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At the Alnwick and District Camera Club March 11th meeting, members welcomed a new judge and after listening to her give her opinion of 48 projected images we thought it to be a considered and well-delivered opinion.
Lynda Golightly qualified as a judge for the Northern Counties Photographic Federation about 4 years ago and as well as enjoying the process has found that the process of review and critique has influenced her own work too.
As she said she was just giving "someone else's point of view" but on the night her view was the one that counted...
At the end of the evening it was said, by more than one member, what a good set of entries we had for this, the second open DPI competition of the season.
Lynda commented on technical aspects, how the picture was balanced, some of the intricate detail and her reaction to the picture as a whole. (Note to members - Lynda is very good at spotting a leaning vertical or a wonky horizontal!)
And so to the awards...a commended went to Laine Baker for 'Lady In Red', a strong image of a woman in a striking red outfit viewing a photographic exhibition. Commended also went to Carol McKay for 'Calm Waters, Amble' - a delicate image showing the evening light over the Coquet. The third commended went to Margaret Whittaker for 'He's Behind You' - an image that amused audience and judge alike. It showed a woman in the street who was totally oblivious to the statue of a naked man behind her - shall we say the statue had a very 'noticeable feature' which made it all the more amusing that she was unaware of what was behind her!
Another award, this time Highly Commended, went to Margaret - this time for 'Schizostylis' - a beautiful floral study in a style that is becoming a trademark for her.
Jim Kirkpatrick's atmospheric 'Misty View' also caught Lynda's eye and it too was awarded a Highly Commended.
Dave Dixon chose an unusual viewpoint for 'Redheugh Bridge' and the strong perspective as the bridge was seen from underneath, combined with a gritty black and white treatment resulted in a 4th place award.
'Ceiling Detail, Barcelona Cathedral' by Laine Baker was awarded third place and this is one of those images that kept the viewer busy for some time as they studied the colourful and very characterful faces in a carved ceiling boss.
Second place went to Geoffrey Bradford's 'Shelf Piece', a wonderfully abstract still-life study of complex colour and form made from the simplest of materials.
Top spot went to Jane Coltman with 'Yosemite...where big is beautiful'. Lynda liked the horizontal format, the realistic colours and the sense of majesty that the image portrayed.
Report by Jane Coltman
Two for the price of one!
Longstanding photographic friends travelled to Alnwick and District Camera Club on March 4th and proceeded to give a very entertaining evening to the membership.
While John Devlin and Mike Berry obviously shared the same sense of humour and even sense of fashion - waistcoat and white shirt a-piece - photographically their interests lay in quite different areas.
John favoured landscapes - atmospheric, often with strong colours and in portrait format - a great series of evocative images.
Mike obviously loved travel and street photography and showed us a superb selection of poignant, candid portraits and gritty urban scenes.
Members were asked to choose from a series of words and numbers on the projected screen and when each of these were clicked on it led to an AV or series of images on a range of topics.
Examples of these were 'Why', 'The Commute', 'It's art...', 'Intimate', 'Why Go Back' to name just a few.
Mike and John invited the audience to question them and also ourselves - what appeals to us? Have you tried changing your angle of view? What is your typical workflow? How can we be at one with nature when out with a camera? Where do we gain our inspiration from?
All the while we were treated to a visual feast with their images.
We enjoyed the different format of the presentation but also the content and they certainly gave us inspiration to go and try a few different things with our cameras.
The evening finished by looking at their gallery of prints which also gave members a chance to engage in friendly chat with them both.
Report by Jane Coltman
Members of Alnwick and District Camera Club were delighted to welcome back old friend David Hall to judge the print set subject competition on February 26th.
'Ground Level', as David pointed out, was not the easiest of themes but as this was a set subject competition, how the image fitted the criteria was an important factor in his thinking.
David has many photographic qualifications to his name - ARPS, EFIAP, DPAGB and BPE3* . Qualifications don't automatically make someone a good judge but as ever with David we were happy to place ourselves at his mercy knowing his comments would be fair, observant and constructive - and that they would be delivered with his usual touch of humour.
The standard of entries was very good as it has been in all the competitions this season. Before we knew it we were at the point where placings were awarded.
Commended awards were given to Richard Stent for Field of Barley, Jane Coltman for How Do You Do? and Dawn Groves for Tree, Malham.
Dawn also received a Highly Commended for Crossing The Lines as did Andrew Mackie with Road Level and Andrew Mackie again with Tree on the Rocks.
We knew things were now getting serious when David Hall produced his famous white gloves - much to member's approval!
It was three in a row for Andrew as he received his third placing of the night - this time gaining 4th place with Ground View - some may have said it was a picture of weeds, and yes it was, but the light, composition and colour in his picture of dandelions worked very well together. A well seen image.
Beautiful light and simplicity were the two key elements in Val Atkinson's 'Lonely Platform'. An atmospheric example of when less is more and a deserved third place.
Colour was to the fore in Laine Baker's second placed image 'Behind The Blue Door'. Two red gas bottles could be seen behind the rotting planks of a blue wooden door - great use of colour giving instant impact. This image was taken in Amble during one of the club's Wednesday Wanders summer outings.
Thinking outside the box was one of the factors that saw Dave Dixon take the top spot. As David Hall brought Dave's winning picture out of the box an approving chuckle echoed around the room as members realised what the picture was of - the control panel of buttons in a lift. Mainly monochrome apart from the 'G' for Ground button which was a vibrant green. Clever stuff Dave - 'Going Down' was applauded by members and judge alike.
Report by Jane Coltman
At the February 19th meeting of Alnwick and District Camera Club there were two very different competitions for members to observe.
Firstly was the Progress Award.
Rules state the entrant had to be someone who had not yet been placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a league competition at the time of entry.
For this competition there are always three judges who are experienced club members. On this occasion Laine Baker, Dave Dixon and John Thompson did the honours, commenting and scoring each image.
First up was Malcolm Biles who had entered three prints: Winter Robin, Afternoon Light and On Holiday. Winter Robin proved to be the judges' favourite, scoring 27 points out of a possible 30.
The second entrant was Chris Goddard whose digital pictures were titled Door Detail, Pico del Tiede and Roof Arches. His top scorer was Door Detail, also scoring 27, but his total score was higher and so Chris was declared the winner and will be presented with the Alastair Cochrane Progress Award in due course.
The winner of the annual Reportage Competition is the judge of the next year's event so Peter Ayres stepped up to the mark and gave his considered opinion on the entries.
A dictionary definition of reportage states: "an account of an event based on direct observation" and so it was with the two entries Peter judged.
Firstly we saw a series of titles prints from Andy Kerwin that showed the work of cockle pickers off the Welsh coast.
Peter said he was very impressed with this entry and liked the simplicity of the concept - through twelve images we saw the whole process from shore to store.
The pictures told the story and the titles gave just enough information to explain what was happening as the boats went out and the workers gathered in the cockles then offloaded them and sent them for dispatch. The story that the pictures told was one that had not been seen by most club members before and certainly held their interest.
The next entrant was Brian Rogers whose AV " A Northumberland Farm" recorded a year in the life of Belford farmer John Riddell. The gritty monochrome images certainly showed the ups and downs of a farming life - from coping with the "Beast From The East" snowstorms to literally making hay while the sun shines. Brian had added his own narration to the soundtrack which added another dimension to this excellent local documentary.
Peter commented that the AV had been "expertly crafted, showing us farm life - warts and all" and he chose this entry as the winner.
While it could be said that the number of entries in both competitions was disappointing the quality of the entries certainly wasn't and thanks must go to the entrants and the judges for giving their time to make this an enjoyable and informative evening.
Report by Jane Coltman
The great outdoors provided the inspiration for the three presentations by club members that entertained Alnwick and District Camera Club on February 12th.
Firstly Dave Dixon used a rare day off to revisit some of his favourite photographic haunts.
He headed north to Glencoe and Rannoch Moor where the landscape was as impressive as ever. On the whole the weather was friendly but photographers are a hard bunch to please - in a perfect world there would have been a bit more snow on the mountain tops and more water gushing down the streams but Dave made the most of what he was given and still produced impressive shots. Photographers favourite Blackrock Cottage at Ballachulish was too tempting to resist but Dave's close up shot was an alternative view to the norm. Architecture is another subject that is of interest to him and this was evident when he showed us some church interiors taken on the same day out.
It was apparent that Dave had fitted a lot in to his day off but the next speakers went to the next level!
Vanessa Hornsby and Geordie Groom (accompanied by loyal Alsatian Soul) took on the task of walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. They completed this after 14 hours along the 25 miles of mixed terrain. The mountains of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent are collectively known as the Yorkshire Three Peaks. These form part of the Pennine range and encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the North of England. They gave an entertaining and interesting commentary to the images and club members were left feeling very impressed with the challenge they had completed.
The next speaker stayed closer to home. John Thompson is taking on the mammoth task of going through his archive of slides and if you understand that John has been photographing his beloved Northumberland virtually every week for over 60 years maybe you can comprehend the enormity of this task!
John's talent as a photographer is admired by all the club members and on this occasion he showed us images taken between the 1980's and 2000. Now an avid fan of digital imagery John resisted the lure of pixels in this period and these images had been taken on Fuji Velvia film and then painstakingly scanned so he could create Audio Visual presentations.
His AV titled Catching The Light showed the skill of combining the photographs with suitable music, of the right pace, and the interesting third image that appeared as two images faded in and out. The scenery, the light and the images were superb.
John also showed the panel of abstract prints of the rocks at Spittal that gained him the ARPS award.
An evening of great images and entertaining chat - thanks one and all!
Report by Jane Coltman
The Northumberland Plate was the latest competition to be judged at Alnwick and District Camera Club and the only restriction in this annual event is that the digital image has to be taken within the county - it's just as well we live in the most beautiful county in England!
We invited a judge from the deep south (Hartlepool) to cast his expert eyes over the entry and select the winners. Dave Phillips is a regular visitor to Alnwick and as ever gave a considered and thoughtful judgement which was appreciated by members.
Commended awards went to Dawn Groves for Autumn In Bluebell Wood, Chris Goddard for Clockwork At Cragside and Margaret Whittaker for Single Leaf.
Highly Commended awards went to Chris Goddard for Winter Trees, Rothbury Golf Course, Jane Coltman with Clouds Gather Over Alnwick Moor and Jim Kirkpatrick with Evening Light In Seahouses
It was a successful evening for Brian Rogers who was awarded fourth place with a beautiful and classic image of Dunstanburgh and also third place for Holy Island Crossing.
David Burn's early morning outings paid off again as he was placed second with Dawning, a coastal image looking across to Coquet Island.
Top spot went to Dawn Groves for Aurora, Sycamore Gap. An image of an iconic viewpoint with the Northern Lights visible behind the famous tree but the subtle handling of this natural phenomenon also added to the atmosphere making this a worthy winner.
Report by Jane Coltman
Three of the best - this was the aim of the members of Alnwick and District Camera Club who entered the Print Set of Three competition.
Experienced judge Alan Porrett was welcomed yet again to the Mechanic's Institute where he informed us that he enjoyed the extra challenge of judging a set of pictures. He explained that as well as considering the merits of the individual photographs he also took into consideration how the three images looked as a set - were they balanced? Did they work well together?
It was apparent that he had looked at the images very carefully and considerately as he gave his comments which covered technical aspects as well as his emotional response to the images.
He gave a commended award to Christine Grey for her Cretan Doors - wonderfully detailed and well-seen images evocative of summer days.
A different type of housing next as Dawn Groves was awarded a Commended award for Belleville House, Co Kerry. A set of photos taken in an abandoned dwelling which, with its peeling paint and apparent dereliction was wonderfully evocative.
Well done to Stanley Trafford for gaining a Highly Commended award for Autumn Leaves. A simple yet very effective trio of prints depicting fallen leaves - each from a different tree. The soft tones and excellent printing worked together beautifully.
A Highly Commended also went to Jane Coltman for In The Glasshouse. Three small and almost abstract images taken at Kew Gardens.
Victoria Crowe - artist - was the title of the set of three photographs that saw Alastair Cochrane gaining a Highly Commended award too. Three small images placed on a single mount recorded an exhibition by the artist all taken from varying angles and as ever with Alastair's work, top quality.
Motorway services footbridges may not suggest photographic opportunity to many - unless they are called Dave Dixon! Three superb pictures each taken from a glass tunnel built to take people from one part of a service station to another. This entry was a prime example of how a set of images works well - some elements of the images were the same - the composition with geometric lead-in lines and a vanishing point to name two but there were also key differences such as colour and architectural variations - a cracking set.
Third place went to Val Atkinson for Electrica di Lisboa which illustrated trams in Lisbon. Again diversity in composition offered enough variety to give the viewer something different to look at in each image but similarity in subject matter and colour gave Val a cohesive set of pictures - beautifully printed too.
Most members of the club will at some point tried to take pictures of red squirrels and they will know that it is no easy matter!. However Margaret Whittaker obviously has photography skills-a-plenty and she used them to great effect to produce a top-notch set featuring these endearing but endangered little creatures. Each image was of a different squirrel - almost posing for the photographer - gorgeous and awarded second place.
The winning set of images just oozed quality. Taken by club chairman Laine Baker, they were shot in the glass house at Kew Gardens that contains the lily pond and at the time also featured stunning glass sculptures by artist Dale Chihuly. His pieces of glass echo the patterns of nature and the photographs from Laine recorded this beautifully - a deserved winner.
Report by Jane Coltman
Sometimes you just can't beat the homemade touch - and this was definitely the case on January 8th at Alnwick and District Camera Club.
This was designated a Members Night and said members did themselves proud as they entertained us all with some superb images and informative and personal narratives.
Club Chairman Laine Baker started the evening by inviting us to look at the gallery of prints which was formed by members bringing their favourite monochrome shots. Thanks to contributors who included Laine, Richard Stent, Chris Goddard, John Thompson, Raymond Beston, Peter Ayres, Geoff Bradford, Val Atkinson, Carol McKay, Gerry Simpson, Liz Gordon and Jane Coltman - you gave us a great selection of pictures.
Then on to our first digital presentation: Chris Goddard took us on a trip to Mongolia with an excellent AV. This fascinating country is six times the size of the UK but has a population of just 3 million. Some of these people were seen in Chris's images - a bride galloping past on a horse, crowds gathered for an eagle festival and faces full of character. Impressive landscape, traditional architecture - we saw a huge variety of pictures accompanied by music from a Mongolian throat singing heavy metal band - who knew! As in any AV the audio is just as important as the images and Chris was spot on with his choice of music - just the right pace and very atmospheric.
Richard Stent then showed members the selection of pictures chosen for the forthcoming northern area club championships. It was good to see a number of different authors having their work selected - fingers crossed!
A Northumberland Farm was the title of an AV shown by Brian Rogers. Brian spent a year recording the life of Belford Farmer John Riddell and the result was superb. The images were recorded in the year that featured the Beast From The East so the presentation started and finished with photographs of the farmer working in the toughest of conditions at West Hall Farm and it was clear that Brian had gained the farmer's trust which allowed him intimate access to farm life. The pictures were monochrome which seemed to enhance their impact and Brian recorded his own commentary - together giving the audience an informative and fascinating insight into the ups and downs of the farmer's year. This AV is the history of the future and it was pleasing to hear that a copy of this social documentary is now kept at Berwick records office.
John Strong likes cars - a lot! His passion for classic cars soon became apparent as he showed us his photos of a huge variety of beautiful motors - including his own precious Triumph 2000 which he took to displays all over the north of England. His presentation included wide shots of the crowds admiring lines of vehicles as well as an array of detail shots - badges, gleaming chrome and hood ornaments included. We all enjoyed seeing photos that illustrated the pleasure he got from travelling around in such style.
Ian Atkinson started his presentation with an amusing and slightly psychedelic time-lapse of a tree being cut down in his garden before his took us to the far east. apan - land of the rising sun - was our next port of call thanks to Ian's great images. A superb image of Mount Fuji in the November sun started us off as we toured this fascinating country with Ian and his wife Mary who at one point we saw bedecked in traditional kimonos. From spider crabs to sparrows, people and places, Ian's images of this colourful country were a delight.
A great evening of photography enjoyed greatly by the contributors and the audience.
Report by Jane Coltman
Alnwick Camera Club features two knock-out competitions in it's programme every year - one digital and print. These are light-hearted affairs as the results do not count in the league tables and a bit of banter is encouraged!
At the recent print knock-out images were shown two at a time and members were invited to give a show of hands indicating which one they wanted to go forward to the next round.
Of course there is an element of pot-luck - you could get two very strong images coming up against each other in one of the early rounds - but c'est la vie...
As is often the case it became apparent early on that certain images quickly gained approval from the members - the top four placings were:
4th Ian Atkinson; Lindisfarne Castle
3rd Andy Kewin; Tyne Reflection
2nd Gerry Simpson; Water Droplet
1st Richard Stent; Snow Scene
Well done Richard - as the only club member left who still uses film, tanks, chemicals and enlarger etc, maybe he approves of the quote by James Bond in Skyfall: "Well sometimes I like to do things the old-fashioned way..."
Report by Jane Coltman
Three was the magic number at Alnwick Camera Club when judge David Ord visited recently.
He was asked to judge the Projected Set of Three competition where he assessed the images individually but also took into consideration how the pictures connected to each other.
Yet again the standard of the entries was very high and is often the case when you get to the top images, places were awarded according to the judges' personal preferences as they were all technically very good.
David gave a Commended award to John Whittaker for Rose Deep Secret - a well-lit series of still-life pictures.
Highly Commended went to John Strong for Three Harbours. Namely Seahouses, Amble and Tobermory.
Another Highly Commended went to Dawn Groves for Creepy Doll - and creepy they certainly were with an old eyeless doll mixed with a layer of texture to enhance the atmosphere.
A series of images featuring Gannets diving off Bass Rock saw Jane Coltman being awarded fourth place.
Gerry Simpson went down the abstract route for his third placed set with pictures entitled Swirling Water showing great movement and composition.
Carol McKay took us to Dundee when we saw her series Aspects of the V & A which displayed this building's architectural highlights.
A well deserved top-spot went to Laine Baker for Harvest Mice. Three images showing these cute little creatures on different plant material - namely Brambles. Hawthorn and Blackthorn. Lovely lighting enhanced these images of the mice and their surroundings.
Report by Jane Coltman
Members of Alnwick Camera Club were delighted to welcome a new judge to the Mechanics Institute to judge the First Print Open Colour competition.
Stuart Skelsey, LRPS, CAPGB, BPE1* travelled north from Whitley Bay to give his judgement and it was apparent from his comments that he had given considerable time and thought to the images in front of him and this was appreciated.
While commenting on the technical aspects he also shared his overall reaction to the picture - as we all know just because an image is sharp and well printed it doesn't mean it is a good image.
Stuart had plenty to ponder as the standard of entries was very high and after commenting on all the images awards were given to the following pictures:
Commended went to Alastair Cochrane for Heron On The Hunt; Geoffrey Bradford for First Palimsest and David Burn for Castle Stalker.
Highly Commended awards went to Valerie Atkinson for What's It All About?; Margaret Whittaker for Volleyball Anyone? and to Dawn Groves for Calm.
Fourth place went to Valerie Atkinson for Lamp, a well-lit image featuring detail of a light.
In third spot was Jim Kirkpatrick with Waiting, a well-observed image of a porter passing time at a train station.
David Burn's coastal explorations paid off again as his beautiful image, Dunstanburgh Sunset, was awarded second place.
Top spot went to Dave Dixon with Subway and Steps.
Members have seen many of Dave's images taken in Newcastle but at less 'obvious' photo spots. What worked well in this photograph, as well as the architectural detail, was the colour - a flight of fading yellow steps and handrail contrasted with the coldness of the greys and blues surrounding them. A grim and gritty image but photographically excellent - well done Dave!
Report by Jane Coltman
Members of Alnwick Camera Club can always rely on president Gerry Simpson to show us his unique perspective on life - and this different viewpoint is not because Gerry is a wheelchair user - it's because he is always alert for that 'different' photograph.
On his President's Night, Gerry entertained members with a great variety of images through his gallery of prints and his digital presentations.
Axe throwing, canoeing and speeding along a zip wire - these were some of the activities he and his wife Elaine were able to enjoy through the Calvert Trust at Kielder. The smiles on their faces said it all as we looked at his videos and pictures - the freedom from being in a wheelchair and the exhilaration of new experiences was plain to see. Thanks to photography we were able to share the pleasure of these fun and memorable moments.
Ever the opportunist Gerry showed us pictures taken through a car window - with a camera in his hand Gerry turned mundane moments into a range of photographic opportunities.
An AV of images of shadows was next - and of course the chosen music was by The Shadows - a humorous groan went round the room as the music started playing!
The cliches continued when Why Does It Always Rain On Me was the track used in his AV of puddle pictures - but it fitted the images well and again Gerry took a different perspective by flipping some of the images upside down - a bit mind-boggling and enjoyable.
People pictures are in Gerry's repertoire too - some lovely candid moments had been captured by him and then we saw a selection of silly signs he'd spotted. To use the phrase loved by camera club judges they were 'well seen'.
As ever, Gerry's sense of humour was apparent in many of his images, but there were some great 'serious' images on display too such as his water droplets - technically superb and not easy to capture.
We were then shown some three dimensional images that had been created by Gerry and Elaine who used her artistic talents to create some collages from his photographs - great teamwork.
Thank you Mr President for a very enjoyable evening of photography and much more!
Report by Jane Coltman
The first print competition of the indoor season at Alnwick Camera Club was held on October 30th and Jim Welsh, CPAGB APAGB, was invited along to give us his opinion on the entry in an open monochrome contest.
Jim is a firm favourite at Alnwick and as ever we enjoyed his observations and witty and friendly manner.
The standard was high throughout all the entries and when it comes to allocating the awards it is the judges' preferences that come to the fore as at that level the technical aspects were excellent in all the images.
Commended awards went to Dawn Groves for Physalis, Dave Dixon for Roughting Linn and Jane Coltman for In Transit.
Highly Commended awards were given to Laine Baker for Watching You, Watching Me. Chris Goddard for Door Frame Detail and again to Chris for Lindisfarne Castle Interior.
Alastair Cochrance was awarded fourth place for Lines and Angles, a superbly printed picture of architectural detail.
Margaret Whittaker's Double Door had an almost mystical quality to it, suggestive of fictional characters and little people. This photograph was awarded third place.
Sometimes less is more and this was the case with Dave Dixon's image titled Ruin, Wooler Common. A crumbling stone house and a bare tree were the key elements in this striking picture.
Top spot went to Carol McKay with Corpach Wreck. This abandoned fishing boat at the end of the Caledonian Canal on Loch Linnhe beach combined with Carol's camera and printing skills produced a well-deserved winner.
Report by Jane Coltman
It was a homemade evening at Alnwick Camera Club during the Member's Night on October 16th.
The first member to step up to the plate was Andrew Mackie but we didn't see what we expected...not his usual super wildlife and landscape images - tonight Andrew was playing with fire! A series of pictures of lit matches created hypnotic scenes of vibrant and dancing flames - fascinating stuff.
Next Stanley Trafford invited us to step in to his scientific laboratory (his kitchen) as he explained his experiments that used a camera, a candle, a mirror and a tripod. As this writer has no scientific knowledge at all lets just say refraction, reflections, planes and focal points - you get the idea. But it was very interesting and Stanley used his scientific mind to explain the experiment and keep us entertained at the same time.
Dave Dixon then let his pictures do the talking - very convenient as he had lost his voice and was temporarily struck dumb. But as well as viewing his pictures we also heard his own music that he had composed as the audio track for an AV based on the Metro underground train system in Newcastle. We all know Dave has a penchant for underground architecture and this was apparent in this atmospheric presentation.
We went walkabout with Vanessa Hornsby who showed us her love of the great outdoors through a selection of images including her coastal walk from Berwick to Cresswell - 62 miles - along the Northumberland Coast Path, a designated route that runs the entire stretch of Northumberland's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. She even got a certificate at the end to mark the end of a week of walking!
A love of the outdoors was also apparent in the pictures shown by George Groom, climbing in Yorkshire, caves and hills, Clennell and Kelso, dogs and gnomes - a great variety!
Doug Ross is a long-standing club member and his work is much admired by us all. Even though Doug couldn't attend that evening, he was with us in spirit as we were invited to look at a series of his photo books. These beautifully created, large format books just oozed quality - from the simple and classic design and quality of the images inside. We were reminded of Doug's people skills as we viewed his pictures - he has no fear and his ability to communicate with everybody shone through - not many of us would approach a group of tough looking teenagers with camera in hand but Doug does - and he charms them! People, landscapes, home and abroad - superb.
Geoffrey Bradford is a master of photography - literally! He brought along 5 units of coursework that came from his degree and then Masters degree in Photography at Sunderland University. These reflected the creative process involved in creating Geoff's pieces - physical construction, distortion, thought and enquiry. The word 'journey' is used too often these days but it really was fascinating to have a glimpse into his photographic journey of the last few years. If you want to explore imagery as a means of self expression and exploration have a chat with Geoff - he will broaden your photographic horizons.
The camera club has always kept up with the changes in photographic technology and John Thompson showed a great gallery of pictures taken on a mobile phone. As is often said at the club it is the end result that matters, not the process, and looking at this impressive set of monochrome images no one would have guessed their origin. Seeing such quality prints has hopefully encouraged club members to try using their phone cameras to their full potential.
The mobile theme continued as Jane Coltman gave a quick demonstration showing the possibilities with her favourite photographic phone app - Snapseed.
If we showed people from the previous generation what can now be done just using a camera phone they would surely find it mind-boggling. What will camera phones be producing in the year 2050?..who knows...
Report by Jane Coltman
It is always good to welcome a new judge to the club and Alnwick Camera Club members gave a warm reception to Veronica Congleton when she judged the First Projected Open competition.
It became apparent that she had studied the images for some time as she gave her thoughtful and considered opinion.
The quality of the entries was excellent with a couple of members stating at the end of the evening that they thought it was the best standard of entries they had seen.
Commended awards went to Laine Baker for an image of fishing boats at Amble in the evening sun, to Dave Dixon for an image of Crossbones Graveyard and Jane Coltman for brooding clouds over Embleton Bay.
Highly Commended awards went to Laine Baker for a lovely composition featuring a poppy in a barley field, to Geoffrey Bradfords's Palimpest 2 - traces of his creations caught on discarded masking tape and to Margaret Whittaker for another beautiful reflected floral image, this one featuring a geranium.
David Burn was awarded 4th place for Belhaven Bridge - a bridge that is cut off as the tide rises.
Third place went to Jim Kirkpatrick for a skillfully caught image of a Heron in flight.
The number 2 spot went to Dave Dixon for Tunnel Vision, Embankment Station - a picture that seemed to suck the viewer right in.
Juxtaposition. That's a good word and it was a good picture that used this noun meaning "the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect" to take the first place honours. On the right of Dawn Groves' image there was a poster advertising The Beat Museum in San Francisco which featured two men close together and in the distance on the left were two men walking closely together up the road. As the judge said - "well seen" and very well done to Dawn.
Report by Jane Coltman
The result of the latest competition at Alnwick and District Camera Club was in the hands of the members as it was their voting that decided which images progressed through the rounds of the annual Projected Knock Out Competition.
There was an excellent standard of entries and right from the first round some top-notch images fell by the wayside as members had to choose one of the two images displayed together.
As usual there was a wide variety of subject matter - nature, architecture, people, landscape, both mono and colour. On more than one occasion a recount had to be carried out by Laine and Jane, who compered the evening, to check the show of hands as a picture won or lost it's place by just one vote.
Dave Dixon skillfully handled the software that brought up the ever decreasing number of pictures in each round until we were left with the final four images.
Fourth place went to John Thompson's 'Abracadabra' - a delightful shot of a child playing with bubbles.
An atmospheric photograph of clouds brewing over Haresceugh Fell in Cumbria saw Dave Dixon take third spot and another of his landscape images, 'Ashness Bridge', took second spot too. Although being a popular subject for photographers this didn't detract from the fact that Dave had produced a cracking picture that was a favourite with the members.
The winning picture had the members showing their approval right from the start - 'Turtle' by Margaret Whittaker, was a vibrant and striking photograph. The turtle swimming in a beautiful turqoise sea, was distorted by the water creating a wonderfully abstract and arresting impression - well done Margaret!
Report by Jane Coltman
One of the pleasures of attending the various presentations throughout the season at the camera club is that you get to travel the globe without having to go through airport security and all the associated hassle that goes with that!
David Stout is one of the most travelled speakers that we have had at the club, and we were delighted that he paid yet another visit to Alnwick and let us accompany him on his wordly adventures.
Since his first overseas trip ? a voyage in 1964 with a Kodak Brownie 44a camera, he has continued to travel and photograph as much of the world as possible. This interest took a major step forward when he joined a camera club in 1982 and his photography has progressed ever since.
His latest presentation to us focussed on his adventures along the mighty Mekong river.
Although David had retired as a specialist printer he accepted an offer to work a contract in Asia, at the end of which he was lucky enough to enjoy an open travel ticket - let the adventures begin!
So off we popped to Laos - a Southeast Asian country traversed by the Mekong River and known for mountainous terrain, French colonial architecture, hill tribe settlements and Buddhist monasteries.
There were Buddhas - big and small; temples - old and new; and people at work and at play.
We started in Vientiane, the capital, which is the site of the That Luang monument, where a reliquary reportedly houses the Buddha?s breastbone and where all that glitters is indeed gold.
Another memorable image was of the enormous reclining Buddah at Xieng Khuan.The scale, the age and the beauty of the temples and statues throughout David?s talk were amazing.
David used his time and contacts to get to know the people of the region too, and when a local boatman took him up the Mekong to visit his home village the journey, in what to us Westerners looked to be a slightly precarious vessel, paid dividends when we saw the portraits of the villagers he produced. Cheeky smiling children and graceful elders all expertly captured by David and his trusty Canon camera.
It was clear to see why David is a photographer of distinction - indeed of several distinctions (LRPS ARPS DPAGB EFIAP DPAGB PPSA) and we thank him for taking us with him on his travels along the Mekong.
Report by Jane Coltman
The first Member's Night of the new season at Alnwick and District Camera Club on September 11th started with the President Gerry Simpson presenting the President?s Cup. This annual award is at the personal discretion of the club president and Gerry was delighted to award it to Chris Goddard, a relatively new member of the club who has wholeheartedly participated in club activities - such as arranging a macro night for us all to participate in, entering regional competitions and winning awards and just being willing to get involved with various aspects of club membership. A well-deserved award Chris!
The rest of the evening came under the title 'What I did this summer', which gave members a chance to catch up on what had been occupying members photographically over the seasonal break.
Andrew Mackie?s beautiful images of heather, rocks and scenery taken around Simonside and Dove Crag reminded us just how lucky we are to live in this corner of Northumberland.
Chis Goddard had ventured a little further afield - to the Western Isles - accompanied by four-legged-friend Fury. The weather was mixed but we saw the white sand and turquoise seas on Harris, Gannets around St Kilda and brooding skies over the stone circle at Callanish on Lewis.
A trip to buy a guitar took Dave Dixon to London where he visited the house where his mother was born in Chelsea and then onwards on an exploration of back streets and lesser known spots in the capital. Club members know that Dave is partial to a mooch around an urban landscape and these images, taken on his phone - a Google Pixel 3 - showed that yet again he managed to find many delights away from the tourist trail.
Members are by now quite used to Gerry Simpson showing us a different perspective to life through his photographs and yet again he didn't disappoint. His presentation focussed on a puddle in Edinburgh he came across while at the Fringe - it goes to show that if you have the right mind-set there is always something to photograph!
Peter Ayres had undertaken a commission to photograph the Children's Countryside Day at Wooler and his experiences as a teacher must have proved invaluable as his set of images contained some wonderfully candid shots of the youngsters engrossed in a host of activities designed to educate them about aspects of rural life.
Last of the Summer Wine came to mind as we enjoyed the images shown by Richard Stent under the title of Summer Gadging. He and his fellow retired friends meet once a week to enjoy a bit of walking, a picnic lunch, in Richard?s case some photography (digital and film) and companionable nattering while exploring the district. Moles hanging on barbed wire, cuddly toys hanging on a washing line - they just don?t know what sights they will see on these outings!
That is also the reason why these member's nights are so enjoyable at the Camera Club - we don't know what we will see but it is always an enjoyable evening well-received by the membership. Thanks must go to all those who took part.
Report by Jane Coltman
The first night of the Alnwick Camera Club season got underway on Wednesday with an excellent presentation by the Chairman.
Laine Baker showed a huge variety of images, starting with a gallery consisting of 30 mounted monochrome prints. On the top row were a series of portraits - photographing people is something that club members can find daunting but these images reflected a great range of emotions and hopefully encouraged people in the audience to try this genre of photography.
On the lower row Laine's images included pictures featuring animal skeletons - definitely something different!
A series of Audio Visual presentations were next - firstly we were taken back in time with images from a 1940's weekend at Barnard Castle - the pictures and music certainly captured the wartime spirit.
Edinburgh was the next location and Laine showed us a series of colourful photos from the Carnival which featured musicians and performers from across the globe parading through the streets.
Images from Puglia in Italy reflected an area that features olive groves, quaint back streets and historic towns full of lovely detail that was captured beautifully.
We then popped over to Barcelona in Spain where Laine talked us through a wonderful series of images. She was clearly impressed with the street art that was on show as well as more obvious photo locations such as the cathedral and the Sagrada Familia. Antoni Gaudi's work featured in many other images taken by Laine in the city and it was obvious to the viewer that she is a fan of his work.
The final AV displayed a variety of images that the chairman had taken over the summer, many from the Wednesday Wander outings and it ended with cute images of the newest member of Laine's family - Labrador puppy Ginny. I'm sure even the sternest members of the club emitted a little 'aww' when those pictures appeared!
It was a great way to start the season - have a look at the programme which is available on the club's website to see the variety of guest speakers, member's nights and competitions that will entertain us for the next few months. New members always welcome!
Jane Coltman
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