Isle of Man Photographic Society
Hot on the heels of the Societys annual photographic competitions, delayed this year until November because of the Pandemic, came the annual two-way battle with the North West Bristol Camera Club.
This annual event has become established as a regular feature over several years. A former member who was also a member of the Bristol Club, suggested it so that she could maintain her links with her Manx Society. Her idea was for an annual competition between the two photographic clubs of projected digital images. Under the competition rules, each club is invited to submit 30 new images which are then marked (out of 20) by two independent judges, one from the Bristol area and the other from the Isle of Man. The scores of the two judges are then combined to give an overall winner.
Normally, members look forward eagerly to having their competition entries assessed by an experienced photographic expert who then gives a constructive critique on each image. This is usually followed by helpful tips and suggestions on how the images might have been improved and the thinking underpinning the scores awarded. The philosophy of this general format is to encourage participation and development. This feedback element was missing because the two judges were not able to be present with us. This was a pity, especially in the case of the unnamed Bristol judge whose markings seemed to be overly harsh and difficult to comprehend in the absence of his or her commentary. Such was this the case that there was no correlation between the markings of the two judges. However, the Society President, Jeremy Broome-Smith, asked those present to give their own opinions on each image and this generated a lively and entertaining discussion, interspersed with a good deal of humour.
The images on display were generally impressive and of a high standard. Peter Cannards "Ghost Crab", Steve Johnstones "Red Kite", Barry Murphys "Tally Ho" and Jeremy Broome-Smiths "White-tailed Sea Eagle with Catch" all scored highly. However, the highest mark of 20 went to Jeremy again for his "Osprey with Fish".
The final overall results were as follows -
Isle of Man Photographic Society 503 points
North West Bristol Camera Club 466 points
On Wednesday, 18th November, at 7.00 pm, we are looking forward to a recorded presentation by Ross McKelvey, member of the London Salon of Photography, on editing with 'Photoshop at the St John Headquarters, Glencrutchery Road, Douglas.
By Antony Hamilton
