PICTURES: Ross-shire photographers in frame as contrasting talents revealed in latest East Sutherland Camera Club

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Conrad Hall the American cinematographer said: “Contrast is what makes photography interesting”.

East Sutherland Camera Club set out to prove him right with their April competition subject: Contrasts, writes club secretary Andy Kirby.

Contrast in photography can take many forms including brightness, colour, mood, shape, form and texture. Zoe Gray’s Midlothian Sunset had all the hallmarks of an epic sunset shot: rich sky colours but more particularly the lovely contrast of poppies backlit by the setting sun and the deep green of the grass as well as the bold contrasting shape of the near silhouette of the tree. A well earned first place in the colour section.

Alan Butcher from Golspie submitted a strong and clever graphical image based on the yin yang symbol depicting a balance between two opposites for his second placed image The Ying Yang Tree. In this case an ancient oak with the contrast of its depiction in colour and negative mono.

Zoe, from Portmahomack, offered a completely different take to her first placed landscape image, earning third place with Farewell. It was a powerful and emotive portrait which demonstrated strong composition and poignancy emphasised by the contrast created through the rose being the only element in colour.

Andy Kirby, Dornoch, chose a striking graphic image with fourth placed Colour and Form. It comprised simple but carefully observed details on a building depicting strong contrasting colours and metal and wooden additions.

Zoe Gray was certainly on good form scooping the other first place of the evening, this time in the Monochrome section with Eilidh. Monochrome often works well with portraits especially, as here, with strong light and shade and directional lighting. The whole was set off well with its black background and strong composition drawing attention to the model’s face.

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Peter Wild from Dornoch gave us something completely different with his very atmospheric seascape To and From Distant Horizons. A good choice of shutter speed and low viewpoint emphasised the turbulence and power of the sea contrasting it with the softer spray shrouded headland. This monochrome image earned him second place.

A wholly different atmosphere was captured by Culrain resident Jan Charge’s third placed Stepping Out. Deciding not to go in close on the curlew she chose to set the bird in its wider environment. The strong silhouette of the bird purposefully moving through a light patch in the image emphasised the contrasting light and shade of the shoreline. An even stronger contrast came from

Andy Kirby’s fourth placed Sticks in the Snow, very much black and white. Three isolated but conveniently grouped birch trees leaving a large area of negative space in the composition conveyed the vastness of the snow field. A carefully balanced exposure retained texture in the snow.

For more details about the club see www.eastsutherlandcc.org.uk.

Images are all copyright of the individual photographers.

Colour

1 Midlothian Sunset by Zoe Gray

2 The Yin Yang Tree by Alan Butcher

3 Farewell by Zoe Gray

4 Colour and Form by Andy Kirby

Monochrome

1 Eilidh by Zoe Gray

2 To and From Distant Horizons by Peter Wild

3 Stepping Out by Jan Charge

4 Sticks in the Snow by Andy Kirby

Ross-shire story, photograph or community event to share? Email hector.mackenzie@hnmedia.co.uk

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