Tonight was the Chris Crane Cup  Competition and was Judged by Alan Wilson ARPS,AFIAP who is a member of Whickham Photographic Club. Despite the low number of entries, Alan managed to turn a potentially disappointing evening into a very enjoyable one. He did this by engaging the audience with enthusiasm, positivity and humour. At the same time, he still managed to provide balanced critiques of the images. Most of us expected the evening to finish by about 8 pm but that wasn't the case. There were many good images but the clear winner was ‘I can fly’ by Paul Kidd, well done Paul.

​Colin Byrne
PDI Competition Secretary

The Language of Photography was presented to us on 10th April by Arjun Nambiar, LRPS. Arjun's day job is as a Consultant Urological Surgeon and his talk was more intellectual and conceptual than most. Arjun's contention is that just as language (he started with a quote using Sanskrit, a classical language of India) is designed to document, inform and convey meaning, so photography has the same purpose. The first section of his talk concentrated on the resources which are available to the photographer. He demonstrated how, for example, the size ratios of an image and the perspectives employed by the photographer can have a profound impact on what is conveyed to the viewer. Similarly, the use of contrast, luminosity, sharpening and texture can be used to draw attention and focus on the key aspects of an image. He suggested, for example, that rather than sharpening all of an image, the photographer should consider only sharpening those parts to which the photographer wishes to draw attention, just as we emphasise certain things when we write or talk. 

Just as in language, we should first think about what we are trying to achieve and convey, so the second section of the talk focused on the key things which the photographer is looking to communicate. This requires the photographer to give significant thought to identify what are the key points they wish to present in an image and how best to do it. If practical with landscape photography, for example, it is a good idea to firstly visit the site with a notebook - perhaps even without a camera - to analyse and identify the key things which you want to communicate and focus upon and to then work out how this can best be done, given the resources available to us. Only with this level of intentionality can we expect to identify and articulate the best "language" in our images.

Members very much appreciated the talk, which was viewed as being thought-provoking, fascinating and enjoyable.

Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary 

The 3rd Open PDI competition took place on 3rd April and was Judged by Bill Broadley. There were a total of 42 images and Bill stated that there was a high standard of images to choose from and his final selection was made last minute. Having said that he also stated that the top 2 images were an instant choice and never moved from 1st and 2nd place.
Top 5:
1st - Showing off by Paul Kid
2nd - Sunset on the rock by Colin Livingstone
3rd - Nut Time by Colin Livingstone
4th - Derelict by Bob Finlay
5th - St. Abbs head by Paul Kidd
​

5 Highly Commended:

Colin Byrne
​PDI Competition Secretary

​Our third Open Print competition took place on Thursday 6th March judged by Stephen Fowler and in the judges' words it was a high standard of prints he had to decide on.  In total there were 27 prints in the competition, a mix of colour and monochrome despite the relatively low number of entries it was a successful evening with some outstanding work on display. 
Congratulations to all the highly commended and to the eventual top 5 prints also to all the others that entered their work.
​
1st Place Colin Livingstone with Jules in Blue
2nd Place Bob Finlay with Little Red Enjoying a Nibble  
3rd Place Ray Barnes with Across The River Douro
4th Place Paul Dunn with Falls of Falloch
5th Place Peter Moody with Iris

Highly Commended
Paul Dunn with Foothills
Paul Dunn with Darnell
Bob Finlay with Roughting Linn
Colin Livingstone with Robin             

Chris Houghton
President

On 3rd March Colin Livingstone and myself travelled to Ponteland Photographic Society who hosted the North Tyne Area PDI Competition. Cramlington one this competition in 2024 and we knew it would be a tough competition this year. The judge Bill Broadley explained the level of images was very high and there seemed to be a theme of images with water reflections this year. The best image in the competition and awarded 30 points was 'Taxi' by Shauna Hogg from Whitley bay. Out of the 10 images Cramlington entered Colin Livingstone was our top scorer with 28pts with Jules Attacks. 

There were 6 clubs in the competition and the results are as follows:
!st North Shields with 213pts
2nd Gosforth with 212pts
3rd Tynemouth with 211pts
4th Whitley Bay with 207pts
4th Ponteland with 207pts
6th Cramlington 196pts

After the results there was a raffle followed by a lovely buffet with tea and coffee.

Colin Byrne
​PDI Competition Secretary

​Peter Downs, the Programme Secretary of Morpeth Camera Club, presented his talk about abstract photography to CCC members on 27th February. He explained that he has had a lifelong love for and background in art, and this appeared to inform and inspire his approach to creating abstract images from the photographs he takes. Peter explained that he captures photographs using the Automatic setting on his camera and then spends time manipulating them in a variety of computer software programmes, including Photoshop 25, Nik and a range of Topaz programmes. Sometimes Peter spends many hours creating a single abstract image from a either a single original photograph or from a composite of multiple photographs.
 
Peter explained that he does not use a single process to create his abstract shots and that it is at varying stages of the processes that he decides the theme which he will adopt to produce his final creation. This is a freewheeling approach in which he finds himself totally engrossed!
 
It was acknowledged by Peter that his abstract creations do not appeal to everybody, including all photography judges. Some photographers tell Peter that they would struggle to find the courage to manipulate and display the images he produces. However, Peter told us that he produces images, first and foremost, for himself and so this empowers him to not be overly concerned about how others view them.  
 
Our members enjoyed Peter's talk and his images as he challenged and informed our views of photography. Some of his concepts, shapes and colours were striking. Inevitably, as individuals our members liked some of Peter's images more than others, but we all felt that his talk was really interesting, and it was well appreciated.
 
Ray Barnes
Programme Secretary 

​Following an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss the future direction of the club, one of our long-standing members, Bob Finlay, gave us a presentation which he had titled An Eclectic Mix. Bob explained that he had used a range of cameras during the course of his photographic journey and had moved between Pentax, Nikon, Fuji and an Olympus camera. He explained that he had owned cameras with cropped and full frame sensors and, most recently, had bought an Olympus four thirds camera. The four thirds system is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for DSLR camera design and development. Four thirds refer to both the size of the image sensor as well as the aspect ratio. Bob said he was very pleased with this recent acquisition which produced great images, was light to use and carry on photographic trips and could be hand-held for an impressive 2 seconds when shooting.
 
With some amusing diversions about the cars he and his friends had owned and driven in the past, Bob presented a range of his photographs in sections such as Landscape, Sport and Portraits. Bob has a relaxed but clear and amusing presentational style and this, together with his high-quality photographs, provided a very enjoyable and informative meeting. 
 
Including Bob, about three-quarters of those in attendance then headed for the pub to continue our discussion about photography in general, the club, next year's programme and a wide range of subjects and anecdotes which came to mind, and which were suitably lubricated by the beer.
 
Ray Barnes 
Programme Secretary

On Tuesday 18th February the second round of the 4-Way Print Competition was Hosted by Morpeth Camera Club. A number of Cramlington members represented us on the night and the results follow.
4th Place was Cramlington with 408 points
3rd Place was Gateshead with 449 points
2nd Place was Morpeth with 483 points
1st Place was Gosforth with 502 points 

Colin Byrne
​PDI Competition Secretary

Tonight we held our 2nd PDI Competition and was Judged by Veronica Congleton. Veronica remarked on the quality of all the images and was difficult to select the top 5 and highly commended.
The Top 5 were as followed:
1st - Tom - Adam Burness
2nd - A moderate Hike - Malcolm Booth
3rd - Angry Bird - Ray Barnes
4th - Grey Squirrel - Bob Finlay
5th - The Hunt - Colin Byrne

Highly Commended:
High Level Darth - Colin Livingstone
The View - Paul Dunn
Mysterious Anna - Paul Kidd
Cathedral Walk - Ray Barnes
Merry Monk - Ray Barnes

Colin Byrne
​PDI Competition Secretary

The 4 Way Interclub PDI Competition between Blyth, Cambois, Cramlington and Whitley Bay was held on Tuesday 11th February 2025. The host club was Whitley Bay PS and the judge was Tony Broom.
After a very tight competition, Blyth PS won with an overall score of 264. In 2nd place was Whitley Bay PS with 255, 3rd place was Cambois CC with 250 and Cramlington CC came 4th with 241 points. The image scoring 30 points was ‘Madonna Lily’ by Richard Young of Blyth PS.

​Jim Welsh received the trophy on behalf of Blyth PS. This is the 4th year in a row Blyth has won this trophy, sharing it with Whitley Bay PS in 2023.
Tony Broom was thanked for his constructive comments throughout the competition and the event was well attended by all clubs. The host club provided an excellent buffet after the competition.