MEMBERS of Birlingham Photography Club met on August 6 at Birlingham Village Hall for their annual print competition.

Organisers received 46 submissions including: portraits, landscapes, wildlife, sport and still life.  The images were divided into two categories: ‘Foundation’ and ‘Experienced’ which made things slightly easier for visiting judge, Claire Carter.

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Claire talked about the technical and creative aspects of each image, identifying areas of excellence and offering gentle guidance on how an image might be improved upon. The winning photographs: Foundation: Elaine Castleford for her punchy image of trailing car lights. Experienced: Tony Woods for his pin sharp image of a diving kingfisher.

The runners up: Foundation:            Elaine Castleford for her ‘watercolour’ image of Ladybower Reservoir; Helen Barlow for her monochrome image of power through the lines.

Jan Robinson for her High Dynamic Range image of people from the Ethiopian Hamar Tribe Experienced:        Graham Harber for his ethereal image of stormy skies over Scotland’ Steve Reynolds for his dynamically geometric image of an RNLI lifeboat; Angela Fitch for her daring to be different portrait of an Ethiopian tribeswoman

Jim Fergusson also received a special mention from Claire for his perfectly executed image of a Petronas Mercedes Formula One race car.

Angela Fitch, club organiser, said: “The standards have absolutely rocketed this year and I really didn’t envy Claire, who had to identify an overall winner and three runners up in each category, but she did a brilliant job, her encouraging words will have gone a long way.  But congratulations must go to everyone who entered as it takes courage to put work up for public scrutiny.”

Birlingham Photography Club meets at Birlingham Village Hall on the first Tuesday of the month, 7pm - 8.30pm, £4 per person, which includes light refreshments. 

Everyone is welcome, no matter what kit they use or how experienced they are.  More information is available at birlinghamphotography.co.uk