This week the IOM Photographic Society held their annual competition for the Bank Cup, the assignment being Nature. We were very fortunate to have Neil Morris, Managing Director of Manx Birdlife and a lifelong advocate for nature and conservation, as our judge. Neils background in marketing (including advertising) gives him considerable knowledge and expertise in photography, plus the seemingly effortless ability to present a superb commentary covering both the photographic aspects of the entries in our competition, plus lots of information on the habitats and behaviour of the birds or animals depicted.
With a fairly limited entry of just under 40 images in total, comprising both prints and digital images, Neil was able to give every entry the benefit of an in depth review, little escaping his attention, particularly in terms of its composition and sharpness but including such technicalities as artefacts, pixelation, and colour banding. It proved engrossing and the evening passed all too quickly.
The Bank Cup is the one competition of the year in which society members compete on an equal basis, the entries limited to 2 prints and 2 digital entries per member, the judge being required to select a winner in each category, but then to choose an overall winner given there is only one cup.
The Diane McCuddens Herring Gull In Flight proved the winner in the digital section, a lovely image with wings fully extended and almost filling the frame, the feather detail well captured and seen against a lovely blue sky.
Unfortunately for Diane, the print section provided two very strong competitors, with Steve Johnstones Red Kite vying with Sue Blythes Morning Stretch for first place in that section. Red kites were nearly extinct in Britain in the 1960s, but their conservation policy has been a great success, the birds now seen across much of the UK, often in substantial numbers. Steves image was similar in composition to Dianes gull, but with vibrant reddish brown and black tones to the feathers giving great impact. However, in the end, Sue's tiger taking a morning constitutional proved both the winner of the prints and of the Bank Cup but a very close competition between the three images. Club President Jeremy Broome-Smith gave a well earned vote of thanks.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 4th November when we will be showing the digital images from the Two Way Battle with the North West Bristol Camera Club held earlier this year, but whose showing has been delayed by the Covid lockdown. Please note our new venue for meetings is the St John Ambulance HQ on Glencrutchery Road, with a new start-time of 7:00 pm. Full details of our programme may be found on our Facebook page or on our website www.iomps.com Our meetings are open to the public (non-members with a modest entry fee), and all will be given a very warm welcome.
By Chris Blyth
CAPTIONS:
IMAGE 01: 'RED KITE' by Steve Johnstone
IMAGE 02: 'MORNING STRETCH' by Sue Blythe
IMAGE 03: 'HERRING GULL IN FLIGHT' by Diane McCudden
