Last week, the Isle of Man Photographic Society held its second ‘Open’ competition of the season. Our judge for the night was Dave Salter from the Western Photographic Society who was welcomed by our President, Tony Curtis, and by those present. The Winter weather had again affected the attendance badly after the public had been warned, following heavy snow, against making any non-essential journeys, but those who braved the elements were treated to an excellent evening’s entertainment with a good number of competition entries.
Dave began by giving an overview of his personal photography, stating that he enjoyed capturing all images from macro to landscapes, cityscapes, street photography, people and action. The only genre he had not yet attempted was studio portraiture. His own business, which involved travel, enabled him to visit places such as Chicago, Mumbai and London where, each time, he set time aside for photography, picturing cityscapes and street photography.
His passion for photography was clear from the outset and he presented his comments on each image with a professional insightful knowledge of his photographic skills.
Dave then proceeded to give his comments on each competition entry. These were clearly explained as he offered helpful suggestions on what could be done to improve each of them. He had been impressed by the overall quality of the images and their presentation.
In the digital colour class, Sue Jones won with 20 points for “House Sparrow on Pampas”. In the digital mono, Ruth Nicholls was awarded 19 points and first place for “Country House Interior”. First place, with 20 points, in the colour prints was taken by Tony Curtis for “Starling”, followed closely on 19 points by Ron Shimmin for “Canary Wharf” and Tony Curtis for “Brown Bear”. Tony also came first with 20 points in the mono prints for “The Swordsman”.
After refreshments, the second half of the evening saw the introduction of a new competition to recognise the growing popularity of mobile ‘phone photography. The judge for this competition was Tony Curtis who gave knowledgeable advice in relation to each of the 41 entries before awarding the marks which saw Sue Jones emerge as the winner with 20 points for “Rainbows”. She was then presented with a copy of Craig Goffins book 'Spectacular Isle of Man' which he had kindly donated. Coming a close second were 5 entries with 19 points, namely those of Nigel Owen, Marilyn Brown, Ruth and Chris Nicholls, and Sue Jones.
The Society was pleased to welcome another new member present on the night, something that bodes well for the future.
Our next meeting will be at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 1st February at the St John Ambulance HQ when our guest speaker will be Ron Strathdee for what promises to be a great evening featuring “Dark Skies / Astro Photography”. Guests and potential new members will be welcome to attend. iomps.com
By Antony Hamilton
