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These reports appear in the Northumberland Gazette.
It was a full house at Alnwick and District Camera Club for An Evening with Peter Patterson.
Peter is a highly successful photographer whose pictures have been exhibited in salons throughout the world. Many of his photographs have been published in books and magazines and he lectures widely to camera clubs. Landscapes of his native Scotland are among his favourite subjects along with still life and abstract subjects and all of these formed part of his presentation.
Peter has been a keen photographer for forty years, starting with black and white film that he processed in his own darkroom. His prints are now digital, but all of his pictures share the same high quality.
In common with many photographers, Rannoch Moor has provided a happy hunting ground for Peter but his outstanding pictures of this area, taken under a wide variety of weather conditions and at different times of day, seemed to capture something very special. Other superb Scottish landscapes included an impressively atmospheric sequence of images taken on the island of Eigg in very poor weather conditions.
Peter then moved on to colourful semi-abstract pictures of rocks and some unusual and imaginative still life images of flowers and fruits. While many of Peter’s pictures were produced without digital manipulation, he also demonstrated his skill and imagination with the computer in other examples of his photography. There were also some interesting infra red photographs and examples of hand coloured monochrome prints.
Moving further afield we were then shown some very different pictures from Namibia.
Impressive images of the shifting colours of sand dunes were followed by an unusual sequence taken inside abandoned buildings in one of the mining settlements. These were a far cry from the familiar pictures we see of abandoned cottages in Ireland.
A visit to Iceland during the recent volcanic action there had also produced some unique pictures. Braving the falling ash, Peter captured the unusual conditions with some memorable images.
Peter proved to be a most engaging speaker, spicing his words of wisdom with a dry Scots humour. All in all this was a most enjoyable and memorable evening.
Report by David Carter
Members of Alnwick and District Camera Club were once again charged with the judging for their latest projected image knockout competition. As usual in these competitions, images were shown in pairs with the audience voting for the best picture which then progressed to the next round. The final voting round selected four winning pictures.
There was a wide range of images to consider covering landscapes, people, flowers, animals, still life and many other subjects, both in colour and in monochrome. Members often found it challenging to choose between pictures, particularly when they were of very different subjects, or when they had to choose between colour and monochrome. Inevitably there were occasions where two excellent pictures were pitted against each other and tough decisions had to be made. Such evenings make one appreciate some of the problems that competition judges face.
When voting was completed, fourth place was awarded to, Goldfinch, a fine natural history photograph by Kevin Murray, while third place went to Dave Dixon for Trig Point and Star Trails, a striking long exposure image of the night sky. Kevin Murray also took second place with Beth, a most attractive, colourful portrait taken from an unusual angle but first place went to Margaret Whittaker for Rundle View, an outstanding landscape which was a worthy winner.
The evening was completed by a fine gallery of monochrome prints by John Thompson. Entitled A Landscape Revisited, the images of water, rocks and coast around Dunstanburgh conjured up a stark but magnificent and very different picture of an area that is otherwise well know to us.
Report by David Carter
Alnwick and District Camera Club’s latest members’ evening was devoted to audio visual presentations.
First came the judging of entries for the annual reportage competition.
The three entries were Rescue from St Mary’s Island, by John Thompson, The Arctic Came to Alnwick by Jean Findlay and The Beauty of Flowers by Raymond Beston. Last year’s winner, Jane Coltman, was the judge, commenting on the high quality of photography and presentation of all three entries. However, John Thompson’s excellently presented entry which told an interesting story with humour and good observation was a clear winner.
More members’ AVs followed, commencing with some fine holiday impressions of Ireland from Gerry Simpson. From further afield, Jean Findlay presented a spectacular mini travelogue of Chile from Top to Bottom before we moved back to England for Raymond Beston’s visit to Manderston House and gardens.
John Thompson then showed Bluebells and Friends, a colourful impression of Thorpe Perrow in springtime, and Tyne to Tweed, a picturesque journey up the Northumberland coast.
Last but by no means least came three AVs by Doug Ross. The first, entitled Down in the Forest, was a wonderfully impressionistic evocation of woodland captured in camera with no digital manipulation. This was followed by In Praise of Tractors, a sequence of wonderful close-up images of rust and decay that demonstrated that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. Finally Doug showed off his skills on the computer with Waltz of the Flowers, an entertaining AV using only eight images.
The evening was completed by a fine gallery of pictures from Sue Baker and Dave Dixon. Sue’s excellent pictures covered a wide range of styles, subjects and approaches while Dave’s fascinating sequence of long exposure images of the sea shore was taken using a cleverly improvised filter constructed from welder’s glass.
Report by David Carter
Lionel Bryan returned to Alnwick and District Camera Club this week to judge the last of the season’s competitions - the Open Mono Print competition. He prefaced his judging comments by complimenting members of the club on the high quality of their work.
There were some 50 prints entered including several well-observed images from newcomer Karen Beresford, some very impressive “cold” pictures from Margaret Whittaker to prove she had been to Canada recently and a collection of amusing street shots by Richard Stent. A picture of the Kiva minaret by Ian Atkinson was also very pleasing.
The judge, however, gave his awards to the following: commendeds were given to Geoffrey Bradford for Homage to Derrick, to Sue Baker for British Museum, and to Pat Wood for Secret Thoughts. Highly commendeds were awarded to Brian Hunt for a very fresh angle on Sage Shapes, to Geoffrey Bradford for Morandi up close and to Kevin Murray for Reflections. Grey Heron.
Fourth place went to John Thompson for Winter Wren shivering delicately in the recent bitter weather. Third place went again to John Thompson for Stamfordham Pant, not a sports picture but a beautiful photograph, in sepia, of a village pump. Second place was awarded to a very lovely picture of a Thai Boy by Laine Baker and first place went to Pier Light an exceptionally lit image of Saltburn pier by John Thompson.
John Thompson, chairman for the night, thanked the judge for his helpful and perceptive comments - as well he might.
Report by Doug Ross
Lionel Bryan from Morpeth Camera Club was the judge for Alnwick and District Camera Club’s second open print competition of the season. Lionel praised members for the high quality of their pictures before going on to assess the fifty prints entered. These covered a wide range of subjects including landscapes, seascapes, interiors, portraits and abstracts as well as some very fine natural history pictures. Lionel commented on each print, offering much encouragement and useful criticism delivered with good humour.
Homage to Derek by Geoffrey Bradford, Blue in Green by Alan Ainsworth and Brent Geese, Lindisfarne by John Thompson were commended while Collecting Nectar Points by Gerry Simpson and Worldly Wise and Bud Bouquet, both by Laine Baker, were highly commended.
John Thompson’s warm and glowing seaside picture entitled Together on Gold Beach was awarded third place while Peter Carter’s exceptionally well composed and subtly coloured image of the Ashmolean Staircase gained second place. First place went to Geoffrey Bradford’s cleverly conceived image of watery reflections appropriately entitled Mirror for Miro.
Report by David Carter
Alnwick and District Camera Club’s latest meeting was devoted to An Evening with Alan McCormick. Alan, from Hexham and District Photographic Society is not only a fine photographer but also an entertaining speaker. His light-hearted presentation did not disguise the fact that his work is of the highest order, covering a wide range of subjects from landscapes to portraits and abstracts. The quality of his prints was excellent and he explained how he had used different papers to achieve specific effects.
Many of Alan’s photographs were taken while on holiday and his pictures from Greece were outstanding. His eye for colour and detail had produced some striking pictures, often from seemingly mundane subjects.
Closer to home his pictures of Northumberland showed an affection for local landscapes and his images of such iconic buildings as the Sage demonstrated a fresh approach that was very appealing.
People pictures also figured strongly with sequences taken in Whitby and Pickering. Whitby’s goths are willing subjects for photographers and Alan had taken full advantage of this to produce some striking portraits. His photographs taken during wartime re-enactments at Pickering successfully captured a bygone age as did pictures from Beamish Museum.
This was a most enjoyable evening in which Alan’s infectious enthusiasm for photography shone through.
Report by David Carter
David Phillips from Hartlepool was the judge for Alnwick and District Camera Club’s Set of Three competition which had been postponed from December when Alnwick was snowbound. These competitions are for panels of three colour or monochrome prints.
As usual, David did a fine job of judging, talking with enthusiasm and good humour about individual prints and commenting on how they gelled as sets.
In the colour competition, Fur Seal by David Carter, Seed Heads by Peter Downs and Himba Women by Ian Atkinson were commended, while Hall One, The Sage by Gerry Simpson, New Equivalents by Alan Ainsworth and Goldilocks And … by Margaret Whittaker were all highly commended. John Thompson’s fine trio of dynamic bicycle stunt pictures, Flying Bikes, took fourth place and Jane Coltman’s well composed images of hounds and hunt, A Hunting We Will Go, was awarded third place. Geoffrey Bradford’s stunning close-up images of foliage, entitled Phormium, were in second place but first place went to Views from a Small Island, three outstandingly presented and evocative images of Lindisfarne by Micheal Mundy.
In the smaller monochrome section, Tympana by Raymond Beston was commended and Trio by Richard Stent was highly commended. Fourth place went to three striking and iconic images entitled New York New York by Gordon Charlton, while a fine set of dramatic images of the Towers of Paris by John Thompson took third place. Laine Baker’s characterful animal portraits, Three Wise Monkeys, were awarded second place but Jane Coltman’s well conceived and superbly printed set of images of the life cycle of a pigeon, entitled A Bird in the Hand was the winner of first place.
Report by David Carter
Jane Black was the judge for Alnwick and District Camera Club’s second open projected image competition of the season. Jane, who is a frequent and welcome visitor to the club, commented on the high standard of pictures that made choosing the winners a difficult task. However, as expected, she rose to the challenge, commenting in detail on the sixty eight images entered.
As this was an open competition, the range of subjects and photographic approach was immense, with many fine landscapes, architectural images, portraits, and natural history pictures to name but a few.
Commended entries were A Slow Day by Micheal Mundy, Mind Games 3 by Alastair Cochrane and Tea Time by Joe Thompson while The Engine Driver by John Thompson, Escaping the White by Malcolm Kus and Bluetit on Larch Cone by Kevin Murray were all highly commended. Brian Hunt’s colourful, almost abstract image of water patterns entitled Streamscape was awarded fourth place and Gerry Simpson’s characterful bird portrait, Wet Sparrow, took third place. Second place went to Married Life, a humorous and well seen picture by Jane Coltman but first place was won by Sue Baker’s atmospheric picture, Sandscape, which was notable for its subtle colours and minimalist approach.
To conclude the evening, Pat Wood and Peter Downs jointly exhibited a fine gallery of colour and monochrome prints including landscapes and plant portraits.
Report by David Carter
Robert Fulton, a well-qualified and highly successful photographer from the Paisley Colour Group in Glasgow, gave a very enjoyable presentation of his pictures at the Alnwick and District Camera Club this week. Before giving his talk, he showed a collection of his prints on the Club's gallery as an appetiser for what was to come. Some appetiser!
Robert began his talk by explaining that he would be showing his images as colour slides through a film projector rather than with the now customary digital computer and projector. It kept him in his 'comfort zone' he said.
What he showed was a series of landscapes, mainly influenced by mist and/or frost and ice and often from Rannock Moor and the Trossachs. They were exquisitely beautiful often drawing sighs of pleasure (or, maybe envy) from members of the audience. Robert said that he often visited the same place to take his photographs because, when the weather conditions changed, so did the opportunities for further images. He also explained, most usefully for those members still developing their skills in landscape photography, what his intentions were when setting up his camera - the composition and use of light, for instance.
Robert went on to show that he was not just a good landscape photographer when he showed some of his sports images and, finally, that he was a master of composite photographs - those pictures that are the result of bringing a number of images together to form a final single image. Again, as he had done with his landscapes, he gave away his 'secrets' to show how it was done. Not many photographers do this!
This was a most interesting evening from an exceptional photographer and ,if the Club members have learned from it, they will soon be found at the crack of dawn, on the bitterest of mornings standing in freezing streams in overflowing wellies.
Report by Doug Ross
Margaret Stevens from Cramlington Camera Club was the judge for Alnwick and District Camera Club’s latest print competitions. The set subjects for these competitions were Weather for colour prints and At Work for monochrome. There was an entry of around forty photographs for each category and Margaret commented on the excellent quality of pictures submitted, drawing particular attention to the high standard of printing.
In the monochrome competition, In the Smithy by Jane Coltman, Pavement Artist by Dawn Groves and Pompeii Dig by Sue Baker were commended, while May I Help by Margaret Whittaker, The Pot Cleaner by Micheal Mundy and The Roadsweeper by Jane Coltman were all highly commended. Brian Hunt’s striking image of Tanker Painters was awarded fourth place and John Thompson’s well-seen image entitled The Double Glazing Man took third place. Second place also went to John Thompson for A Little Local Repair, a fine and dusty action shot, but first place was awarded to Laine Baker for a strongly composed, telling portrait entitled Women’s Work.
In the colour section, commended prints were Raindrops and Rainbow by Pat Wood, A Cold Winter’s Snack by Richard Stent and Ridge and Furrow Snow Sculpture by Margaret Whittaker. Highly commended were Downpour on Skye by Gerry Simpson, Approaching Storm by Geoffrey Bradford and Snow Fun by Jane Coltman. In fourth place was a beautiful snowy landscape by Sue Baker entitled The Approaching Storm, while in third place was Caught in a Shower, Florence, a dynamic and colourful image of people and umbrellas by Richard Stent. Second place went to John Thompson for A Cold Snap, a spectacular icy seascape, but first place was awarded to Alan Ainsworth for Untitled No.3, a remarkable moody picture of clouds and mountains that was a worthy winner.
Report by David Carter
It was a busy evening at Alnwick and District Camera Club’s latest meeting.
First, Laine Baker introduced a superb retrospective exhibition of prints by the late Bill Hudson, a fine photographer who is greatly missed by club members. He had a very wide range of photographic interests and was at the forefront in experimenting with new techniques.
Next was the Alastair Cochrane Progress Award for members who have not yet won a place in a club competition. This year five entrants each submitted three photographs which were judged by a panel of three experienced club members who each scored individual pictures with marks out of ten. The standard of this year’s entries was extremely high with two pictures receiving the maximum ten marks. It was a close fought contest but in second place was Margaret Whittaker with a total of seventy three marks awarded for three fine prints entitled Majestic View, The Lake and Alnwick Garden. In first place and winner of the Alastair Cochrane Award was Andrew Mackie with a total of seventy six marks for three excellent digital images entitled One Man and his Dog, Perched and Snow and Sun. This contest was made most enjoyable thanks to the constructive and good humoured comments of judges John Thompson, Doug Ross and Roger Black.
The evening concluded with a showing of digital images of pictures from the London Salon, a prestigious international exhibition that attracts entries that are very different from those usually seen in club competitions.This was introduced by John Thompson who commented on some of the pictures and invited others to join in. As usual, there was a wide variety of fine pictures ranging from the conventional to the controversial. Monochrome pictures were strongly represented with strong, gritty images to the fore while many of the colour photographs were notable for delicate tones and high key effects.
Report by David Carter
A large and enthusiastic audience attended Alnwick and District Camera Club for An Evening with Paul Kenny. Paul is an artist with an unique approach to photography that has met with considerable critical acclaim. He has been working with photography for forty years, over which time he has developed a very personal style that reflects his own view of life.
Initially he worked with the minute study of a stone wall, visiting it time and again to mine further information. Paul’s work then moved to the seashore where pebbles and marine debris became his subjects. His close-up studies of apparently insignificant objects revealed landscapes in miniature that became metaphors for the larger landscape around him.
His next move, a very courageous one, was to free himself of the camera altogether, placing sea water direct onto film and allowing it to dry to produce a negative. By placing stones and other objects on the water as it dried, he produced an amazing range of effects that have resulted in some quite beautiful prints.
For the first thirty years, all of his work was in monochrome processed in the wet darkroom but, by then, the film, paper and photographic chemicals that he used had gradually gone out of production forcing him to move on to digital prints. This has created problems as traditional photographic prints are still preferred by most galleries and auction houses but it has also offered new opportunities. Paul now uses scanners to create his pictures and has also moved into colour printing producing exquisitely delicate and beautiful digital prints that are attractive to an even wider clientele. Many of Paul’s most immediately attractive images resemble planets and star clusters, bringing a new meaning to the adjective heavenly.
This was a fascinating and thought provoking evening that will doubtless spur many members on to take a different approach to their own photography.
Report by David Carter
This year’s Northumberland Plate competition at Alnwick and District Camera Club was for projected images of Northumberland landscape.
Usually judges assess the images before the meeting and decide on the winners in advance but on this occasion judging actually took place on the evening. Malcolm Kus, who is a club member with some experience of judging in this manner showed just how successful this approach can be. He first reviewed all of the pictures and commented on them individually, setting aside those that he wished to consider for awards. Having done this he again reviewed the best of the entries before selecting the winners. His easy manner and considered observations, spiced with a nice sense of humour made the evening both interesting and enjoyable.
Commended were Untitled by Alan Ainsworth, Guyzance Waterfall by Barry Robertson, Spittal Sunset by Ian Atkinson and Glanton Pike by Andrew Mackie while highly commended were Budle Bay by John Thompson and Autumn in College Valley by Jane Coltman. Fourth place went to a spectacular aerial photograph entitled Coastline from the Air by Margaret Whittaker and third place to Jane Coltman for a well composed seascape entitled Spittal Point. Jean Findlay’s beautiful image of a frost-spangled fence entitled Morning Magic was a worthy winner of second place but Jane Coltman was awarded overall first place, and the Northumberland Plate, for College Valley, a wonderful landscape rich in colour and atmosphere.
The evening was completed by a fine gallery of prints by Gerry Simpson and Michelle Cadby.
Gerry’s theme was buildings with imaginative architectural images from Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and Berlin while Michelle’s wonderful collection of colourful landscapes and natural history pictures showed just what can be achieved using a relatively simple compact camera.
Report by David Carter
The speaker at Alnwick and District Camera Club‘s latest meeting was one of its own members, Alan Ainsworth, with a presentation entitled The Clerkenwell Project. Although based in Northumberland, Alan spends a lot of time in London and has developed a great interest in the area of Clerkenwell where he has an apartment. Starting with what was primarily a photographic project, Alan eventually created and published his own book about Clerkenwell with extensive text and superb photographs recording its history, architecture and people.
Clerkenwell has a fascinating history going back to medieval times but is also of particular interest for the way in which it has developed over the last thirty years, moving from an industrial area in decline to a vibrant new community of stylish apartments, creative studios and a thriving leisure scene.
Alan’s photographs have successfully captured this community with telling pictures of the people and their surroundings. Panoramic views of the architecture placed buildings in their context, while close up details and unusual photographic angles provided variety and interest. People were shown at work and play with locations varying from night clubs to craft studios and Smithfield meat market.
This was a fascinating talk covering both history and photography and also provided valuable information on how to go about publishing your own book – a challenging and rewarding undertaking but not for the faint-hearted.
Report by David Carter
Print knockout competitions are always popular at Alnwick and District Camera Club so there was a good attendance at this latest event. On these occasions, pairs of prints are voted on by the audience until all but four winning pictures remain. Doug Ross acted as MC, introducing the pictures and counting the votes.
These are fun evenings with plenty of friendly banter but, as usual on such occasions, members showed that they were perceptive judges of good pictures by voting four very fine prints into the winning positions. Fourth place went to Tanfield Train, a striking and colourful image of a locomotive by Jane Coltman, while second place went to Cooling Off, a beautiful pastoral scene of cattle by Raymond Beston. In second place was Light-bellied Brent Geese over the Causeway, a superb landscape with geese in flight by John Thompson who also took first place with Wren, a well composed, subtle monochrome image that was a worthy overall winner.
Report by David Carter
Bad weather threatened Alnwick and District Camera Club's projected image competition when the judge, Jim Welsh from Blyth, was unable to reach Alnwick due to appalling road conditions. However, since more than twenty members had braved the elements to attend, it was decided to go ahead with the evening. Fortunately, Jim had already done the hard work of deciding the winning and commended pictures, so the entries were all projected on the screen and comments were invited from the audience. This made for a lively and informal evening which was enjoyed by all.
This competition was for a set of three projected images.
Commended were The Railwaymen by Keith Saint, Stalingrad Chapel, Coventry by John Thompson and King Penguins Wild and Free by Paul Davis. Highly commended were Wading Birds by Kevin Murray, Bass Rock Boat Race by Jane Coltman and Druridge Bay by Barry Robertson.
Fourth Place went to Laine Baker for Penguin Lunch, an amusing sequence of pictures taken at Edinburgh Zoo, while third place was awarded to Michael Mundy for The Three Wise …, a well seen and cleverly composed set of images based on London street furniture.
Second place was taken by Sue Baker with I've Got a Brand New Combine Harvester, three surprisingly colourful and attractive pictures of derelict farm machinery, but first place went to Ian Atkinson for Studley Royal, a group of fine images that captured the beauty and tranquility of the location.
Report by David Carter
Alnwick and District Camera Club's annual event, held at the Playhouse, once again attracted a large audience. This year's speaker was Miguel Lasa, a family doctor from Hartlepool, who has a passion for wildlife photography. He has travelled widely in pursuit of his photographic interests and his work has been published in many books and magazines around the world.
In taking his audience on a photographic wildlife tour, Miguel commenced with visits to northern Canada to see polar bears, arctic foxes, arctic hares and snowy owls. His stunning images of adult polar bears and cubs going about their daily routines immediately captivated the audience and prepared them for the feast of superb pictures to come. Operating at temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Centigrade is extremely demanding and photography of white animals against a background of snow presents huge technical problems which Miguel had overcome to produce some remarkable results. His portraits of snowy owls were quite outstanding but even these were eclipsed by some amazing shots of these magnificent birds in flight.
As a complete contrast, Miguel's tour then moved to Tanzania and Zimbabwe where he wowed the audience with his images of African mammals including cheetahs, leopards, lions, hippos and rhinos. His images of African birds were equally spectacular with wonderful shots of flamingos, vultures, eagles and many attractive smaller species.
Moving back to colder climes, Miguel then showed a unique series of images of bald eagles taken in Alaska. These included both extreme close-up portraits as well as wonderful action shots. Further birds of prey were the next subjects with sea eagles and golden eagles in Norway and ospreys in Finland.
After a brief visit to India to show us some beautiful tiger pictures, Miguel then moved back to England with images of our well known local sea birds including puffins, terns and gannets.
Such a plethora of pictures of such superb quality could have been overwhelming but the whole evening was complemented by Miguel's engaging and gently humorous commentary which enthralled the audience with his enthusiasm and dedication. A session of questions and answers completed a memorable evening.
Report by David Carter
There was a packed house at Alnwick and District Camera Club when it hosted the annual interclub print competition. Six local clubs each submitted four monochrome and four colour prints and these were individually marked out of 30 with a potential maximum score of 240 points. Anne Swearman from Whitley Bay Photographic Society proved the ideal judge for such a competition, assessing each picture with clear analysis and good humour. She emphasised the fact that such occasions should not just be competitive but also entertaining and enjoyable.
The competition was close with many fine pictures from all clubs and, at the end of the monochrome section, Morpeth was in the lead. However, in the colour section, Alnwick had a very strong entry and eventually took overall first place with a total of 205 points. Morpeth Camera Club took second place with 198 points, Blyth Photographic Society third with 194 points, Amble Photographic Group fourth with 187 points, Ashington Camera Club fifth with 182 points and Wooler and District Camera Club sixth with 176 points.
Two prints were awarded the maximum thirty points. These were a fine monochrome seascape entitled Storm Wave, Amble, entered by Morpeth, and a superb colour bird portrait entitled Nuthatch, entered by Blyth.
The evening concluded with refreshments provided by Alnwick committee members.
Report by David Carter
Through Irish Eyes was the title of Judy Boyle's talk when she visited Alnwick and District Camera Club. Judy is one of Ireland's foremost photographers and is particularly renowned for her people pictures. It was therefore not surprising that she started her presentation with a superb series of colour prints of children and adults set against a background of Belfast's famous political murals. Photographing children in Ireland does not seem to carry the same problems of political correctness that it does in England and neither does it in Romania where Judy has taken some wonderful images of children who all seem eager to have their portraits taken.
The secret of good people pictures seems to be in making the right initial approach to create trust and cooperation. Judy's sympathetic pictures of Romanians in their homes and on their farms demonstrated the affinity that she has with her subjects, as did a similar set of pictures from India which were rich in colour and atmosphere.
Moving back to Ireland, Judy showed some beautiful images of the interiors of derelict cottages. While such pictures can often seem contrived, Judy's photographs seemed to capture an atmosphere of abandonment softened by the use of warm colours.
Coming from a large family of seventeen, Judy has no lack of willing models for her portraiture and a series of family portraits was very special. Some were set against the background of derelict cottages and had a certain affinity with her portraits from Romania and India.
Finally, Judy showed the panel of prints that earned her Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. These were totally different, highly imaginative compositions using everyday objects from her home, transformed by spray paint, good composition and flawless photographic technique.
Report by David Carter
For the second week running, Vince Rooker from Morpeth Camera Club was the judge for Alnwick and District Camera Club's first open print competition. This time, he was dealing with the monochrome section, with a slightly smaller entry of around seventy pictures. Vince commented on the fact that, in many respects, digital monochrome printing seemed to offer more problems than colour, particularly with cheaper printers, although some successfully overcame the problem by colour toning their pictures. Having said that, many black and white prints were of excellent quality, demonstrating just what can be achieved in the digital darkroom. However, one of the winning prints was produced in the wet darkroom showing that the traditional approach still reaps its rewards.
The Gift by Keith Saint, Budapest:People and Shadows by Alan Ainsworth and Riding The Wave by John Thompson were all commended. Highly commended were Bleak Midwinter by Paul Davis, and Showing the Skills of a Stonemason and Riverbank Grasses, both by Raymond Beston. Fourth place went to Brian Hunt for an imaginative posterised image entitled Hoodie, while third place was taken by a fine still life of Tomatoes by Harry Wilkinson.
Richard Stent's Horn Study, a superbly detailed non-digital print of the highest quality was awarded second place but the winner of first place was Jane Coltman's picture, The Maid and the Master, a well-seen image of a maid's uniform hanging on the wall in juxtaposition to the master's portrait.
Report by David Carter
It was a sad occasion at Alnwick and District Camera Club's latest meeting when the death one of its members, Bill Hudson, was announced. Bill was highly regarded by those who knew him, both as a good friend and as a very fine photographer and he will be greatly missed.
Vince Rooker, a frequent and welcome visitor from Morpeth Camera Club, was the judge for the club's first open colour print competition. He has often served as a judge in the past and tackled the task of assessing almost eighty prints in his usual thorough and entertaining fashion. Once again, the standard of pictures was high and, as usual with an open competition, the variety of images was immense, ranging from landscapes and portraits to natural history and architecure.
Commended were Swan by Dave Dixon, Carriage No.3 by Malcolm Kus and Beadnell Harbour by Keith Saint and highly commended were Hirsel Hedgerow by Raymond Beston, Proud Mother by Andrew Mackie and Wren Nouveau by Alan Ainsworth. Fourth place went to Made in Italy, an unusual and imaginative image of an Italian shotgun, by Kevin Murray. Kevin also took third place with Cocker Spaniel, a charming and well photographed canine portrait.
Paul Davis' spectacular seascape entitled Unst Sunset was awarded second place while Keith Saint's wonderful image of the sea stack at Seaton Sluice, known locally as Charlie's Garden, deservedly took first place.
Report by David Carter
Members' night at Alnwick and District Camera Club provided an opportunity to learn more about working with digital images on the computer.
Gerry Simpson started the evening with a demonstration of Pictures To Exe, a useful tool for producing audio visual presentations. After covering the basics, Gerry answered questions from the audience and provided further demonstrations of the facilities that this programme offers.
Next, Ian Atkinson explained methods of converting colour images to black and white in Photoshop, alongside various other tips and shortcuts to improve images.
Richard Stent then showed members how to resize images for projection in club competitions. He also explained how to label pictures with essential information.
Jane Coltman followed with some quick shortcuts to improve pictures in Photoshop. She then demonstrated some of the impressive results of using Color Efex filters by Nik Software, just one of the useful pieces of software that are now available for manipulating images in the digital darkroom.
The evening was completed by a fine gallery of landscape and natural history prints by Andrew Mackie and Judith Snaith, including some much-admired panoramas.
Report by David Carter
George Ledger from Hexham and District Photographic Society was the judge for Alnwick and District Camera Club's first open projected image competition. George was faced with a challenging task with over ninety pictures to deal with but he rose to the occasion magnificently. He dealt with each picture in a fair and considered manner with plenty of detailed analysis and helpful advice and his relaxed and humorous presentation made the evening most enjoyable.
George commented on the high quality of the entries which made choosing the winners difficult. Commended were Differences by Dawn Groves, Outhouse and Contents by Alan Ainsworth and Embleton Bay by Barry Robertson while highly commended were The not so Famous Five by Richard Stent, Sunrise over the Farnes by Jane Coltman and Ready to Strike by Kevin Murray. Fourth place went to a fine detailed picture of commercial architecture entitled Industrious by Sue Baker while Keith Saint's atmospheric monochrome seascape, North Pier, was awarded third place. Second place was taken by Jean Findlay's well seen and beautifully textured image, Abandoned House, but first place went to Summer Field by Keith Saint, a radiantly lit and well composed picture of a golden cornfield.
The evening was completed by an extensive gallery of fine natural history pictures by Kevin Murray, including some superb bird portraits and close up images of insects.
Report by David Carter
'What We Did This Summer' was the topic for Members' Night at Alnwick and District Camera Club. This provided members with the opportunity to show a few of their pictures and to talk about them. In the past this has always proved to be a popular event and this year was no exception with a record number of nineteen participants.
The variety of pictures on show was immense ranging from those that recorded happy family holidays to a series of four pictures by Paul Davis that had been accepted for the Northern Counties Photographic Federation Salon, an outstanding achievement.
There was a good range of natural history images including fine bird portraits by Kevin Murray and spectacular underwater pictures by Ian Cartwright. Places visited included Paris,Pompei, Malaga, Morocco and Sulawesi but understandably England and Scotland were most strongly represented with many images from localities in Northumberland including some taken on summer club evenings with the Wednesday Wanderers.
Two members gave short audio visual presentations. Doug Ross provided a beautiful sequence of sea images while Raymond Beston's presentation, entitled Les Lapidiales, captured the atmosphere of an amazing sculpture park created from a disused quarry near La Rochelle.
Everyone spoke about their pictures in an interesting and entertaining way and the overall impression was that they had enjoyed their photography and the opportunity to share their experiences with fellow enthusiasts.
Report by David Carter
Every year Alnwick and District Camera Club devotes an evening to a presentation of prints from the Northern Counties Photographic Federation Salon. Despite its name, this is an international competition attracting 2,300 entries from all parts of the world. Club treasurer, John Thompson, did a fine job in presenting 100 of the 200 prints finally selected for the salon and commenced by explaining the processes involved in judging. Although there are only three judges, they are backed up by a small army of volunteers involved in unpacking, sorting and preparing pictures for presentation. Organising such competitions is an immense undertaking but the rewards were clear to see.
John explained that judges have a very short time to view each picture so that images with good impact have a better chance of success.
As is to be expected from a salon of this nature, the standards of photography and printing were exceptionally high. This was an open competition so the variety of pictures was immense, ranging from landscapes, portraits, architecture, still life, and sports to natural history and contemporary creative images. In fact there was something for everyone to appreciate and learn from and John's knowledgeable commentary added an extra dimension, making this one of the most successful salon evenings that the club has enjoyed.
Report by David Carter
David Stout is a frequent and welcome visitor to Alnwick and District Camera Club, both as a speaker and a competition judge, and so his talk on this occasion, entitled He Who Dares, was eagerly anticipated. David is a highly successful travel and landscape photographer but many of his photographic opportunities arise when he travels the world in his professional capacity as a printer. One such opportunity was a business trip to Laos with an add-on visit to Cambodia, resulting in a wide range of superb pictures of those two fascinating countries.
David prides himself on his 'brass neck' which enables him to engage with people and to insinuate himself into interesting photographic situations. He is quite happy to endure the stares of tourists and locals as he lies on his back to photograph architectural features or to risk the dangers of unexploded mines and other military hazards in order to find a good viewpoint.
A hair-raising trip down the Mekong River in a small open boat resulted in some beautiful portraits of the inhabitants of a remote village inaccessible by any other means.
Laos and Cambodia are both renowned for their impressive Buddhist temples and monuments and David showed some fine examples. These included intricate carvings and, surprisingly, some unusual tapestries hung on the outside of buildings and only protected from the elements by the eaves of deeply overhanging roofs. One of his final pictures was a beautifully lit image of the legendary Hindu temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
The results of David's 'Who Dares Wins' approach, coupled with his undoubted photographic skills, provided club members with a memorable experience.
The evening was completed by an outstanding club gallery of superb prints by Keith Saint.
Report by David Carter
There was a good attendance at Alnwick and District Camera Club when chairman David Carter welcomed members to the first meeting of the season. This meeting is traditionally 'Chairman's Night', which gave David the opportunity to talk about his interests in photography and to show some pictures from a recent visit to New Zealand.
Starting with a picture of his first camera, a simple bakelite Brownie 127 with fixed focus lens, David charted his progress to 35 millimetre film, single lens reflex cameras, and cameras with built in exposure meters, all a far cry from today's highly automated digital wonders.
His latest trip to New Zealand allowed him to photograph some places that he had not visited before. The small town of Katikati on North Island restyled itself as Mural Town to attract tourists after the price of its main commodity, kiwi fruit, collapsed in the 1980s. David showed photographs of a number of these murals ranging from the realistic to the humorous and also some images of other open air art including Japanese Haiku poems engraved on stones in the local park.
These were followed by pictures of the beautiful coastal town of Akaroa, situated on South Island close to Christchurch. First settled by French and Germans, albeit under British rule, Akaroa has a fascinating history reflected in its characterful buildings. As a keen naturalist David completed his talk with a picture of a praying mantis that he saw on the last day of his visit there.
The evening was completed by a varied gallery of excellent prints of members' favourite photographic subjects.
Report by David Carter
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