Competition Results 09/10


	Print Competition 8 March 2010



	“Sentries in Time” by Alastair Ruffman

	The winning entry was “Sentry’s in Time” by Alastair Ruffman which has already won critical acclaim in previous competitions this year. Peter Curran had a strong showing and received both Second and Third place for his nature shots of “Ponteland Red Squirrel” and “Spring Lambs” respectively.


			The Print Competition was held on 8 March and Vince Rooker ARPS, DPAGB, EFIAP, APAGB from Morpeth Camera Club generously agreed to judge over 50 prints which had been entered by members. It was a rather long evening due to the large number of entries but Vince was meticulous in explaining his thoughts about each picture. Members enjoyed the feedback on their images with many useful pointers for future work provided by the judge.



		“Ponteland Red Squirrel” by Peter Curran



	“Spring Lambs” by Peter Curran


	Frank Thomson’s “It’s a Dog’s Life” and Alastair’s “Toon Army Garrison” were Highly Commended




	“It’s a Dog’s Life” by Frank Thomson




		“Toon Army Garrison” by Alastair Ruffman


	Three pictures were also Commended. “Cold Snap - New Year’s Morning”, another picture from Alastair and “Stairway to Eleven” by Hank Craggs with a fine showing by new member Ole Gunnberg for his evening shot “Sunset in Prestwick”.




	“Cold Snap - New Year’s Morning” by Alastair Ruffman




		“Sunset in Prestwick” by Ole Gunnberg




	“Stairway to Eleven” by Hank Craggs


	Set Subject Competition 8 February 2010



	This was the second set subject competition for this season and members responded with a bumper crop of entries which gave the organisers, Veronica and Ian, plenty of material to work with for the evening’s presentation. The subject of Architecture/Engineering was widely interpreted by the entrants which made for an entertaining evening with pictures from around the World. Thanks to all members for taking part and making the new Set Subject competitions a big success.



						Joint First place Frank Thomson Falkirk Wheel Aqueduct

			There were 45 digital entries and a single print. Members viewed and discussed each photograph without knowing who had submitted the entry. Voting was by a preference system with each member voting for a first, second and third place image. Results were calculated by allocating 3 points for a first place, 2 points for second and 3 points for third. The standard of entries was excellent and Joint First place was awarded to Frank Thomson with his alternative viewpoint of the Falkirk Wheel and Alaistair Ruffman’s London street scene featuring the Ghurkin. Third place went to Veronica Congleton for her early morning shot of the Blue Mosque. Congratulations to all three members!


	Joint First place Alastair Ruffman Sentrys Apart


	Third place Veronica Congleton Blue Mosque Sunrise


	Audio Visual Competition 25 January 2010

	For the second year in a row the AV competition was won by Mike Sadler with his “Kindness, Beauty & Truth” sequence.

	The title is based on a piece of poetry by Albert Einstein and Mike had brilliantly interwoven his excellent images with lines from the poem. The final picture then showed the complete text - a very cleverly thought-out presentation!

	Once again we were lucky enough to secure the judging services of Barbara Hogg from Cramlington who clearly has a great affinity and love of this genre of photography. Barbara’s comments were always interesting and thought provoking. She awarded second place to Peter Curran for his “Rock Sculptures” which featured photographs from Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire.



		‘Dancing Bear’ from Peter Curran’s “Rock Sculptures”




	“Mallorca” by Mike Sadler




			“Spring Lambs” by Peter Curran

	Barbara also awarded 3rd place to Mike for his “A Taste of Mallorca” and 4th place went to Peter’s “Spring Lambs” Congratulations to both members!


	Projected Images Competition 23 November 2009

	The Projected Images competition was judged by Jim Welsh LRPS CPAGB, the Chairman of Blyth Camera Club. Jim had already visited Ponteland in September with his excellent ‘What Pleases Me’ presentation and this competition was a perfect sequel to that talk.

	Jim’s winning choice was Alastair Ruffman’s “St James’ Park” which is fast becoming one of this year’s top pictures. An HDR composition, Alastair has worked hard to capture the excitement of an evening match at St James’ Park.

	Second place also went to Alastair - this time for “Exploding Bull”. In third place was Hank Craggs with “Hibiscus Factory”. In all there were over 70 entries for this competition with three entries gaining Highly Commended with a further two photographs being Commended by the judge.


	Second Place Alastair Ruffman Exploding Bull


	Third Place Hank Craggs Hibiscus Factory




	Highly Commended Veronica Congleton Beret




		Highly Commended Ian Woodrow Dandelion




	Commended Gary Smith Be Seated




			Highly Commended Mike Sadler Watchful



		Commended Andy Reilly Suppertime


	Set Subject Competition 9 November 2009

	The first set subject of the season entitled Water/Energy was won by Jean Sadler with a remarkable 19 points for her picture of a restored antipodean railway engine entitled “Steam Power”. This picture really summed up both the Water and Energy aspects of the set subject and was a firm favourite with members.

	Second place with 12 points went to Marjorie Wilkinson with her colourful “Niagara Falls” picture narrowly pushing Alastair Ruffman into third spot with 11 points for his summer fun photograph “Breakers”.

	There was a total of 41 digital images and 6 prints entered for the competition which was organised on the night by Veronica Congleton.


	Knockout Competition 26 October 2009

	This year’s knockout competition was won by Mike Sadler with his moody “Bamburgh Castle” shot.

	This year’s competition attracted a larger number of entries which made the knockout aspect slightly more complex. The first round comprised 46 photographs with many members opting for the maximum of 2 entries each. 23 photographs went through to the second round plus the highest scoring losing picture to make an even 24. The second round reduced the numbers to 12. After round 4 we needed to follow the formula again which resulted in 4 pictures going through to the semi-final. Once Mike’s winning photograph had been selected members also voted for a third and fourth place photograph. The two pictures remaining from round 4 were allocated equal fifth place.

Second place Andy Reilly Turning Tides


	Third place Veronica Congleton Swans over Druridge Bay




	Fourth place Ian Woodrow Colourful Dandelion




	Equal fifth place Rod Smith Reflections




		Equal fifth place Frank Thomson Alpine Glow