Tonight was the final Chris Crane Cup competition and we had the pleasure of Geoff Green from Whickham Photographic Club to judge the 24 images entered for tonight's competition. Even there were fewer images than normal entered the quality of all the images were very high.
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1st place - Dalia - Bob Finlay:

3rd place - Autumn Colour on the Conon: Iain Chambers

4th place - Wet day out - Colin Livingstone

5th place - Mist on the Fells - William Leadbitter

PDI Competition Secretary
​Colin Byrne

I collected our prints on Sunday afternoon from Clare Vale, when I arrived the judges were still sorting box’s and marking prints for Alliance and Portfolio. It seems to have been a very tough event.
Talking to David Brown our NCPF area representative I gather the following.
The judging panel was a very inexperienced group and found great difficulty in giving the top score of 5. Subsequently out of over 1000 prints entered none were scored the top score of 15, with only 3 getting 14 points and less than 10 getting 13 points.
So for us, Donna Gibson getting a 12 for her “Different Perspective” at her first entry is and excellent score. Also Bob Finlay a 12 for his “No 50 at the Kielder Rally” is also excellent.

Today we had the pleasure of Alan Wilson judging our 3rd Open PDI Competition, his warm, humorous and engaging style made for an entertaining and enjoyable evening. We also appreciated the research he had done into the locations and subject matter of the images, as well as his insights into the qualities of the images. 

​Top 5:
1st - A hint of Menace - Ray Barnes
2nd - Storm Brewing - Colin Livingstone
3rd - Girl in a blue hat - Brian Sidney
4th - Falls of Falloch - Paul Dunn
5th - Bridge to Nowhere - Colin Byrne

Highly Commended:
Field of Purple - Donna Gibson
Crossing Packhorse Bridge - Bob Finlay
Loughrigg Tarn - Bob Finlay
Santa Maddalene - Malcolm Booth
Chloe in the Style of Bond - Colin Livingstone

PDI Competition Secretary
Colin Byrne

​David was very fair with his comments and critique, always finding the good in every image. The scoring was close but the eventual joint winners were North Shields and Gosforth with a score of 210 points. David presented the trophy to David Waters of North Shields and in the absence of a Gosforth representative Howard Wilson from Tynemouth.
Cramlington’s highest score was from Bob Finlay with “Light and Shade”

Dave Phillips is a member of Saltburn Photographic Society and travelled from Hartlepool to deliver his talk, Truth & Lies, to our members. Dave is a judge of Open Exhibition and International Salon competitions. He told us that when he started taking an interest in photography in the early 1980s he produced analogue slides. These images could not be changed from the instant when he had taken the shot. This changed when digital photography was invented in the early 2000s. Digital images can be, and normally are, processed using specialist software and may be changed significantly from the shot which is originally captured. At first, Dave considered the altered images to be "Lies". Although he has certainly come to terms with digital photography over the last quarter of a century, Dave still has some misgivings about the changed images and tends to make relatively few changes to his submissions to competitions.

Dave showed us many digital images from his vast catalogue and demonstrated that he is a passionate and highly versatile photographer. The first images he exhibited were landscapes from the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. He went on to show PDIs which involved a range of water sports, motor sports, horse riding, greyhound racing and football (including a number of shots of his 2 grandsons who have both been on the books of a number of local football clubs, including Hartlepool), landscapes in England and Scotland and a selection of wildlife photographs, particularly involving some stunning images of birds of prey. 

Dave's passion for photography, and the lengths to which he is prepared to go to capture the "right" image, are considerable. He collects his own "props" which he thinks may attract certain forms of wildlife for him to photograph and often spends 13 hours in the field (he said that some photographers "only" spend 6 or 7 hours in the field) to benefit the best possible light for a wildlife shot. He wasn't, for example, going to be put off by the possibility of being cut off by heavy snowfall in Scotland. He is highly skilled, but he also demonstrated that success requires consistently hard work and commitment and a preparedness to "go the extra mile". 

Members were fully engaged and very appreciative of Dave's lengthy presentation, which was embellished by his knowledge, skill, passion, enthusiasm and commitment to his hobby.

Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary

One of our club's best photographers, Bob Finlay, gave us a talk entitled "My Print Journey". Bob explained that a chance meeting with a CCC member in Corfu over 20 years ago had led to him accepting the member's recommendation and him becoming a club member. Bob soon realised that, despite him having been a keen photographer for some time,  he had a great deal to learn about the subject! 

At that time the club had over 50 members and Bob took some time to observe and learn before he entered any of the club's competitions. He showed some of his early print submissions and explained how they had been ruthlessly criticised by judges at the time (he explained that judges today are far more encouraging about the efforts of beginners). Bob talked quite openly about the shortcomings of his early attempts. Quite apart from the photographs, Bob pointed out that the mounts he had used at the time and his selection of the paper he used left much to be desired. The prints shown by Bob during his talk were testimony to the way his photography, printing and print mounting skills have improved over the years and this has been reflected in his many successes in club, interclub and NCPF competitions.

Bob's relaxed and engaging style were also key ingredients in him making a very good and interesting presentation which was enjoyed by all members in attendance.

Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary

Tonight started off with the 3rd Mono Print competition. With only 12 images there were only 5 places and no highly commended. the judge tonight was Geoffrey Bradford, his comments gave us all something to think about .
1st - St Aidens - Colin Livingstone
The composition works very well in that it leaves no part of the picture plane devoid of interest. Everything works in this photograph, nothing can be added or taken away.
2nd - River Breamish - Paul Dunn
The tree acts as a portal through whitch the viewer is compelled to enter.Patterns, forms, and shapes fill the composition.
3rd - Leaving the Perch - Bill Leadbitter
Three images in one .Wonderful use of the format, every part of the print is a feast for the eyes.
4th - The Kirk - Brian Sidney
Very surreal, almost a constructed still from a filmset where the characters are held motionless in anticipation.
5th - Jake - Colin Livingstone
Jakes athleticism whilst also injecting a sense of animation in an otherwise static image. It is a well handled piece of studio work.

3rd Open Colour Print competition had 26 prints entered so enabled us to have our top 5 plus 5 highly commended.
1st - City of Glass Marina - Ray Barnes
Everything about this photograph works. The composition, and all the picture elements combine to catch and then hold the viewers attention.
2nd - Rock Chic - Paul Dunn
Perfect use of the portrait format and the diagonal placement of the figure adds dynamism.The intelligent choice of lustre paper complements the work.
3rd - Preparing to Sail - Bill Leadbitter
Imaginative colour palette combined with an intelligent choice of format result in a beautifully balanced composition.
4th - Over the wall - Paul Dunn
The solid form of the wall running through this photograph is pivotal to the composition. It is the combination of the 'made' coalescing with the natural that makes this work.
5th - Volcanic Vine Pits - Ray Barnes
This is a work that invites the viewer to linger for a while and that will always be a good thing.

Highly Commended:
Love in the Mist - Colin Livingstone
Nice ethereal quality to this piece of work with good colour relationships.
Santa's Grotto - Colin Byrne
Real fairyland, a safe haven and everyone's idea of where Santa might live. I am drawn to photographs that have transformative qualities and that allow the viewer to imagine.
Head towards the Light - Colin Byrne
Moving towards abstraction, the off centre placement of the iron railing injects a counterpoint to symmetry. It's an intelligent piece of work.
Wet Landing- Bill Leadbitter
I like the scale and composition of this, we are held and drawn to the rose and then we spot the beautifully positioned hoverfly.
Spreading the Wings - Bill Leadbitter
I was drawn to this piece of work whilst going through the box when it first arrived. The colours, textures, light, and drawing are reminiscent of Japanese wood block painting.

PDI Competition Secretary
​Colin Byrne

​Our models where three lovely ladies, Sophie Nixon and Louise Lisle from “Beauty and the Ballgown/MW Events. This is Sophie’s own company and you can find more information on Facebook.  Sophie dressed as “Aurora” from Sleeping Beauty, Louise dressed as “Belle” from Beauty and the Beast. Our third model, a great friend of mine Amy Harkness who is a freelance  “Bridal Catwalk” model. The ladies swapped around the two sets, during the night and a good number of images were taken by our members.

​Part of the purpose of these events is for our members to learn new skills and ‘techniques , and I was aware that a few members learned new settings to try and also what setting to use for portraits. Thanks also to Paul Kidd for helping adjust lights and angles during the night, and other members for assisting each other with camera setting and menu adjustments, etc.
Overall a good fun night had by all.
 
Colin Livingstone
president

​Dave Best travelled from Hexham to deliver his talk, Monochrome and Me, to CCC members. He explained that whether or not he produced images in colour or black and white depended on the subject matter but that some subjects, he felt, were more effective in monochrome. Dave had with him a book for us to view which he has produced on this subject. 
 
Dave showed us his images from a wide range of genres. He is widely travelled, often to visit close relatives, and this was reflected in his shots which were from across Europe, South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. His monochrome subject content included architecture (he thought that portraying the essential symmetry of architectural images was often aided by monochrome), statues, sports, bands performing at gigs and people (including close family members). He believes that black and white photographs often emphasise the textures on display.
 
Of particular interest was Dave's explanation of what was going through his mind when he took individual shots. He often spotted incongruity between different elements within the scenes he captured and was attracted to the stories and inconsistencies which they suggested. His images often invited viewers to use their imaginations about what was going on. Although he had himself spent 15 years as a photography judge (he is currently taking a break from judging), Dave admitted that he was sometimes frustrated by judges when they failed to understand the points he was trying to capture and to make in his images which had been submitted in competitions. However, he also showed some of his images which had won competitions.  
 
Dave is an articulate, warm and engaging speaker and his presentation was appreciated and applauded by all members in attendance.
 
Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary