Usk Show Photography Competition
Congratulations to two members who both enjoyed success in the Usk Show photography competition. Dani Emerson was awarded first place in the "Sports" section and a first and second place in the "Architecture" section. Dani was also highly commended in the "Nature's Textures" section. Terry Rees-Pedlar was awarded second place in the "Sports" section and third in the "Nature's Textures" section. Well done Dani and Terry.
Dani's Sport, Nature's Textures, and Architecture images.
Sport and Nature's Textures by Terry Rees-Pedlar.
Photo-Marathon Winners
The votes are in and we now have winners for each section of the 2024 Photo-Marathon, (see further down the page for details of the competition). Monmouth members voted for their favourite image for each title and for their favourite author set. Julie Morgan from Abergavenny Club who set the titles for us, also chose her favourites.
Title 1, "It's Quiet Here", was won by Lisa Jordan, Mike Gwilliam's image was Julie's favourite.
Title 2, "Man's Best Friend", was won by Mike Gwilliam, this was also Julie's favourite.
Title 3, "Power", was won by Lyn Sharples, Julie's favourite was by Lisa Jordan.
Title 4, "Three of a Kind", was won by Adrian Butcher, Brian Challis' image was Julie's favourite.
Title 5, "Blink and You'll Miss It!", was won by Adrian Butcher, Julie also chose this image as her favourite.
Title 6, "Symmetry", was won by Adrian Butcher, this was also Julie's favourite.
The winning Author set was by Adrian Butcher. Julie chose the set by Lisa Jordan as her favourite set.
Well done to all winners, but also to everyone who took part and completed the challenge on the day. To see all the images go to the
Galleries page.
Monmouth Win The Jubilee Trophy Competition 2024
The Diamond Jubilee Trophy is an inter-club photographic competition hosted by Cwmbran Camera Club, held this year on 4th September. The competition involved five clubs: Cwmbran, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Western Valley, and Hay. Each club submitted ten images: five as prints, and five as DPIs.
The judge, Les Loosemore, assessed the images and scored each up to a top-score of 20 points per image. Thus, the maximum aggregate score for any one club would be a perfect 200.
There were two rounds of judging: the first being prints and the second DPIs. The judge scored each image- with some being awarded Highly Commended, or Commended. The judge also awarded 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd place to his favourites in each round.
In the print round, one of Monmouth’s images was awarded 3 rd place, and three images were commended. In the DPI round, Monmouth scoped 1 st place, 2 nd place, and one commended, (full scores below). The totals for both rounds were added together to give a final score, with Monmouth coming in first place with 183 points. We were closely chased by Western Valley and Cwmbran clubs, both with a score of 179. Hay scored 176 and Abergavenny 171.
Thanks to Keith for organising Monmouth’s submission, all members who submitted images, and all who attended the evening. It was great to see Monmouth coming out on top!
Print scores:
Going Home From Work by Sue Carter 18, Commended
Green Roofed Sheiling by Lyn Sharples 16
Squacco Heron Fishing by Elisa Best 18, Commended
Museum of Liverpool by Iain MacCallum 18, Commended
Left to Rot by Keith Sharples 19, 3rd place.
DPI scores:
Sunset in the Empty Quarter by Fintan Healy 20, 1st place
New Street Station by John Crowland 18
Yawning Leopard by Elisa Best 18, Commended
Coast by Lyn Sharples 20, 2nd place
Tea Break by Keith Sharples, 18
.
Market Display
At the end of August we had a stand for the day at Monmouth Market to publicise the club and hopefully encourage new members to join. There was a lot of interest in the stand and lots of positive comments about the photos on display. Thanks to all who allowed their prints to be used and to those members who helped to man the stand. We also have a small display of prints in Monmouth Library for the next three weeks.
Photo Marathon 2024
Monmouth Photographic Club's second ever photomarathon took place on Saturday 17th August. We were lucky to have nice sunny weather, although the bright sun and harsh contrast made conditions challenging for some photos. The challenge was to complete six photos in three hours. The six titles were given out at the 10am start and the participants had to try and produce the best photos they could to illustrate the six titles before the finish at 1pm. All photography had to be in camera, no photo manipulation allowed. The titles, (kindly set for us by Julie Morgan of Abergavenny Camera Club), were as follows: 1- It's Quiet Here, 2- Man's Best Friend, 3- Power, 4- Three of a Kind, 5- Blink and You'd Miss It, and 6- Symmetry. Photographers could go wherever they wanted, take the images in any order, and take as many shots as they liked, but had to return at the end of the morning with only six images on their card, one for each title. It was a good challenge and great fun. We finished at the Estero Lounge, Monmouth, where our images were immediately downloaded, and then we enjoyed lunch together to finish off the fun. Thank you to the many members of the public out and about in Monmouth who posed for photos! All the images can now be viewed in the
Gallery and club members can vote on their favourites from each section.
Cobalt Calendar
Congratulations to Elisa Best whose image "Crane Boys" was one of twelve winners chosen from hundreds of entries in the Cobalt "Capture a Moment" competition, and will feature on the Cobalt 2025 calendar.
PAGB Inter-Club PDI Competition 2024
Monmouth club were delighted to be taking part in this national PAGB competition held at Warwick on 21st July. Two clubs represented the WPF, us and Bridgend Camera Club. There were 37 clubs taking part from across the UK, from each of the regional photographic federations. Each image in the competition was scored by a panel of three judges who could give a score between 2 and 5, giving each image a total score of between 6 and 15. The participating clubs all had an image bank of no more than 40 of their club's images from which to choose on the day.
Round one was eight images selected before the event, (no more than two from any one author and no more than two nature images). Our scores ranged from 9 to 12 and our total score at the end of round one was 86 points. Our highest scoring images were "Sunset on Empty Quarter" by Fintan Healy, "The Farrier" by Keith Sharples, and "Where's Mum?" by John Crowland which all scored 12. Round two was eight different images selected on the day after round one, again with the same restrictions. This time our total was 90 points, again with three images scoring 12 points, "Wild Dogs Hunting" by Elisa Best, "Tea Break" by Keith Sharples, and "Coast" by Lyn Sharples. The top scoring eight clubs from the total of these two rounds go forward to the final, (actually on this occasion ten clubs were in the final as three were in equal eighth position). We came 32nd out of 37 so were not in the final! However all the remaining non-finalists then have a further round of eight images for the "Plate Competition". In this third round you are allowed to re-use up to four of the images already used in the first two rounds, again with the same restrictions on authors and nature. The selection had to be made on the day, trying to take into account what sorts of images seemed to be liked by the judges so far in the competition. Our score for this round was 91, making us joint 23rd out of the 27 clubs in the Plate Competition. Our highest five scoring images in this round, (all with 12 points), were: "Green Roofed Sheiling" by Lyn Sharples, "Squacco Heron" by Elisa Best, "Yawning Leopard" by Elisa Best, "Our First Selfie" by Keith Sharples and "Where's Mum?" by John Crowland.
This was a really fantastic event to take part in, with an enjoyable day of seeing hundreds of images including some of the best photography by some of the best clubs in the country. Many thanks to Pat Hopkins for organisation and selection before the event, and to Keith Sharples and Elisa Best for attending and selecting on the day. Also, of course, thanks to everyone in the club who put forward images for the event, without a wide choice of images to make up a diverse and extensive image bank and to provide the best possible selections on the day, entering this event would not have been possible.
Congratulations to Chorley PS who were the overall winners of the competition, and to Arden Photo Group who won the Plate competition.
Below are our highest scoring images from the competition:
PAGB Inter-Federation Competition 2024
Two Monmouth members had prints chosen to represent the Welsh Photographic Federation in the 2024 PAGB Inter-Federation Competition. Sue Carter had two prints selected, "Mother and Son" and "Protection on the Mara"; and Lyn Sharples also had two prints selected, "Green Roofed Sheiling" and "Into the Blue".
APOY 2024
Congratulations to Elisa Best for having two images shortlisted for Amateur Photographer of the Year in the 'Animal Kingdom' category. An amazing achievement and let's hope they go even further beyond the shortlist.
Barrian Cup 2024
On Saturday June 8th Pat and Brian travelled to Barry to attend the Barrian cup competition on behalf of Monmouth club.
Pat reported back that there were some absolutely stunning images in the competition, ours included! All told there were 18 clubs that participated in the event with 5 photo entries per club. The competition was judged by Nick Jenkins AWPF, ARPS.
The Barrian Cup, (which we won last year), went to top scorer Tenby & District this year with a total score of 95 points. Tenby was followed by Bridgend in 2nd place with 94 points, Western Valley and Rhondda tied with 93 points in 3rd place, and with 91 points Monmouth PC tied for 5th place with Thornbury and Gwent camera clubs. The scores ranged from 95 for top to 84 points for last place; we placed well in the top of the field.
Individual scores for our club were as follows:
Steps Into The Misty Darkness by Iain McCallum 18
Squacco Heron Fishing by Elisa Best 18
Dune Grasses by Keith Sharples 17
Relaxed Leopard by Sue Carter 18
Photographic Workshops
Keith's summer workshops are now under way. He has already held a Zoom tutorial on ISO, f-stops and shutter speeds and how they work together. This was followed up with a practical workshop on using aperture priority and the affects you can achieve, and a second workshop on using different shutter speeds. More tutorials and workshops are to follow throughout the summer. If you are interested in joining any and have not yet signed up, let Keith know asap.
AGM 2024
The AGM was held on Friday 17th May. Annual reports were given by the Chairman, Treasurer, External Competition Secretary, Internal Competition Secretary, Programme Secretary, New Member and Training Officer, and Publicity Officer. There were two proposals from the committee: 1. To maintain the club fees at the current level, and 2. To repurpose the Tony Cutting Trophy to be given to the winner of the Five Print Challenge, (a new competition being introduced in 2025). Both proposals were passed. The Chairman's award was given to John Crowland for his contribution to the club over the year especially in getting members to various outside events and photo opportunities. There was a slight change to the committee with both Jackie Poulter and Iain MacCallum standing down. John Crowland became the new Internal Competition Secretary for both print and dpi competitions. Terry Rees-Pedlar took on the role of Publicity Officer in addition to his role of Secretary. Fintan Healy noted that this will be his final year as Chairman.
Annual Open Competition 2024 and Monochrome Trophy
Our final competition of the season was, as usual, the Annual Open Print competition. This is the only competition where members can choose to re-enter images already used in this season's competitions. We had a good selection of both old and new work, for our judge, Peter Young, LRPS CPAGB AFIAP HonPAGB to consider. An additional element this year was that the highest scoring monochrome in the competition would win the new Monochrome Trophy. First place in the competition was awarded to "Dune Grasses" by Keith Sharples. Keith was also awarded second place for "Left to Rot", which meant he also won the monochrome trophy with this print. It was a good evening for the Sharples with Lyn Sharples awarded third place for "Taking a Break" and HC for "Green Roofed Shieling". A further HC was awarded to Sue Carter for "Relaxed Leopard". Five prints were commended: "Steps Into Milky Darkness" and "Museum of Liverpool" by Iain MacCallum, "Squacco Heron Fishing" and "Lions in the Rain" by Elisa Best, and "Usk Lighthouse Sunset" by Terry Rees-Pedlar. Well done to all who entered, and many thanks to Peter for his constructive and carefully considered judging.
Bill Ward
After last years fantastic presentation by Bill Ward we are thrilled to be having a return visit from Bill, this time with his presentation "North by Northwest". Join multi-award winning photographer and actor Bill Ward as he takes you on a journey along the rugged and remote North West edge of the British Isles. From Applecross to Durness, and from Stornaway to Vatersay, Bill has travelled the length and breadth of the Outer Hebrides, as well as walking the far North West corner of the Scottish Mainland. Expect seascapes a-plenty, standing stones, and Bill’s unique mix of Creative Photography: Abstracts, ICMs, and In Camera Multiple Exposures.
This is a ticket only event, tickets to be purchased in advance. Monmouth members free (see link emailed to you). Visitors £6.50
Visitor Ticket Link
Anglesey Trip
Our recent trip to Anglesey was very successful. So many photographic locations, and lots of fun and laughter. To read more about the trip go to the
Field Trips and Outings page, and to view the images go to the
Gallery.
Photographic Workshops
Keith Sharples will be running various workshops for club members over the summer. According to demand possible subjects are:
Photoshop:
Image Resizing
Stroke Lines
Understanding and using layers / layer masks for various purposes
Blending colour and monochrome images together to enhance the texture/grittiness in an image
Taking Tiffs and Jpegs into the raw converter.
How to look at your images as a judge does and eradicate some of the problems
Printing and Mounting:
Prepare images for printing
How to cut window mounts and how to mount prints for club and exhibition entry.
Audio Visual sequence using “Pictures to Exe” program:
How to prepare your images for use and build a sequence with transitions and music. Also how to add sound effects if required.
Practical:
Understand how shutter speed, aperture and iso work together to generate a balanced exposure.
How to use Aperture priority, the thought processes and what the effect is
How to use Shutter priority, the thought processes and what the effect is
How to use slow shutter speeds for effect.
How to take ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) images
How to use a flash gun/speed light creatively
Using reflectors to enhance and also to remove light
Using Studio flash equipment
If you are interested in any of the above please contact Keith asap and he will let you know if places are available.
Only Mono 2024
Only Mono is an annual competition run by Gareth Martin and Cymru Monochrome Club held at Port Talbot. This year forty clubs entered, lots of Welsh clubs but also clubs from all over Britain from Thurrock to St Austell. Each club enters four monochrome prints which are scored out of 20. The judge this year was Colin Trow-Poole FRPS, FIPF, MPAGB, who gave a critique for each image before giving it a mark. It was an intense afternoon with 160 images to get through. Scores ranged from 12 to 20. Monmouth's images scored as follows: "A Mother's Love" by John Crowland - 15, "Taking a Break" by Lyn Sharples - 16, "Museum of Liverpool" by Iain MacCallum -16, and "Seilbost Beach" by Keith Sharples -16, giving a total of 63 points. We came a respectable 19th out of 40 clubs. The winning club was Dorchester CC with 72 points. Bristol PS and Rhondda CC both scored 71 points. The winning image was "Survivor" from Bristol PS. Thanks to Gareth and Cymru Monochrome for organising a great event.
Battle with Ross 2024
Following our battle with Orkney we had a second battle this week, this time our annual battle with Ross P.S., held this year at Monmouth. Each club entered 10 dpis and 10 prints, and our judge for the evening was David Straker from Abergavenny club. It was a very close run contest. At the end of the first half, after the dpis, Monmouth were ahead with182 points to Ross's 177. After a break for refreshments and chat we continued with the judging of the prints. Ross gained some ground and it was a nail-biting finish with final scores of 356 points to Ross and 357 points to Monmouth. Victory again to Monmouth - by just one point! Three of our images were awarded the maximum 20 points, "Protection on the Mara" by Sue Carter, "Squacco Heron Fishing" by Elisa Best, and "Left to Rot" by Keith Sharples. "Circular Thinking" by Pat Hopkins, "Colourfall" by Jackie Poulter, "Firestarter" by Iain MacCallum, and "Green Roofed Sheiling" by Lyn Sharples all got 19 points. It was great to see so many amazing images and lovely that a good number of Ross members were able to join us for the evening.
Battle with Orkney
Wednesday 3rd April saw our second battle with Orkney Camera Club, (via Zoom). Each club submitted 20 dpis which were judged for us by Douglas Allan. At the end of the evening, having viewed some brilliant images from both clubs, the total scores were 328 points to Orkney and 344 points to Monmouth, so a win for Monmouth once again. Our highest scoring images were "Protection on the Mara" by Sue Carter and "Under the Bridge" by Adrian Butcher which both achieved 20 points. "Circular Thinking" by Pat Hopkins, "Firestarter" by Iain MacCallum, and "Squacco Heron Fishing" by Elisa Best were all awarded 19 points. It was a very enjoyable evening, and lovely to see images from a club at the other end of Britain. We look forward to another battle with Orkney club next year.
Welsh Salon 2024
Members of Monmouth club were successful in the Welsh Salon this year with a total of ten acceptances in the exhibition and three awards from four different members. Elisa Best had one acceptance in the dpi section "Leopard in a Tree", which was also given a judge's choice award. Keith Sharples had two acceptances, a colour print and a mono print. The mono print "Seat of Government" was highly commended. Lyn Sharples had three acceptances, one colour print, one mono print and one dpi. Sue Carter had four acceptances, a colour print, a mono print and two dpis. Sue's dpi "Male Weaver Nest Making" was highly commended. Several members also had 'near misses' with images that scored 11 (one point below the acceptance mark). Well done to all.
The exhibition will be held at Cynon Valley Museum, Aberdare, CF44 8DL, from Saturday 4th May till Saturday 25th May (9:30 - 3:30 Tues-Sat).
Midphot Nature Trophy
Following her success in Midphot with her image "Protection on the Mara" Sue Carter was presented with her Trophy at Smethwick recently.
DPI Competition 15th March 2024
Thank you to Dave Russell AFIAP for judging this open subject dpi competition for us. There were forty images entered in the competition. First place was awarded to "Leopard in Tree" by Elisa Best. Two images came second, "Squacco Heron Fishing" again by Elisa Best, and "Steps into Milky Darkness" by Iain MacCallum. Third equal were "Walking on Gold" by Keith Sharples and "Nash Point" by John Crowland. Eight images were highly commended: "The Texter" by Chris Morris, "Jade" by John Crowland, "All by Myself" by Lyn Sharples, "Yellow and Fluffy" by Brian Challis, "Firestarter" by Iain MacCallum, "Dungeness Desert" and "Protective Mother" both by Sue Carter, and "The Cloisters" by Elisa Best. Well done to all who entered, as usual the high standard of images gave us an evening of viewing excellent photography. To see all the images in the competition go to the
Gallery.
It was a good night for Elisa all round as not only did she win the competition but she was also awarded with her certificate for the CPAGB which she achieved last November!
Birmingham Canals and City Trip
A group of members recently visited Birmingham for a photographic day out. They walked along some of the canals, followed by some of the city squares and then visited New Street Station where they had arranged to take photos within the station. A very full day involving lots of fun resulted in all coming back with a good number of successful images. For more detail go to the
Field Trips and Outings page, and to view more photos go to the
Gallery.
FIAP Gold
Huge congratulations to Elisa Best who was awarded a FIAP gold medal for her image "Yawning Leopard" in the ICE Group Snowy Island 2024 Exhibition. Elisa also had a further five acceptances into the exhibition including two Honourable Mentions.
Southampton International Salon
An excellent result for Elisa Best in this exhibition. Elisa's image "Lions in Rain" was awarded a FIAP ribbon.
New Trophy
We are introducing a new trophy for success in club competitions this year. In addition to the Photographer of the Year trophy and the Tony Cutting Award we will now also have a Monochrome Trophy.
This trophy, (which was generously donated by Brian Challis), will be awarded on an annual basis to the highest scoring monochrome image submitted in the annual open of the corresponding year.
The first award of the Monochrome Trophy will be for the highest scoring monochrome print submitted for the Annual Print Open (3 May 2024).
In the event that two or more monochrome prints share the highest scoring position, the judge will be asked to select a single winner and the Monochrome Trophy will be awarded to the author of the selected monochrome print.
Midphot Success
Congratulations to Sue Carter who had five images accepted into the Midphot 2024 Exhibition, and her dpi "Protection on the Mara" was awarded the Midphot Nature Trophy.
WPF Memorials Trophies Day 2024
Five from the club attended the Memorials Trophies event at Talbot Green and had a great day viewing some amazing images from the fifteen clubs that took part.
In the DPI "Walter Morgan Memorial" portion of the event we came in a respectable joint 5th of 15 clubs. Gwynfa CC and Rhondda CC were tied in 1st place with 79 points; our score was 76 with Elisa Best scoring a full mark of 20 and a certificate for her "Squacco Heron Fishing". Sue Carter's "Protection on the Mara" scored 19, Keith Sharples' "The Seat of Government" scored 18, and John Crowland's "Freya" 19. Low scoring clubs of the day scored 69 points. Congratulations to Elisa on her brilliant results for an outstanding photo.
We did not weather as well in the Past President's Memorial for Coloured Prints. Winning joint clubs for this competition were: Afan Nedd CC and Tenby and District CC tied with 78 points.
We were tied with two other clubs for joint 11th place with 71 points. In this category Sue Carter's "Going Home From Work" scored 19; Lyn Sharples' "Abandoned" 18, Chris Morris' "Painted Skyline" 17, and Pat Hopkins' "Ageing Beauty" 17.
The Gwyn Morgan Trophy is a panel judged event so all four submissions are displayed as a "set" and then there is an elimination process until they arrive at the final three. The four photos we submitted were Lyn Sharples' "Taking a Break"; Sue Carter's "Relaxed Leopard"; John Crowland's "A Mother's Love", and Iain McCallum's "Museum of Liverpool". As each photo is not considered on its own merit there are no individual scores: We are either included or eliminated as the sets are presented. The 1st place ticket in this event went to Tenby and District CC.
Thanks to everyone who put images forward and well done for being willing to put in the effort to play on a bigger stage competitively.
Print Competition "Urban" February 2024
Our second print competition of the season was held on February 2nd. The theme of the competition was "Urban", giving rise to many and varied interpretations from architectural shots to urban decay to street photography. Many thanks to our judge Paul Branchflower of Afan Nedd camera club who had obviously spent a lot of time examining our prints. Paul gave a positive critique of every image with helpful advice on how each might be improved. First place was awarded to Iain MacCallum for his image "Museum of Liverpool". John Crowland was second with "New Street Station", and Chris Morris was third with "Painted Skyline". Two prints were highly commended: "Fence on the Usk" by Terry Rees-Pedlar, and "Taking a Break" by Lyn Sharples. Three images were commended: "Downtown Light Show" by Fintan Healy, "You'll Turn to Stone" by Pat Hopkins, and "Clock Tower" by John Crowland. The standard of all the entered prints was very high making for an enjoyable evening.
AFIAP Awards
Ron Lines from the WPF came to our first meeting of 2024 to present AFIAP certificates to Elisa Best and Sue Carter. Congratulations again to Elisa and Sue on their achievement.
DPI Competition "Intentional Camera Movement" December 2023
Many thanks to Julie Morgan AWPF for judging our ICM competition, (not an easy subject to judge). We had a great variety of images all taken using intentional camera movement. Two images were awarded first place: "Colourfall" by Jackie Poulter and "Sunset Wave" by Lyn Sharples. Keith Sharples and Lyn Sharples both had second place images, "Dune Grasses" and "Through the Grasses", and also both had third place images, "Clouds Rising" and "Coast"! Five images were highly commended: "Luskentyre Beach" by Keith Sharples, "Forest Bathing" by Pat Hopkins, "Dreaming of Bluebells" also by Pat Hopkins, "Nice Day for a Walk" by Fintan Healy, and "Ghost Surfer" by Iain MacCallum. Well done to all who entered, there were some really lovely and enjoyable images.
Adrian Webster Trophy 2023
Many thanks to Western Valley Camera Club for hosting the battle for the Adrian Webster Trophy. Seven clubs took part this year, each club submitting 8 dpi images. The final scores were as follows: 1st Bargoed 145 points, 2nd Cwmbran 144 points, 3rd Maes y Cymmer 141 points, equal 4th Monmouth and Caerphilly 137 points, 6th Abergavenny 136 points, and 7th Western Valley 135 points. Thanks to Gareth Martin AWPF CPAGB for judging, and to Western Valley for the buffet!
Monmouth's entry and scores were: "Amazing Value" by Lyn Sharples 17, "Ben Moore" by Fintan Healy 17, "Brown Bears in Cotton Fields" by Sue Carter 18, "Calanais Stones" by Keith Sharples 18, "Close Formation" by John Crowland 16, "Leopard Grooming" by Elisa Best 18, "Quiet" by Pat Hopkins 17, and "The Thrill of the Race" by Terry Rees-Pedlar 16. Thanks to all members who submitted images for use in the competition.
CPAGB Success
Elisa Best was successful in achieving her CPAGB award at the recent adjudication. For this Elisa needed to submit 10 images to be assessed by six judges. Each image is scored between 12 and 30 and applicants need to achieve a total score of at least 200 across the 10 images to gain the award. Elisa easily managed this with a total score of 229 for her images. Well done Elisa, an excellent result.
Stanley Chell Competition 2023
Twenty -three clubs entered the Stanley Chell competition this year with each club entering four prints. The judge was Peter Weaver LRPS, CPAGB, APAGB who gave a critique and score for each image. The winners were Tenby with 78 points overall, Afan Nedd were second with 77 points, and Gwnfa were 3rd with 76 points. Monmouth were pleased to come in a respectable 6th place with 74 points. Our entries and scores were: "The Chase" by Sue Carter - 19 points, "Misty Sail" by Keith Sharples - 18 points, "Where's Mum?" by John Crowland -19 points, and "Quiet" by Pat Hopkins -18 points. It was a very enjoyable afternoon for those attending having a chance to see so many wonderful prints. Thanks to Aberdare for organising the event, and congratulations to the winning clubs.
Calendar Photo
Well done to Elisa Best whose photo "Victorian Girl" was chosen to feature on the Ranger Victorian Calendar.
British Photographic Exhibitions (BPE)
Congratulations to Sue Carter for gaining her BPE 1 qualification. This involves having 25 acceptances in BPE exhibitions.
Open Print Competition October 2023
Our first competition of the new season was an open subject print competition. Many thanks to our judge, Simon Caplan LRPS, who gave a considered critique for each image with suggestions for improvement. First place was awarded to Keith Sharples for his image "Misty Sail". Two images were placed second: "Adventure Golf" by Iain MacCallum and "Breakfast" by Elisa Best. Sue Carter had two images placed equal third: "Arctic Foxes Fighting" and "Mountain Hare in the Rain". Highly commended were "Lonely Sail" by Lyn Sharples, "The Thrill of the Race" by Terry Rees-Pedlar, and "Victorian Mother and Son" by Elisa Best. Five images were commended: "Abandoned" by Lyn Sharples, "Georgia in Sunflower Fields" by John Crowland, "Late Autumn Barnscape" by Pat Hopkins, "Sea Eagle with Fish" by Sue Carter, and "The Old Man of Storr" by Fintan Healy. The judge praised the high quality of all the entries so well done to all who entered. All the entered images can be seen in the "Open Print Competition"
gallery.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Sue Carter who has been awarded a silver PAGB selector's medal in Shrewsbury Open Exhibition for her Sika Deer image.
Gold Medal
Elisa Best has been awarded a PSA gold medal from the Edinburgh Salon for her image of "Wild Dogs Hunting". She also had an 'Honourable Mention' for "Kravice Falls". Well done Elisa, another excellent result.
AFIAP
Congratulations to Elisa Best and Sue Carter on achieving AFIAP.
The distinction "Artist FIAP" (AFIAP) is the first artistic distinction that can be obtained in the FIAP distinctions. It is awarded to photographic artists whose artistic qualities, technique and production of work have been acknowledged through the participation in international salons under FIAP Patronage. To gain AFIAP you need to have:
a) At least 40 Acceptances with at least 15 different photographs.
b) This success must have come from at least 15 different salons with FIAP Patronage, and those salons must be spread over at least 8 different countries.
c) At least 4 of your 15 photographs must each have gained at least ONE acceptance as a PRINT as opposed to as a PDI
ICM Workshop
A lovely sunny morning at Mallard's Pike Lake gave members a chance to practise their ICM (Intentional Camera Movement ) skills. Keith was on hand to give advice and the morning finished with lunch at the cafe.
Trip to Burnham, Berrow and Weston
Some members enjoyed a day of photography on the Somerset coast recently. Go to the
Field Trips and Outings page for more details, and to the
Gallery page to see some of the images from the day. Also you can find out who had a close encounter with Weston's mud!
Gold Medals
Congratulations to Elisa Best who has won three FIAP gold medals in international exhibitions. "Wild Dogs Hunting" was awarded a gold medal in Nepal in the Nature category; "Leopard Grooming" was awarded a gold in the portrait, sport and animal category of the Colombian Grand Circuit; and "Victorian Girl" was awarded gold in the open colour category of the Colombian Grand Circuit.
Greenfields Garden Competition Results
Well done to everyone who entered images into the fun competition at the Greenfields Garden Social event. The results are now in from the judge, (and Head Gardener), Jackie Healy, who picked her favourite for each of the two categories and an overall favourite.
In the "Creative Flowers" category three images were shortlisted: "Lone Head" by Brian Challis, "From the Back" by Keith Sharples, and "Rose" by Lyn Sharples. The winner was "From the Back" by Keith.
In the "Essence of Summer" category four images were shortlisted: "Peacock Butterfly" by Brian Challis, "Summer Garden party" by Nigel Winters, "Sounds of Summer" also by Nigel, and "Poppies are Summer" by Brian Challis. The winner was Brian's "Peacock Butterfly".
As overall winner Jackie chose Keith's image "From the Back". To view all the entries go to the
Galleries page - Club Galleries - Greenfields Garden Competition 2023.
There was also a special category of "Most Imaginative Dish" in the American supper :-) which was awarded to Pat Hopkins for her 'Stars 'n' Stripes desert!
Photo Marathon
Saturday 12th August was the date for Monmouth club's first photo marathon. No running involved! The task was to take six images in three hours, but instead of the usual procedure of taking images and then giving them suitable titles, this involved being given the titles and then having to find appropriate images to represent those titles as best as possible. The six titles, (kindly provided for us by Julie Morgan of Abergavenny Camera Club), were:
Best Friends
Two of a Kind
On the Side
Summer Colour
Framed
Broken.
Participants could take the images in any order, and could have as many attempts at each title as they liked, but they then had to delete any superfluous images and return with only six images on their card. All images were then downloaded direct from camera with no computer manipulation allowed.
The rain threatened and there was one brief shower, but fortunately the morning stayed mostly dry and sunny. It was quite a challenging task, but great fun. At the end of the three hours everyone met up at Monmouth's Estero Lounge to download the images and have some lunch.
All the images for the day are now on the website. Go to "Galleries" then click "Photo Marathon 2023", to view all the images for each title, and then to view each author's full set of images. Members of Monmouth Photographic Club are invited to vote on their favourite image for each title and their favourite author set.
At the start, awaiting instructions.
Cobalt Calendar Competition
Congratulations to Elisa Best for winning a place in the Cobalt calendar with her image of Kravice Falls.
Summer Social
July 23rd saw members gathered for the Summer Social held at Greenfields Garden. We were so lucky to have lovely sunny weather, especially after the torrential rain of the day before! Members were able to sit outside to chat and feast on the fantastic array of food that everyone had brought. We also enjoyed exploring the spectacular gardens and taking photos for the photography competition categories of "Creative Flowers" and "Essence of Summer". After the food, end of year trophies were awarded to those who had not been able to attend the AGM. We had a chance to admire the Barrian Cup which Monmouth club won in June, and Pat Hopkins was presented the Mike Lewis Cup which she had been awarded for the best print in the Barrian Cup competition.
Closing date for the photography competition is 13th August. Results to follow. Many thanks to Fintan and Jackie for hosting the event.
Midland Salon
Success again for Elisa Best who had five acceptances into the Midland Salon. Shown below are "Kravice Falls" and "Wild Dogs Hunting", which was awarded an MCPF Ribbon. Well done Elisa.
Ace of Prints 2023
This Welsh Photographic Federation competition took place at Briton Ferry on 2nd July. This is a very enjoyable event and a great chance to see some of the best images from Welsh clubs being judged. Five clubs took part, a slightly disappointing number considering there are around 50 clubs in the WPF, but does mean that each of the five clubs can congratulate themselves for taking part whatever their final score. In the first round each club enters 12 prints, (at least 5 colour, at least 5 monochrome, no more than 3 nature, no more than 4 from any one author and a minimum of 5 authors). The three judges, Rod Wheelans MPAGB FRPS MFIAP FIPF HonPAGB HonSPF, Richard Speirs DPAGB APAGB BPE2, and Gordon Jenkins Hon PAGB, each gave a score of between 2 and 5, so a print can score anywhere between 6 and 15. Our prints and scores in the first round were as follows:
Close Formation by John Crowland 14
Out of Nowhere by Adrian Butcher 14
The Lighthouse by Lyn Sharples 13
Seilebost Beach by Keith Sharples 13
Leopard Grooming by Elisa Best 15
Essence of a Windswept Beach by Keith Sharples 11
Quiet by Pat Hopkins 12
Walking the Dog by Lyn Sharples 13
Hunting by John Crowland 10
Snappy Dressers by Lyn Sharples 13
Slipway by John Crowland 12
On the Riverbank by Fintan Healy 11
The total scores at the end of the first round were: Gwent 141 points, Western Valley 144 points, Monmouth 151 points, Afan Nedd 159 points and Bridgend161 points. A pleasing result for Monmouth so far, but these scores do not count towards the final. Each club then has to choose 15 prints for the final round, some or all of which can be from the first round, but still the same restrictions as to numbers of mono, colour, nature and authors. Our scores for the second round were as follows:
Close Formation by John Crowland 15
Out of Nowhere by Adrian Butcher 15
The Lighthouse by Lyn Sharples 10
Seilebost Beach by Keith Sharples 13
Leopard Grooming by Elisa Best 15
Walking the Dog by Lyn Sharples 13
Snappy Dressers by Lyn Sharples 14
Calanais Stones by Keith Sharples 14
Cuckoo by Sue Carter 15
Wild Dogs Hunting by Elisa Best 13
Manacled by John Crowland 10
Sunset in the Empty Quarter by Fintan Healy 12
Where's Mum? by John Crowland 14
Misty Sail by Keith Sharples 12
Amazing Value by Lyn Sharples 11
The final scores and positions were 5th Gwent 174 points, 4th Western Valley 183 points, 3rd Monmouth 196 points, 2nd Afan Nedd 200 points and 1st Bridgend 201 points. Congratulations to Bridgend and Afan Nedd who will represent the Welsh Federation at the national print championship at Blackburn in October.
Individual awards were then presented and Monmouth were delighted to receive the award for Best Colour Print in the competition for "Leopard Grooming" by Elisa Best, and Rod Wheelans' judge's choice ribbon for "Where's Mum?" by John Crowland. Congratulations Elisa and John.
Many thanks to all from the Welsh Federation involved in organising the day.
Barrian Cup Win for Monmouth
The Barrian Cup is a prestigious annual photographic competition hosted by Barry Camera Club involving clubs and societies from Wales and the West of England. As per the rules and format of the competition, each club submits five prints with each print scored out of 20. The winner is the club with the highest aggregate score.
There are also two individual awards- the Dave Cowdrey Cup, awarded for the best Landscape/Seascape print; and the Mike Lewis Cup, awarded for the best overall print.
On 10 June 2023, Barry CC hosted its 25 th Barrian Cup with entries from seventeen clubs. The judge Dennis Russ LRPS AWPF AFIAP CPAGB BPE1*, critiqued and
scored each image in front of an audience of around 60. The standard of images was very high indeed- overall 21 images received the maximum score of 20 points, and 15 images were scored with 19 points. The competition was strong and the scoring very tight.
The results for the 2023 Barrian Cup were:
1 st place – Monmouth Photographic Club - 98 points;
2 nd place – Thornbury – 97 points; and
3 rd place – sharing third place Gwynfa, and Neath each with 95 points.
The Dave Cowdrey Cup (best Landscape/Seascape print), was won by ‘The Glen’ by Roger Daniel of Bridgend & District CC.
The Mike Lewis Cup, awarded for the best overall print was won by ‘Quiet’ by Pat Hopkins of Monmouth PC. Very well deserved for a beautiful image.
A fantastic result for Monmouth with an amazing total score of 98 points out of a possible maximum of 100! Our individual scores were as follows:
The Lighthouse by Lyn Sharples 20
Slipway by John Crowland 19
Leopard Grooming by Elisa Best 19
Quiet by Pat Hopkins 20
Essence of a Windswept Beach by Keith Sharples 20
Thanks to all who sent images to be considered for entry, to Fintan Healy for attending on the day, and to Pat Hopkins for her hard work as External Competition Secretary, who all made this brilliant result possible.
More Salon Success
Elisa Best has had further achievements in photographic salons winning two medals, silver for "Backlit Elephant Stroll" and bronze for "Rickshaw Wallah" in the Iceland 2023 Salon. She was also awarded a diploma for "Prey versus Predator", and had two further acceptances, "Fallow Deer in Bluebells" and "Battle of the Giants". In another salon she had an acceptance for "Mostar".
Jubilee Trophy Competition
The Jubilee Trophy competition organised by Cwmbran Photographic Society was held on the 7th June. Four clubs took part this year, (usually there are five), Monmouth PC, Cwmbran PS, Abergavenny CC and Hay-on-Wye CC. The judge was Dennis Russ LRPS AWPF AFIAP CPAGB BPE1. The standard of images from all clubs was very high and Dennis commented on how this had made his job difficult. Nevertheless he gave a good positive critique for each image and it was a very enjoyable event. Each club submitted five prints and five dpis and it was neck and neck between the clubs throughout the evening. The final scores were: first place Hay with 190 points, tied second Monmouth and Abergavenny with 185 points, and fourth Cwmbran with 178 points. Monmouth had four images which scored the maximum 20 points: "Close Formation" by John Crowland, "The Lighthouse" by Lyn Sharples, "Cuckoo" by Sue Carter and "Quiet" by Pat Hopkins. Thanks to all who submitted images for selection - we couldn't do it without you! Thanks to Cwmbran for organising and hosting the event.
AGM 2023
The AGM was held on Friday 19th May. Reports on the year were given by the Chairman, Treasurer, External Competition Secretary, Programme Secretary and Training Secretary. There were two proposals from the committee, 1. Due to increased costs it was felt necessary to raise the annual subscription by £10 to £80, this was passed unanimously, 2. To adopt new photo entry software for entriies to competitions, also passed unanimously. There was a slight change to the committee with Jackie Poulter standing down as secretary (but remaining as competition secretary), and Terry Rees-Pedlar was voted onto the committee to become the new secretary.
The annual awards were announced: Photographer of the Year - Lyn Sharples, Tony Cutting Trophy - Elisa Best, and the Chairperson's Award to Pat Hopkins, (pictured), for her enthusiasm and hard work with external competitions.
Annual Open Competition 2023
This years annual open competition was held on May 5th and kindly judged for us by Dave Bennett who commented on the quality of the work and how difficult it was for him to make his choice of winners. Three images received the maximum 20 points, "The Lighthouse" by Lyn Sharples, "Leopard Grooming" by Elisa Best and "Close Formation" by John Crowland, and were awarded first, second and third place respectively. Seven images were highly commended: "White Rhino Bull" by Elisa Best, "The Clouds Parted" by Keith Sharples, "Elephant and Calf" by Sue Carter, "Quiet" by Pat Hopkins", "Deranged" by Iain MacCallum and "In Conversation" and "Peak District Barn" both by Lyn Sharples. Well done to everyone for a great set of images entered.
FIAP Biennial
Well done to John Crowland who has had two images selected to represent the Welsh Photographic Federation in the FIAP Biennial. Images for this competition have to fit a theme and one of this year's themes was Ragged Victorians. John's images "Blind Beggar" and "Please Help" were selected as part of the WPF's entry.
PAGB Inter-Fed 2023
Several Monmouth members have had images chosen to represent the Welsh Photographic Federation in the upcoming PAGB Inter-federation competition. John Crowland's "Thoughtful" and "Manacled", Adrian Butcher's "Out of Nowhere" and Keith Sharples' "Calanais Stones" have all been selected for the monochrome section. Sue Carter has three images in the Nature section, "Arctic Fox", "Lions at Waterhole" and "Mongoose Carrying Young". Congratulations to all who had images selected.
Salon Success
Well done to Elisa Best who has further success in entering salons, this time in a Salon circuit, 'The Big North Story' involving three countries, Iceland, Nicaragua and Kenya.
Elisa had a total of fifteen acceptances including five awards over the three salons. Her image "Wild Dogs Hunting" received a silver medal, a diploma and an Honourable Mention. "Backlit Elephant Stroll" was awarded an Honourable Mention and "Luphatana Rocks at Dawn" received a diploma. Elisa also had acceptances for "Rickshaw Wallah", "Leopard Grooming" (twice), "Wild Dog Puppies Playing" (twice), "Lions Mating" (all three salons), "Meteor Over St Alden's Chapel" and "Backlit Elephant Stroll". An excellent set of results.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Iain MacCallum whose drone image of harvest time, (above), won first place in the 'Marvellous Machines' category in the Boundless annual photography competitioin.
FIAP Salon Success
An excellent result for Elisa Best in the Snowy Island, Iceland Salon. Elisa had seven acceptances including a bronze award for "Leopard Grooming", and diplomas for "Luphatana Rocks at Dawn" and "Rickshaw Wallah".
Monmouth win the Battle with Ross (again!)
This year the annual battle between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth clubs was hosted by Ross. The judge was Phil Cooling LRPS, who despite not having seen the images previously, managed to give a considered critique for each image. We enjoyed some absolutely stunning images from both clubs. The first half was prints with each club entering ten prints. At the end of the first half Monmouth were ahead by 180 points to Ross' 170 points. The second half was dpis, and even though problems with the projector meant the images were not displayed at their best, Monmouth again scored higher than Ross. The final score gave a win to Monmouth with 355 points to 340 points for Ross. Our top scoring photos, awarded 20 points each, were as follows: "Leopard Grooming" and "Wild Dogs Hunting" by Elisa Best, "Cuckoo" by Sue Carter, "Snappy Dressers" by Lyn Sharples, and "Out of Nowhere" by Adrian Butcher. A huge round of applause for all of the submissions. Thanks to Ross club for hosting, and for the cake!
Only Mono Competition 2023
Five members of Monmouth Photographic Club travelled to Port Talbot for the ONLY MONO Print Competition. There were 33 clubs who participated in the event with 4 monochrome prints submitted by each. John Tilsley ARPS, DPAGB, APAGB served as judge for the event.
As was expected, superb images and great feedback from the judge about the images. The scores overall were very tight with total scores for the day ranging from 61 to 74 over the 33 clubs. Three clubs tied at the top with 74 points: Bristol PS, Bridgend and District CC, and Tenby CC. After consideration of these clubs’ four images the judge awarded first place to Bristol, second to Bridgend and third place to Tenby. We came in the top half of the competition at fourteenth place with 69 points. Keith Sharples had an impressive 19 points for “Calanais Stones”, followed by John Crowland with 18 points for “Slipway”, Brian Challis and Elisa Best were both awarded 16 points for their submissions of “Three Men, No Boat” and “Backlit Elephant Stroll”.
Overall another good showing by the Monmouth Photographic Club. Please give yourselves a big round of applause for putting your photos forward for consideration into these events!
Battle with Orkney
This was the first of what we hope will become an annual battle with Orkney Camera Club (via Zoom). Each club submitted 20 images which were given a critique and mark by our judge Leigh Woolford, AWPF EFIAP DPAGB BPE3* FWPF Hon. Leigh, as always, did an excellent job, entertaining us with his humour and giving positive comments for every image while pointing out possible improvements.There were some amazing images from both clubs and plenty of high scoring images. The final result was a win for Monmouth with a total of 351 points to Orkney's 341. Monmouth's highest scoring images were "Quiet" by Pat Hopkins and "Walking the Dog" by Lyn Sharples, both receiving a maximum 20 points. "Elephant Family Stroll" by Elisa Best and "Sunset in the Empty Quarter" by Fintan Healy both scored 19 points.
Welsh Salon 2023
An excellent result for Monmouth Photographic Club with a total of sixteen acceptances, (including a WPF ribbon and a Best landscape award), between five photographers who entered images. Elisa Best and Lyn Sharples each had two images accepted, John Crowland had three. Sue Carter had five acceptances, including a WPF ribbon. Keith Sharples had four acceptances and his image of Calanais Stones was awarded "Best landscape". Below are some of the accepted images: "Backlit Elephant Stroll" by Elisa Best (dpi), "Give Us a Job" by Lyn Sharples (mono print), "Manacled" by John Crowland (mono print), and "Calanais Stones" by Keith Sharples (mono print).
The Welsh Salon exhibition will be at Cynon Valley Museum, Aberdare from 4th-27th May
Exhibition Success
Well done to Elisa Best who had five acceptances in Basingstoke National Exhibition including two awards. "Wild Dogs Hunting" and "Elephant Family" (shown below) were the award winners.
DPI Competition "One Day in Time" March 2023
This competition gave an interesting challenge because although it was open subject all the images had to have been taken on one day (25thFebruary). Some photographers chose to stay local and others went further afield, (even as far as New Zealand in one case!). This resulted in a wide variety of images, all newly taken, (no back catalogue images). Many thanks to our judge, Johnnie Rogers, ARPS DPAGB AWPF AFIAP, who gave a detailed critique of each image with suggestions for possible improvements. First place was awarded to Adrian Butcher for his lovely image "Two Weeks Four Days". Lyn Sharples was awarded second and third places for "What You Looking At?" and "Give Us a Job". Two images were highly commended, "Shopping for Mother Nature's Goodies" by Elisa Best and "Penarth Pier" by John Crowland. "Cyclist's Break" by Keith Sharples was commended, as was "Communication" by Lyn Sharples. Well done to all those who managed to get out on the day and produce images.
FIAP Salon Success
Another great result for Elisa Best, this time in the Balkan Dream 2023 International Salon. Elisa had four images accepted, and was awarded a bronze medal for "Feeding the Pack" and a diploma for "Tyre Sellers".
Exhibition Success
Congratulations to Elisa Best who had eight images accepted in Midphot Salon, six in the nature section and two in the open dpi section. Below are two of the accepted images, "White Rhino Bull" and "Backlit Elephants on the Move".
Ace of Clubs Competition 2023
The WPF Ace of Clubs dpi Competition was held at Talbot Green where we presented the photo submissions from the Monmouth Photographic Club. There were 3 rounds consisting of 2 rounds of 8 photos and a final that was made up of 20 photos. Photos used in round 1 could not be used in round 2, and the final round could only have 10 photos of the 16 from round 1 and 2. No more than four images were allowed per author, no more than four nature images in total, and there had to be a minimum of five authors. Challenging!
Three judges give an individual score between 2 and 5 and they are added together for a total score for each photo~ a perfect score is 15 points.
The following is how we weathered the day:
Round 1 we came 2nd out of 11 clubs.
For round 2 and the final we were down to 10 clubs as 1 club did not show for the competition.
Round 2 we placed 8th out of the 10 clubs.
Final round found us at 6th place out of the 10 clubs, with a total score of 232 points.
The winning club was Gwynfa, Bridgend were second, and Tenby third. Gwynfa and Bridgend clubs will go on to represent the WPF at the PAGB dpi championships in July.
Our high scorers of the day:
Elisa Best with 14 points for Wild Dogs Hunting
Chris Morris with 13 points for The Barber
Keith Sharples with 13 points for Highland Stag
Lyn Sharples with 13 points for Walking the Dog
Waterfall Visit
February's club trip was a very enjoyable visit to "Waterfall Country" near Pontneddfechan, giving a great opportunity to try some slow shutter speed images. For a report of the trip and to see more images go to the Field Trips and Outings page.
Clevedon Pier
Some members enjoyed a cold but enjoyable trip to photograph Clevedon Pier recently. For more on the trip go to the "Field Trips and Outings" page.
ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) Workshop Newport Wetlands
Following on from a presentation by Stephanie Johnson, the Founder and Creator of ICM Photography Magazine, we had an ICM workshop at Newport Wetlands with Stephanie where she demonstrated to us some of the techniques involved. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and we all benefitted from Stephanie's expertise. To see more about the trip go to the Field Trips and Outings page, and to see more images from the day go to the Gallery.
PAGB Inter-club Print Championship 2022
Monmouth PC were delighted and honoured to be one of the two clubs from the Welsh Photographic Federation to take part in this prestigious national competition. The inter-club print championships take place annually with the two best clubs from each federation, (as selected by that federation), competing in the competition.
The event took place on the 22nd October in the theatre of Westholme School, Blackburn. This year there were 34 clubs taking part, ranging from relatively small clubs such as Monmouth, to huge clubs such as Smethwick, (which has 250+members). Most of the clubs taking part had done so before, (some many, many times), with Monmouth being one of only three “Rookie” clubs.
In the first round each club submits 12 prints, (which made a total of 408 prints just in the first round!). Each print is judged by a panel of three judges. This year the judges were, Gwen Charnock MFIAP FRPS, Des Clinton FRPS FIPF, and Richard Speirs DPAGB BPE2 APAGB. Each judge gives a score of between 2 and 5, meaning that a print will have a score in the range of 6 to 15 marks.
Our selection for the first round was made back in August by a sub-committee of Pat Hopkins, John Crowland and Keith Sharples, making sure there was a mix of styles and authors. The entry criteria state there must be at least 5 colour prints, at least 5 monochrome, and no more than 3 nature prints. The prints must come from a minimum of 5 different authors and there must be no more than 3 from any one author. Quite a balancing act!
Our first round scores were as follows:
Dinorwig Slate Quarry by Keith Sharples 11
Early Morning Light by John Crowland 12
The Barber by Chris Morris 12
It was Open Last Time by Keith Sharples 12
Quiet Beauty by John Crowland 11
Elephant Family by Elisa Best 12
Farrier by Keith Sharples 10
The Boatman by John Crowland 10
Feeding Time by Lyn Sharples 10
Tiger Drinking from Pool by Sue Carter 9
In Conversation by Lyn Sharples 11
Polar Bears Sparring by Sue Carter 12
At the end of the first round, (which took all morning), we were pleased to have a total of 131 which put us in equal 26th place out of 34.
The nine top scoring clubs went through to the final, with the remaining 25 competing in the “Plate” competition. For this round we had to enter 8 prints, only 4 of which could be from the first round. At least 3 had to be colour, at least 3 monochrome, with no more than 2 nature prints and no more than 2 from any one author. Before they could have any lunch the sub-committee had to quickly make the selection, taking into account the first round scores and keeping in mind the types of images that seemed to be doing well so far.
The Plate Competition took place in the afternoon with our entry and scores as follows:
Elephant Family by Elisa Best 12
The Barber by Chris Morris 11
Early Morning Light by John Crowland 11
It Was Open Last Time by Keith Sharples 10
Winning by John Crowland 12
Old Fishing Nets by Lyn Sharples 10
Tea Break by Keith Sharples 9
Sika Deer by Sue Carter 12
This made our score for round two 87. Out of the 25 clubs taking part in the Plate Competition we came 22nd, which for our first ever entry in a competition of this calibre was a pleasing result, (and a relief!). Well done to Tenby and District CC, (the other club from the WPF), who came second in the Plate Competition.
The winners of the final were Catchlight Camera Club from Northern Ireland. Second place went to Rolls Royce Derby PS, and Smethwick PS were third. For those of us who attended the event this was an amazing experience and a great day viewing so many wonderful images.
To view the images in Monmouth’s entry go to the Galleries page (Club Galleries).
