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DPI Competition

We held an open subject dpi competition on 6th December, judged for us by Trevor James BA (hons) Photography, ARPS, AWPF.  There were 71 images altogether in the competition, all of a high standard. Lin Wyles' image "Wading Wildebeest" was awarded first place. Second was "Dune Riders" by Lyn Sharples, and in third place "Day Dreaming" by John Crowland. Seven images were highly commended: "Yawning Leopard" by Elisa Best, "Zebras Fighting" and "Badger Smelling the Flowers" both by Terry Wall, "Roller Girl" by Dani Emerson, "Buffalo with Oxpecker" by Victoria ElBay,  "Forgotten" by Keith Sharples, and "Elephant Family" by Sue Carter. Four images were commended: "Jackal, Evening Light" by Janette Hill, "Through the Mud and Rain" by Sue Carter, and "Waiting" and "Green Damselfly" both by John Crowland.  Well done to members  and to our judge who braved 'Storm Darragh' to attend on the evening!

     

 

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Gold Medal

Well done Elisa Best who was awarded a FIAP gold medal in the Edinburgh Salon for her image "Yawning Leopard".



 

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New Committee Member

We are pleased to announce that following a call for more members to join the committee James Turner has now joined the committee as an ordinary member. Thank you James for coming forward. This brings the number on the committee to eight. There is still space for another ordinary member if anyone else would like to join.

 

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DPAGB Success

Congratulations to Lin and Peter Wyles who both gained their DPAGB distinctions on 24th November.
To gain this distinction you need a set of 15 images at national exhibition standard. The images are assessed by six judges who give a mark for each image between 2 and 5, (each image then receiving a mark between 12 and 30). To achieve the distinction you need to have a total of at least 300.
 

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Stanley Chell Competition 2024

Twenty-five clubs entered this competition organised by Aberdare Camera Club, and we had a wonderful afternoon of excellent photography, attended by five members from our club. Each club entered four prints  judged by Ralph Snook ARPS, EFIAP/b, DPAGB, who had spent time examining all the prints and gave considered and thoughtful critiques before giving a score for each image. At the end of the afternoon three clubs were at the top with 75 points. With two of the clubs having two images with the maximum 20 points, both Gwynfa and Cwmbran clubs were awarded joint first place, and Afan Nedd was placed third. Monmouth scored a total of 69 points and achieved a respectable ninth place in the competition. Our scores were: "Protection on the Mara" by Sue Carter, 17 points, "Leopard Grooming" by Elisa Best, 18 points, "Kingfisher with Catch" by Wendy Conway, 16 points, and "Grizzly Bear Dispute" by Terry Wall 18 points. The award for best monochrome print was given to "Marilyn" by Aberdare club; best colour print went to Bridgend for "Golden Eagle Moving Magpie On"; and Gwynfa club were awarded best landscape print and best image in the competition for "Lone Photographer".  Many thanks to Aberdare for hosting this very enjoyable competition, (and for the welsh cakes!), to John Crowland for organising our club entry, and to members who provided prints for the competition.

    
 

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Salon Success

Congratulations to all those members who had acceptances at Smethwick International Exhibition.  Peter Wyles and Lin Wyles each had seven images accepted, and Peter's "King Penguin Beach" received a maximum score and a PSA ribbon.  Elisa Best had three nature images accepted;  Janette Hill had seven dpis accepted, and Sue Carter had five dpis accepted. A brilliant result for our club members.
Below are "King Penguin Beach" by Peter Wyles, "Sri Lankan Tea-Picker" by Lin Wyles, and "Four at Waterhole" by Janette Hill.

       
 

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Memorial Trophies Competitions

This is a day of competitions organised annually by the Welsh Photographic Federation, (WPF), with competitions in colour prints, dpi's and monochrome prints. Excitingly the next Memorial Trophies Day will be hosted by Monmouth Club at Bridges Community Centre, Monmouth. The date is Saturday 25th January 2025 and we will need Monmouth members to volunteer to help on the day. Put the date in your diary and come along to watch. Monmouth club will be entering and it's great fun to follow and see how we do, with lots of images to view from clubs from all over South Wales.
 

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AWPF

Well done to Elisa Best who has achieved another photographic distinction and been successful in obtaining an AWPF, (Associateship of the Welsh Photographic Federation). This involves putting together a panel of twelve prints of a high enough standard but which also work together as a panel. Elisa's panel is shown below. Congratulations Elisa, well deserved.

    
 

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FIAP Awards

The five members who gained their FIAP qualifications recently, were presented with their awards this week. Many thanks to Ron Lines, president of the WPF, for coming to our club to present the awards. Congratulations again to Elisa Best, Janette Hill, Sue Carter, and Lin and Peter Wyles on their achievements.

         

 

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First Competition of the New Season

Our first competition was held on 18th October and was an open subject print competition. We had a fantastic entry of 50 prints, well done to all who entered giving us a great variety of subject matter and styles of photography. Thank you to our judge, David Straker, from Abergavenny, who had spent a great deal of time studying our prints and gave a considered critique for each image. First place was awarded to Terry Wall for his image "Dispute". Iain MacCallum was second with "United Colours of Aaliyah"; and "Warm Blue Seas" by Terry Rees-Pedlar was awarded third place.  Seven prints were highly commended: "Up and Away" by Gordon Hay, "Sunset" and "Nash Point" both by John Crowland, "Shipping Warning" by Chris Morris, "Sailing on By" and "House by the Dunes" both by Lyn Sharples, and "Langdale Pikes by Fintan Healy. A further seventeen images were commended, go to the competition results page for details. It was a very enjoyable evening with a chance to see so many amazing prints.

     

 

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FIAP Success

Well done to several members who gained FIAP awards recently. Lin Wyles and Peter Wyles both got their AFIAP. Janette Hill, Elisa Best and Sue Carter all achieved EFIAP. Congratulations to you all, a fantastic achievement.


To be awarded AFIAP you need to have:
a) At least 40 Acceptances in FIAP salons with at least 15 different photographs. Four different works must have each received at least one acceptance in “Print” salons under FIAP Patronage.
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.

To be awarded EFIAP you need to have:
a) At least 250 Acceptances (including those gained at AFIAP) with a total of at least 50 different photographs. Twelve different works must have each received at least one acceptance in “Print” salons under FIAP Patronage.
b) This success must have come from at least 30 different salons with FIAP Patronage, and those salons must be spread over at least 20 different countries.
c) To have at least two different photographs that have each received at least one award. These awards must have been gained in different salons from different countries.

 

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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.
 

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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.
 

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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.


       

           
 

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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.

 
 

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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.
 

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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.

 
 

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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:

      

     

        

 

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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".

        

      
                     
 

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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.

      
 

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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.    

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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.

             
 

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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.
 

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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.

     

 

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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


     

 

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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.

          
 

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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.
 

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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.

      
 

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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.

     

 

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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.

    


 

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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).

           

 

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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.

        

 

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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!

 
 

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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.

       

 

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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.

 
 

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Southampton International Salon

An excellent result for Elisa Best in this exhibition. Elisa's image "Lions in Rain" was awarded a FIAP ribbon.


 

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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.

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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.


 

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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.  

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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.

     
 

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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.

  

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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.

       

   

 

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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.

             

     

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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.
 

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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.

      
 

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Calendar Photo

Well done to Elisa Best whose photo "Victorian Girl" was chosen to feature on the Ranger Victorian Calendar.


 

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British Photographic Exhibitions (BPE)

Congratulations to Sue Carter for gaining her BPE 1 qualification. This involves having 25 acceptances in BPE exhibitions.
 

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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.

       

                                                              
 

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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 

 

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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.

    

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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.

 

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