CCC | Serial Print 2023-2024

Quite pleased with my results from the Serial Print 2023-2024 Round 3 last night.

I think that is the final round and, if so, the leaderboard reports that I have come joint 9th from 21 in the Mono and joint 6th from 23 in the Colour. I’m happy with that given the troublingly high quality of the Cambridge club.

Sidenote - this colour image has been marked down by two separate judges for being a) too bright, and b) too dark.

RPS | People PDI - Street or Portrait 8th Feb 2024

Judge: Jim Bennett

Jim, because he’s nice, but also because he has taste obviously, held back all of my entries tonight, which is cool.

None of them bloody won, mind.

RPS Knockout

Came first in the Royston Photographic Society Knockout competition last night! (Pair-wise elimination, last-man-standing, with 90 images.)

I’m still totally in the dark as to how a grand-slam works with 90 images. Some don’t appear until round two. Some perhaps until round three. Some rounds have an odd number of entries. It’s all mysterious.

PAGB Cup for Nature 2024

Results for the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain Nature cup.

Hmm. The spiders was my best shot, so I’m pleased that is reflected in the scores. I’m not used to scores out of fifteen though, so nine really smarts!

PAGB Trophy 2024

Results from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain 2024 Trophy

Three judges score each image out of five and the total is the score.

Serial PDI Round 3 | CCC

Judge: Pauline Martindale

Unexpectedly scored 19/20 for this heron.

Kitten scored 16/20, which was expected!

The scoring was properly weird. I’m surprised there’s not been more comment about it on the club forums because it genuinely appeared that the judge had brought the wrong glasses - misdescribing fundamental elements of the images. There was also a strange obsession with verticals (even for elements that were not vertical in the first place such as V-shaped architectural butressing) and leg-separation (even for face-forward animals on which separation would have looked absurd and been compositionally jarring.)

Judge was viewing them for the first time on the night and that appeared to put the pressure on her.

I’m not saying my images were worth much - I chucked them in fairly thoughtlessly - but the commentary and scoring were both baffling.

Open Print 11th January 2024

Judge: Naomi Saul. Quite technical feedback. Very little regarding composition.

Unlike Cambridge on Monday, this scored 19/20 this evening and, whereas the double mount was a negative, this time it was commended. You can’t predict what happens with these sorts of entries.

Just like Monday, this got 15/20 again. Lesson learned. My LRPS OneToOne suggested this image be colour, so maybe that’s the next try…

Hmm…

16/20. Naomi pointed out that the roof is much duller than the wall and that could be better balanced. I agree. (Nobody has noticed the artefactual verticals in the upper tenth of the image. That’s the main problem in my opinion.)

Hmmm….!

Serial Print 2023-2024 Round 2 - CCC

Judge: Chris Foster

Tried to be crafty here. Submitted this image (London Underground) because I like it, but it’s very much (I thought) not a competition image. It’s too graphical, is basically a poster, has blunt text on it, and I mounted it a) in blue, and b) with a red inlay-mount to really rub it in. I thought it would be scored 10 or less but I’d garner lots of useful feedback about why, thus informing my future submissions. That, or it would be so unusual as to go right round and come out on top.

As it was it scored 15/20, which is plenty respectable for a Cambridge score… But we learned nothing.

Mammoths was my mono submission. This too scored 15/20, which is fine, but everything he said was effusively complimentary. Nothing negative to say whatsoever, then… a brief pause… “15”.

Scape Print - 23 Nov

Royston Photographic Society ‘Scape Competition. Scored as follows:

Scores:

  • Needle Rock & Old man of Storr - 19/20 - Didn’t like that it was backlit.

  • Piscine - 15/20 - Had nothing critical to say… but fifteen nonetheless…

  • St Monans - 15/20 - Felt the shadows were to dark. Fair. My monitor is WAY too bright and I don’t do my own printing.

Phil G suggested that the latter two images were quite magenta-y and I think he is right. I’d kinda noticed really, but not doing my own printing means it’s impossible to check this for the physical copies. I need to spend some money. The winning few images today were all on nicely chosen paper and looked amazing. cf Peter Baker for example.

Monochrome Print - 19 Oct

Judge: David Steele

I was a little miffed because David held back (I think) ten, but decided to award 1st place 20, 2nd place 19, and 3rd place 18, so 17’s for the rest. It would have been nice to have a little separation amongst the held-back-but-didn’t-place images. (Final Race was held back. Hence ire.)

Serial Print 2023-2024 Round 1

My first entry into a Cambridge Camera Club competition… This is a “Serial” competition which runs across the year in a series of rounds. You submit one colour and one mono print each round and the ultimate rankings are based upon total points.

Judge: Nick Akers.

16 for Final Race and 17 for Local Maximum. Pretty happy with that given the stunning quality of the submissions!

Open PDI - Sept 21

Judge - Nick Bowman.

An interesting competition to kick off the new season. Nearly everyone not held back recevied 17…! Pretty chuffed to have achieved 1st (HC) and 3rd (HC). Pretty irritated to have set the bar here for the rest of the year…!

Click images for full-size.

Open - PDI - 27-4-2023

A lower-scored competition than last time, I think, making me somewhat prouder of these non-winners than of last time’s wins. Somewhat.

Judge - Nick Bowman

Rubha Hanish | 19/20 | Commended

Piscine II | 19/20 | Commended

I loved your swimming pool photo on Thursday Jim. I'd have had it as my winner. I took the judges point about the swimmer being further to the left but if you had taken it then the yacht wouldn't have been in the other space - so he still wouldn't have been happy.

Best wishes, Peter Baker

Rue Saint Vincent | 18/20

On Piscine II the judge correctly pointed out that having the swimmer in the left-side window would balance better with the boat. He’s right, of course.

Rue Saint Vincent was taken on my phone coming out of a restaurant after a day of lugging around an R5 and three lenses in a backpack…..

Macro and Close Up - Print - 16-3-2023

Goodness me! While I was away I came first and second in the Royston Photographic Society Macro and Close Up Print competition.

Local Maximum | 20/20 | First place

World Peace | 20/20 | Second place

In-camera baby!

Heliocentric | 20/20 | Highly Commended

There were far fewer entries than usual but nevertheless I am feeling pleased with myself.

+++ UPDATE +++

Blimey! I scored 20/20 for both of these, and for Heliocentric - which was Highly Commended. a) I notice it was a very highly scored competition, b) I am on fire nevertheless.

Judge: Ken Payne