Memorial Trophies Competition 2021
The Welsh Photographic Federation Memorial Trophies competition took place on Sunday 17th January via Zoom, and was an enjoyable afternoon with a chance to view 168 great images. There were two competitions this year, Monochrome and Colour, both dpi only. Monmouth P.C. put in a very creditable performance and were pleased to come joint 7th in the monochrome and joint 8th in the colour competition, out of 21 clubs competing. Our scores were as follows: Mono - Path to the Fallen by Iain McCallum 17 points, Storm Clouds Brewing by Pat Hopkins 16 points, A Carer's Struggle by Lisa Jordan 20 points and Harbour Steps by Christopher Jones 19 points. In the colour section: Last Light by Fintan Healy 18 points, Flowers with Salt and Spice by Alison Stace 16 points, Apache on the Warpath by John Crowland 18 points and Water Rail on Ice by Sue Carter 19 points. Many thanks to those members for allowing their images to be used, and congratulations to Lisa for achieving a score of 20 with her superb image. Also well done to the WPF for putting on a well organised and entertaining event despite difficult circumstances.
Website Competition: Autumn
The results are now here for November's website competition on the theme of Autumn. Many thanks to our judge Barbara Nash, CPAGB, who managed to retrieve the results and critiques despite a total laptop failure! Congratulations to all who had placings and well done to all who entered for a superb set of images. In first place "Island of Beauty" by Keith Sharples, second "Autumn at Blaen-y-Glyn" by Janet Cox, and third "Deer Rut Early October Morning" by Sue Carter. Two images were highly commended - "Hanging by a Thread" by Janet Cox and "Autumnal View" by Lyn Sharples. Two images were commended - "Autumn Fire" by Fintan Healy and "Kingfisher Amongst Autumn Leaves" by Sue Carter. To see the judge's comments for each image go to the Website Competition Results page (drop down menu under Competitions). To see all the images full size go to the gallery.
Facebook Theme for January
Elisa Best's lovely photo of a Yellow Billed Kite was the most liked image for December's theme of Birds in Flight. Elisa has chosen "Ice" as the theme for January. Go to the Facebook page to enter your images and choose your favourites.
WPF Memorial Trophies Competition 2021
Due to Covid-19 restrictions the Welsh Photographic Federation Memorial Trophies event is going to be run slightly differently this year. Instead of the usual colour print, monochrome print and dpi competitions there will be just two dpi competitions, monochrome and colour, both open subject. The competition will run on Sunday 17th January 2021. Monmouth Photographic Club are entering both competitions and the images have been selected. The entries for the colour competition are: Apache on the Warpath by John Crowland, Flowers with Salt and Spice by Alison Stace, Last Light by Fintan Healy, and Water Rail on Ice by Sue Carter. The entries for the monochrome competition are: A Carer's Struggle by Lisa Jordan, Harbour Steps by Christopher Jones, Path to the Fallen by Iain McCallum, and Stormclouds Brewing by Pat Hopkins. Thanks to the authors for allowing their images to be used. Fingers crossed for a good result on the day!
Facebook Theme
Congratulations to Anne Richards, her image "Frosty Shapes" was the favourite for November's
Patterns and Shapes Facebook theme. Anne has chosen "Birds in Flight" as the theme for December, so go to the Facebook page to enter your images and choose your favourites.
Weather Competition DPI December 4th 2020
Our second club competition for this season was on the theme of weather. Sixty images were entered showing an amazing variety of weather, and gave our judge, Nick Jenkins, quite a task. Congratulations to John Crowland who was awarded both first and second place with his images "Five Degrees Below" and "After the Storm". Two images tied for third place, "Misty Morning" by Adrian Butcher, and "Heavy Going in Heavy Weather" by Fintan Healy. Twenty-six images were highly commended and seventeen images were commended! Well done to everyone. To see all the images go to the Galleries page - Club Galleries. To see a full list of award winners go to 'Competition Results 2020-2021' (Drop down menu under Competitions).
The British Photography Awards
Congratulations to Iain McCallum for having his image "Solo Swim" shortlisted for these prestigious awards. Follow the link to view the shortlisted images in all the sections, and vote for your favourites. (Iain's image is in the Drone category.)
2021 British photography awards shortlist
Christmas Card
Well done to Iain McCallum for having his image, "Fat Robin on Branch", chosen to be produced on a Christmas card sold by Visit Highworth (Highworth, Wiltshire TIC).
Congratulations
Congratulations to John Crowland who has just gained the EFIAP award for excellence. To gain an EFIAP you need to have had at least 250 acceptances in FIAP exhibitions, with a minimum of 50 different images. These acceptances must be spread over a minimum of 20 different countries. Below are three of John's successful images, "Coal Angel", "Quiet Beauty" and "Simple Pleasures". Well done John, a magnificent achievement.
Exhibition Success
Well done to Sue Carter who had four images accepted into Smethwick International Exhibition. "Grizzly Bear and Cub" was accepted into the open colour section, and three images were accepted into the Nature section - "Osprey With Nesting Material", "Reddish Egret", and "Grizzly Bear with Catch".
Website Competition October - Monochrome
Many thanks to Julie Morgan AWPF for judging our October website competition, Monochrome. Keith Sharples' image Boat Sheds was awarded first place, Cell Block by Brian Challis came second, and The Photographer by Lyn Sharples was third. Six images were highly commended: Battle of the Giants by Elisa Best, Brigadoon by Chris Morris, Cloister by Lyn Sharples, Rhondda Hillside by Brian Challis, Old Barn by Keith Sharples and Pesky Flies by Anne Richards. Five images were commended: Beached by John Crowland, I am Looking at You by Anne Richards, Venford Waterfall by Sue Carter, Hardy Monument by Adrian Butcher and Rain on the Way also by Adrian Butcher. Well done everyone! To see the judges comments for each image go to the 'Competitions' page (drop down menu- Website Competition Results). To see all the images full size go to the gallery.
Facebook Theme
The theme for October was "Well I haven't Seen That Before". Again two images tied with the most 'likes' - "Giant Shells on Thorpeness Beach" by Jackie Poulter and "Shiny Balls" by Lyn Sharples. The theme for November is "Shapes and Patterns". Go to the Monmouth Photographic Club Facebook page, (Click on Facebook icon top right of menu above), to enter your images and to 'vote' on your favourites.
Calendar Success
Well done to Elisa Best who had two of her images, "Narthinia" and "Deer in Bluebells", chosen for the Narth Village calendar. Deer in Bluebells was also chosen for the front cover.
Open DPI Competition 16th October 2020
Our first competition of the season was due to be a print competition, but due to covid-19 that was changed to Dpi. Kindly judged for us by Dave Bennett, who provided a written critique for all the images, which was then read out to members via Zoom on the competition evening. Congratulations to Fintan Healy who was awarded first place for his lovely image "Last Light". John Crowland came second with "Getting Up Steam", and Lyn Sharples was third with "Blowing in the Wind". Six images were highly commended: "Siren of the Pool" by Iain McCallum, "Don't Burst my Bubble" by Christopher Jones, "Broadchurch" by Chris Morris, "Puffin Pair" by Catherine Jones, "Harris Reflection" by Adrian Butcher and "Sunset Lower Lighthouse 2" by John Crowland. Elisa Best, Fintan Healy, Bill Stace, Keith Sharples, Brian Challis, Iain McCallum, Alison Stace, Christopher Jones, Chris Morris, Sharon Thomas, Lyn Sharples, Adrian Butcher and John Crowland also had images commended. Well done to everyone, some amazing images. To see all the images go to the 'Galleries' page - Club Galleries.
Facebook Group Monthly Theme
September's winners of the Facebook theme challenge were Anne Richards and Jackie Poulter who both received the most 'Likes' for their images. The theme was "What Lockdown has meant to me". Anne's image was "Noticing more unusual birds in my garden" and Jackie's image was "I learned to play bridge". Congratulations to them both. October's theme, (chosen by Anne and Jackie) is "Well I haven't seen that before". Post your images on the facebook page by the end of October, (make sure you add them to the original post as a comment). The image with the most 'Likes' will be the winner.
Welsh Salon 2020
At last the WPF have been able to hold the judging of the Welsh Salon under Covid-19 regulations, and it was worth the wait! Monmouth PC members achieved a total of twelve acceptances from five different members. Sue Carter had four images accepted including a WPF ribbon for one image, John Crowland and Keith Sharples both had three images accepted, and Terry Rees-Pedlar and Lyn Sharples both had one image accepted.
The images shown above are "Getting Up Steam" by John Crowland, "Moody Durdle Door" by Keith Sharples, "Welsh Highland Railway" by Terry Rees-Pedlar, "Connected" by Lyn Sharples and "Great Blue Heron" by Sue Carter which was awarded a WPF ribbon.
Blaen-y-Glyn / Caerfanell Falls Photography Day
Our first camera club trip out since Lockdown was a very enjoyable visit to the waterfalls of the River Caerfanell. Go to the
Field Trips and Outings page to read more about the day and to the gallery to see more images.
Website Competition Results - "Isolation"
The results are in for August's website competition on the theme of Isolation. Well done everyone, as always some really great images. First place, "Alone Waiting for News" by Jackie Poulter. Second place, "Boy with a Ball" by Sue Carter. Third place, "Silent Vision" by Deb Griffiths. Three images were highly commended: "Bleak Solitude" by Adrian Butcher, "Billy No Mates" by Keith Sharples and "Lone Zebra" by Elisa Best. Two images were commended: "Lonely Gymnast" by Lyn Sharples and "Nature's Isolation" by Keith Sharples. Many thanks to our judge, Steve Betts. To see all the judge's comments go to the Website Competition Results page (drop down under the Competitions menu). To see all the images full size go to the gallery.
Monmouth PC Facebook Group Monthly Theme
Following a suggestion by a number of members we have a new 'not a competition' competition!
It’s only on our Facebook page, (click on the facebook link on the right of the toolbar above), so you’ll need have a FB account to participate.
The ‘competition’ will run on a monthly basis and the image with the most ‘Likes’ will win…and the prize…you get to choose the category/ theme for the following month!
To enter an image you have to be a paid-up member of the club but anyone can vote. For those that were unaware anyone on FB can see our page and request to ‘join’. Only those that have ‘joined’ can vote, and as said only full club members can enter.
The first category/theme is "What lockdown has meant to me". This is for September and votes will be counted on 30th September.
Amateur Photographer Magazine
We are famous! Monmouth Photographic Club features in August's issue of Amateur Photographer magazine. Well done to those who had images chosen by the magazine to be published.
WPF Lockdown Competition
Well done to John Crowland, Sue Carter and Elisa Best who all had images accepted into the Welsh Photographic Federation "Lockdown" gallery. John had two images accepted, "Depressed" and "Shielding", Sue had one, "Female Broad Bodied Chaser", and Elisa had one "Deer with Bluebell".
June's Website Competition - "Close Up"
There were 28 entries for June's online competition "Close Up". First place was awarded to Sue Carter for "Female Broad Bodied Chaser". Brian Challis was second with "High Hat", and Third was Jackie Poulter with "The Eye". Two images were highly commended: "Catrina" by John Crowland and "Fourteen Spot Ladybird" by Sue Carter. Four images were commended: "Keep Out" by Chris Morris, "Love in the Mist by John Crowland, "Canna Lily Leaf" by Deb Griffiths and "Hanging On" by Elisa Best. Congratulations to all, amazing images. Many thanks to John Ryland for judging and critiquing all the images. To see the judge's comments go to the Website Competitions Results page (Drop down menu under Competitions). To see all the images full size go to the Website Competitions Gallery - Close Up.
Jubilee Cup Results:
Another fantastic result for the club - in this five-way battle between Abergavenny C.C., Cwmbran P.S., Gwent P.S., Hay-on-Wye C.C. and Monmouth P.C. We came
first. The final scores were as follows: Monmouth 183 points, Hay 176 points, Cwmbran 170 points, Gwent 166 points and Abergavenny 156 points. Scores for our images were: Dark Skies Over Tower Bridge by Terry Rees-Pedlar 16, Flowers with Salt and Spice by Alison Stace 16, River Meadows by Christopher Jones 20 and
Best Overall Image in the competition, One of Life's Little Pleasures by John Crowland 20 and
Best People Image, Steam Train by Iain McCallum 20 points and
Best Landscape Image, Deer in Bluebells by Elisa Best 20 and
Highly Commended, Apache on the Warpath by John Crowland 19, Backlit Blue Heron by Sue Carter 18, Feeding Time by Lyn Sharples 18, and Slate Workers' Canteen by Keith Sharples 16. The battle took place live on Zoom and was a thoroughly enjoyable watch. Many thanks to Cwmbran P.S. for organising and to Peter Young for chairing and Gareth Martin for judging. Thanks to all members for producing such great images and allowing them to be used.
Mini Mono 2020 Results:
What an excellent afternoon watching this event live on YouTube. Many thanks to Gareth Martin for organising, and to the judge Kylie-Ann Martin, AFIAP BPE2* LDPS, for critiquing and marking all 96 monochrome images. We are very pleased to say that out of the 24 clubs taking part from all over the UK, Monmouth Photographic Club came
joint first (yes that is right joint first!) with Rhondda Camera Club, both of us on 75 points. As a tie-breaker Rhondda were awarded first place as they had two scores of 20 and we had one, (but that's OK we'll take that!). Cardiff Camera Club were third with 74 points. Our images scored as follows: "Harbour Steps" by Christopher Jones scored 17 points, "Llanddwyn Island" by Keith Sharples scored 20 and was awarded overall 3rd place in the competition, "Melancholy" by John Crowland scored 19, and "Up Close and Personal" by Janet Cox also scored 19. Thanks to those members for allowing their images to be used, and well done to all members who helped select the images by voting for their favourites, (you chose well).
Jubilee Cup 2020
We have been invited to take part in this five-way battle organised by Cwmbran P.S. The other clubs taking part are Abergavenny C.C., Cwmbran P.S. , Gwent P.S. and Hay-on-Wye C. C. Each club has entered 10 dpis. The battle takes place on
Wednesday 10th June at 7pm and you can watch via Zoom. (See email from Keith for link). Our entries are: "River Meadows" by Christopher Jones, "Flowers with Salt and Spice" by Alison Stace, "Steam Train" by Iain McCallum, "One of Life's Little Pleasures" and "Apache on the Warpath" by John Crowland, "Deer in Bluebells" by Elisa Best, "Dark Skies Over Tower Bridge" by Terry Rees-Pedlar, "Backlit Blue Heron" by Sue Carter, "Feeding Time" by Lyn Sharples, and "Slate Workers' Canteen" by Keith Sharples.
Mini Mono 2020
We are taking part in this monochrome dpi competition which is in place of the usual "Only Mono" which had to be cancelled. Twenty-four clubs have entered and the competition takes place on
Saturday 6th June starting at 2pm. If you want to watch the competition you should have a link to the live stream in an e mail from Keith. Our entries are: "Melancholy" by John Crowland, "Up Close and Personal" by Janet Cox, "Harbour Steps" by Christopher Jones and "Llanddwyn Island" by Keith Sharples.
End of Season Awards
The Photographer of the Year trophy 2020 was won by John Crowland, who achieved the highest cumulative score from all this season's competitions. The Tony Cutting Trophy (highest score excluding 1st, 2nd, 3rd and HC) was won by Elisa Best. Congratulations to both for producing such a high standard of images throughout the year.
Annual Open Competition May 2020:
Many thanks to our judge Peter Young, CPAGB, AFIAP, APAGB, for judging our Annual Open competition at home and providing us with a full commentary of his critiques on all the images. Congratulations to Alison Stace whose lovely image "Flowers with Salt and Spice" was awarded first place. "Tree Peony by Lamplight" by Bill Stace came second, and Christopher Jones' image "River Meadows" was third. Five images were highly commended: "Early Morning" by Lyn Sharples, "Deer in Bluebells" by Elisa Best, "Dark Skies Over Tower Bridge" by Terry Rees-Pedlar, "Slate Workers' Canteen" by Keith Sharples and "One of Life's Little Pleasures" by John Crowland. Eight images were commended: "Smoke Gets in my Eyes" by Brian Challis, "Melancholy" and "Llanddwyn Lighthouse" by John Crowland, "Meeting Van Gogh" by Jackie Poulter, "Farm Building" and "Lake District Sunrise" by Christopher Jones, "Red Arrows" by Catherine Jones, and "Backlit Blue Heron" by Sue Carter. Well done to everyone. If you haven't watched it yet, the audio-visual commentary is well worth watching,
Youtube Monmouth Annual Open (It's 1 hour 16 mins long , so get yourself a drink and settle down for a good watch).
Landscape Photographer of the Year:
Congratulations to Iain McCallum (again!) - Iain's image "Steam Train" has been shortlisted in the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 competition.
Publication Success:
Well done to Iain McCallum for getting his image of bluebells in Ash Wood, Monmouth, published in the international online Landscape Photography magazine, (LANDSCAPEPHOTOGRAPHYMAGAZINE.COM). A lovely image and well worthy of publication.
Website Competition - "Still Life" April 2020
There was an amazing variety of images in our "Still Life" competition. Thanks to our judge, Sandra Walding, chair of Ross-on-Wye Photographic Society, for judging the competition. Congratulations to Janet Cox whose image "Evening Glow" was awarded first place. Second
and third places were taken by Jackie Poulter with "Slow Time" and "Feeling Wobbly" - well done Jackie! "Just Bits" by Mike Roberts was highly commended and "Spring in Isolation" by Pat Hopkins was commended. To see the judge's comments for all the images go to the
Website Competition Results page (Drop down menu under Competitions). To see all the images full size go to the
Website Competition Gallery.
Open DPI Competition March 2020
This competition replaced our "People" print competition which could not be held due to covid-19 restrictions. The judge, Michael Krier MA (Photography), ARPS, AFIAP, judged the images at home and sent written critiques and scores. Congratulations to Iain McCallum for winning first place with his intriguing image, "Steam Train". Second place was awarded to "One of Life's Little Pleasures" by John Crowland, and Keith Sharples was third with "Llanddwyn Island". Three images were highly commended: "Path to the Fallen" by Iain McCallum, "Slate Workers' Canteen" by Keith Sharples and "Railway Worker" by Catherine Jones. Seven images were commended: "Pin Tailed Ducks" by Anne Richards, "River Swale" by Christopher Jones, "Reach for the Sky" by Alison Stace, "Connected" and "Early Morning" by Lyn Sharples, "Impressions of a Photographer" by Keith Sharples, and "The Braai" by Elisa Best. Well done to all who entered and congratulations to all who had placings. To see the images and judge's critiques go to the drop down menu under
Competitions (Open DPI Competition March 2020).
Website Competition - "In the Winter Garden" February 2020
The competition has now been judged. Thanks to our judge, Ron Lines DPAGB, BPE3*, EFIAP, AWPF, who despite illness managed to judge and critique our images. Congratulations to Pat Hopkins whose image "Who Ordered This" was awarded first place. Second was "View from my Garden" by Heather Elliot, third place went to "Frosted Web" by Keith Sharples. Two images were highly commended, "Snowdrops" by Lyn Sharples, and "Robin" by John Crowland. Two images were commended, "Frosty Seed Head" by Anne Richards and "The Wicker Seat" by Heather Elliot. To see the judges comments for each image go to the
Website Competition Results page (drop down menu under Competitions). To see all the images full size go to the
Website Competition Gallery.
Battle between Monmouth Photographic Club and Ross Photographic Society
The Annual battle with Ross P.S. was due to be held on 20th March 2020. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak all meetings have been cancelled, and the judge kindly agreed to score the images at home and give written critiques of each image. Each club submitted 10 prints and 10 Dpis.
The scores were as follows:
Total scores for prints - Monmouth 170, Ross 169.
Total scores for dpis - Monmouth 162, Ross 169
Final Total - Monmouth 332, Ross 338.
So yet again Ross are the winners. Congratulations Ross, a brilliant set of images. However it was a close call and we can hold our heads up high! Well done to all who had images entered.
Our highest scoring images were: Melancholy by John Crowland scored 20, Feeding Time by Lyn Sharples scored 19, Apache on the Warpath by John Crowland scored 19, Harvest Time by Iain McCallum scored 18 and Artichoke Head by Alison Stace scored 18.
To see the images and the judge's critique for each image go to the Competitions section, and drop down the menu to find the Battle with Ross 2020 page.
Covid-19
Only Mono competition 2020 cancelled, (New date May 15th 2021), Barrian Cup 2020 cancelled. Welsh Salon selection postponed until it is safe to do it.
Peak District Photography Workshop Weekend
Thirteen of us hired a minibus and enjoyed a weekend of photography in the Peak District in March. We visited locations such as Lathkill Dale, Curbar Edge, Padley Gorge, Stanage Edge, Magpie Mine, and The Roaches, experiencing a variety of styles of photography and a variety of different weather! Go to the
Field Trips and Outings Page for a more detailed account of the trip.
Welsh Salon 2019 - 20
The closing date for entry into the Welsh Salon is March 8th. Last year three members of the club managed to get images accepted, so it would be great if we could have some successful entries again this year. If you fancy having a try at it, go to the Welsh Photographic Federation website for information on how to enter and the rules of entry. There are three sections, Colour prints, Monochrome prints, and DPIs. You can enter up to four images in each section. The entry fee is £1.50 per image (minimum £6). DPI entry is online. If you would like to enter prints fill in all your information and pay your entry fee online, then get your prints to Keith or Lyn Sharples by March 6th, (next club meeting), and we will take them to the Salon drop off point for you.
Open DPI Competition
Judged by Lyn James, our open DPI competition was held on the 7th February. Adrian Butcher was a worthy winner with his lovely image of "Rain on the Pier". John Crowland came second with "Apache on the War Path", and third place went to "Irrigation" by Brian Challis. Four images were highly commended: "Farmer Ploughing" by Catherine Jones, "Close Formation" by John Crowland, "Grizzly with Catch" and "Snow Monkeys" both by Sue Carter. Well done to everyone who entered, there were so many amazing images. Go to the
Competition Results 2019-2020 page to see the first three images.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition
This exhibition is on at the Nature in Art gallery, Twigworth, Gloucester, GL2 9PG, from 4th February till March 29th, and is well worth going to see. The gallery is open Tues-Sunday 10am - 5pm. Nature in Art
Christmas Meal
For our Christmas meal for 2019 we returned to the Stonemill Restaurant. Everyone had a great time and the food was delicious. Many thanks to Jackie for organising and to Anne for remembering to bring a camera and take photos!
Scapes Competition
There were some truly stunning and amazing images entered in our "Scapes" competition on 6th December, giving the judge a difficult job in choosing his favourites. Congratulations to Christopher Jones who took first place with his lovely image, Sunrise", and also second place with "Dawn". (Well done for getting up early enough to get the shots too!) Third place went to John Crowland for "The Prince of Wales Bridge". Five images were highly commended: "Sunlit Scowle" by Brian Challis, "Savernake Forest" by Janet Cox, "Severnscape" by Adrian Butcher, "Splashscape" by Lyn Sharples, and "Moody Durdle Door" by Keith Sharples. Eight images were commended: "Committee Meeting" by Alison Stace, "Old Harry Rocks Dorset" by Arthur Winch, "Anglesey Beach" and "Mull Bothy" by Catherine Jones, "Sunset at Burryport" by Jackie Poulter, "Cold Harbour" by Brian Challis, "Winter Golf" by Bill Stace, and "NYC from Brooklyn Bridge" by Christopher Jones. Many thanks to the judge, Les Loosemore ARPS, DPAGB, AWPF, for his informative and considered critiques of all the images. Everyone was very appreciative of the time and effort he had obviously put into judging the images. Go to the Competition Results 2019-2020 page to see the first three images.
Website Competition - Transport, November 2019
Results for October/ November's online competition "Transport": 1st place, WHR Garrett at Pont Croesor by Terry Rees-Pedlar. 2nd place, Usk Cyclist by Terry Rees-Pedlar, 3rd place, MOT Failure by Chris Morris. Two images were highly commended: Off to School by Elisa Best and No Bikes by Chris Morris. One image was commended, 44806 by Catherine Jones. Congratulations everyone, and especially Terry Rees-Pedlar for achieving first and second place in his first competition! Go to the Website Competition Results page to see all the images and the judges comments for each image. Go to the Website Competition Gallery to see all the images full size.
Stanley Chell Results 2019
Six members attended the Stanley Chell competition on 23rd November. Twenty five clubs from South Wales had entered the competition, each club putting in four prints. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, giving those present a chance to see one hundred of the region's best prints. The competition was judged by Rob Mitchell MA (Photography), who gave an informative and considered critique on each image. Monmouth's images were: Cardinal Fritillary by Sue Carter, Melancholy by John Crowland, The Abbey by Chris Morris and Penmon Lighthouse by Keith Sharples. Our highest scoring image was John's "Melancholy" which scored 19. The scores overall were close, the winning club was Llanelli with a total of 75 points, and Afan Nedd were 2nd with 74 points. We came 20th out of the 25 clubs with a total of 68 points. The competition was very well organised by Aberdare Camera Club, (including a fantastic buffet!). We look forward to entering again next year.
National Museum Cardiff
The National Museum of Wales in Cardiff are currently running a photography season. The exhibition shows work from four influential photographers: August Sander, Bernd and Hilla Becher, and Martin Parr. The exhibitions predominantly comprise loaned photographs, a number of which have never been exhibited before, and all of which will be displayed for the first time in Wales. Entry is free and It runs until 1st March 2020
AWPF Congratulations
Congratulations to Sue Carter for gaining her AWPF, (Associateship of the Welsh Photographic Federation), recently. To achieve this Sue had to submit a panel of 12 images for consideration. Each image needed to be of an excellent quality and the twelve images had to work together as a whole to produce a coherent panel. At this adjudication 21 photographers submitted images but only 12 of those were judged to be of the required standard. Well done Sue, and well deserved.
Pixels 2019
Yet again a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at the Pixels competition. Thirty-nine clubs entered from the WPF and the NWPA. Excellent judging by Michael Krier ARPS AFIAP MA(Photography), excellent organisation by Gwynfa Camera Club, and an excellent buffet! We were very pleased to come joint 7th out of 39. Our images and scores were: Three Arrows by John Crowland scored 18, Feeding Time by Lyn Sharples scored 20, Harvest Time by Iain McCallum scored 18 and Calm Sail by Keith Sharples scored 17, giving us a very respectable total of 73. Congratulations to the winners, RPC with a total of 79. Mold Camera Club came 2nd and Gwent Photographic Society were 3rd.
Stanley Chell Competition 2019
The Stanley Chell competition is an inter club print competition open to all clubs in the WPF. It is organised and run by Aberdare Camera Club. This is always an enjoyable event to come and watch with a chance to see some of the best prints that WPF clubs are producing. Monmouth have entered again this year so come along and support us. The competition is being held on Saturday 23rd November at St Fagan's Community Hall, Windsor St, Trecynon, Aberdare, CF44 8LL, starting at 1pm.
First Competition of the New Season
Our first print competition was held on Friday 18th October. There were 52 entries and as the subject was open this resulted in a huge variety of images. The judge, Leigh Woolford, Hon FWPF, DPAGB, EFIAP, AWPF, BPE3*, praised the high standard of entry. Congratulations to John Crowland whose lovely portrait "Melancholy" won first place. Iain McCallum came second with his intriguing drone shot "Harvest Time". Third place was awarded to Lyn Sharples for "Safe Passage". Six images were highly commended: "Looking Up" by Bill Stace, "On Shed" by Christopher Jones, "Aber Falls" by John Crowland, "Fox on the Beach" by Sue Carter, "Last Boat of the Day Port Talbot Steelworks" by Janet Cox and "Tide's Out" by Lyn Sharples. A further 12 images were commended. Go to the Competition Results page to see the full list of placings and the first three images.
Online Competition - The Beach, September 2019
Results for August/September's online competition: 1st Place, On the Beach by Keith Sharples. 2nd place, Porth Beach by Adrian Butcher. 3rd place, The Beach Castle by John Crowland. Three images were highly commended: Carswell beach by Janet Cox, Cogden Beach by Adrian Butcher and The Beach Sunset by John Crowland. Two images were commended: Early Morning Swim by Peter Farrar and Good Beach Weather by Lyn Sharples. Congratulations everyone and especially to new member Adrian Butcher for achieving two placings in his first competition! Go to the Website Competitions Gallery to see the images.
Dorset Trip September 2019
Seven members of the club enjoyed a trip to Dorset recently. We stayed in a lovely old Oast House at a fantastic location, (once we found it!), right in the middle of Weymouth. Wild and windy, (but mostly dry), weather was a photographer's dream giving us stormy seas and cloudy skies. We all particularly appreciated the spectacular Dorset coastline with visits to places such as Kimmeridge Bay, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door, Portland Bill and Chesil Beach. The area is full of amazing landscapes and places of interest and our four days there only gave us a small taste of what Dorset has to offer. Go to the Field Trips and Outings Gallery to see some of the images from the trip.
Winning Photo
Congratulations to Iain McCallum for his success in the Civil Service Sports Club photography competition recently. Iain won two silver medals and in addition his image "Hornblower" (shown), won best overall image. The image really captures the fun and enjoyment of the CSSC games.
Secret Forest
Our recent visit to the Secret Forest was certainly interesting. The path through the enchanting woodland leads you past gnarled and twisted ancient trees, shimmering leaves and sudden patches of sunlight, and through 'scowles' (limestone rock formations). Photography was challenging in the low light conditions, but the stunning natural features made it worth the effort. We also saw a number of fairies along the way! Then emerged from the forest to an area of replicated iron-age round houses. Refreshments in the quirky 'curiosity shop' cafe were also much enjoyed. Go to the Field Trips and Outings Gallery to see some of the images from the Secret Forest.
Market Display
It was that time of year for the market stall again where we display some of our members' prints in order to publicise the club. It was a long hot day but a lot of people stopped to look and considerable interest was shown in the images. Several people expressed an interest in joining, so fingers crossed, we may see some new faces when meetings start again in September. Many thanks to those who contributed images and to all the members who helped on the day.
Lacock Visit
Nine of us enjoyed a lovely sunny Saturday at Lacock Abbey and village recently. Lacock is known as the birthplace of photography, (Henry Fox-Talbot), and there was certainly an abundance of photographic opportunities during our visit. The picture-postcard village is full of old buildings, with narrow streets, picturesque cottages, a church, three pubs and a packhorse bridge! The medieval Abbey, which later became the home of the Talbot family, is owned by the National Trust along with the extensive grounds. It also houses the Fox-Talbot museum of photography. Go to the Field Trips and Outings Gallery to see some of the images from the day.