On the second Wednesday evening in March, further evidence of the Society’s forward-looking attitude to photography was on display for all to see at the St John Ambulance Headquarters, off Glencrutchery Road in Douglas, as it hosted an ‘open’ competition devoted purely to photographs (on any subject) taken using a mobile telephone. The hard-working Committee was rewarded by entertaining one of the best attendances of the 2023/24 season so far for this more relaxed evening. It is hardly surprising that mobile ‘phone images are so popular these days with hand-held devices being so easy to use and capable of producing such high-quality images.
Mobiles are so convenient, fitting easily into a trouser or jacket pocket without having to carry more expensive, heavy, cameras and equipment around, more especially, when flying off Island to foreign lands. So much has the quality of the mobile images improved, even in the last decade, that it is now very difficult to distinguish images taken on a mobile ‘phone from those taken with top-of-the-range cameras costing at least three figures.
As was clear from the attendance on the night and the number of entries, mobile ‘phone photography continues to grow in popularity. There was a total of 42 entries and the President had decided to encourage audience participation by providing a voting slip for those present to award their own marks (anonymously) - without knowing the names of the entrants. Members were instructed to award only 5 marks (out of a maximum of 10) to their own entries to ensure absolute fairness.
These marks were collected up and the scores combined to produce the three most popular images, which were:
3rd place ‘Monkey Business’ (153 marks) by Alan Blythe
2nd place ‘Leading Light’ (154 marks) by Barry Murphy
1st place ‘Sky Spiral’ (156 marks) by Alan Blythe
Current President, Barry Murphy, then nominated his personal favourite on the night, which was ‘Smile, you’re on Camera’, a great example of ‘street photography’ by Nigel Owen, with both winners being presented with a nice bottle of wine.
After refreshments, the President announced that the March Challenge would be ‘Double Exposure’, with the images being shown later. He also informed members that the next gathering would be at the same venue at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 27th March, when former member, Nessie Gillen, would be giving hints and tips on photographing babies and young children, including a presentation of her own, professional work.
By Antony Hamilton
