated not only a lovely colour combination of greens and purples but also an out of focus background and sharp insect and flower head.
Fourth-placed was Peter Smith from Tain with his ‘Reflected Glory’, a well seen reflection of a traditional building in the glass facade of a modern building.
The monochrome section generated a set of images which were well adapted to the monochrome genre. Too often it is easy to just convert a colour image to monochrome, but the real test is whether the image works better as a monochrome.
All of the top four demonstrated that they fully justified this treatment.
Nickey Fraser again showed photographic strength with ‘Contemplating’. This delightful portrait was placed first.
‘Dark Crystal’ by Zoe Gray from Portmahomack was a simple but very effective composition demonstrating careful control of line and form with strong black and white tones.
Alan Butcher was again in line for the honours with his third-placed ‘Power, Black and White’. This was a simple but well observed and captured composition. Simplicity can speak volumes.
David Baker’s fourth-placed ‘Tranquillity’ expressed exactly that. He used the technique of infrared photography which gives images an almost surreal quality.
For more details about the club and to see the winning competition images, visit www.eastsutherlandcc.org.uk
Results: Colour – 1 ‘Barny’ by David Baker; 2‘Look into my Eyes’ by Nickey Fraser; 3 ‘Pit Stop’ by Alan Butcher; 4 ‘Reflected Glory’ by Peter Smith. Monochrome – 1 ‘Contemplating’ by Nickey Fraser; 2 ‘Dark Crystal’ by Zoe Gray; 3 ‘Power, Black and White’ by Alan Butcher;4‘Tranquillity’ by David Baker.
