I have been most impressed by the
standard of both photography and processing of the work submitted to the
Photoworld sponsored competition. The judges, a professional photographer,
a professional colour processor, a specialist in photographing. orchids
and myself had a, difficult time sorting out the winners.
First some statistics, There were 267
slides submitted by a total of 16 C.R.C. members. (The comparative lack of
support was the only disappointment about the whole competition). Two
members from Area 3, one from Area 4, two from Area 9, four from Area 11,
one from Area 13, one from Area 15, one from Area 18, two from Area 20,
made the effort.
In category 1, Flora & Fauna, there
were 69 slides In the opinion of the judges there were 7, possible
winners, which had to be reduced to one outright winner in this section.
Of these seven slides there, were from one member.
In category 2. Landscape/Seascape, there
were again seven possible winner’s, this time out of 49 slides, Category
4. People, had 49 slides of which 19 were possible winners and finally,
category 5. Special Effects had 13 potential winners out of 40.
The winners, then were as follows, In
the flora & Fauna section the slide which took the winning place was
by Mrs. R.M. Pearle of Area 13 with the Damsel Fly. For this slide Mrs.
Pearle gets a 135mm lens and some filters to fit it. The other two slides
from Mrs. Pearle which could have been the winner, were Peacock Butterfly
and Poppy. Other entrants with potential winners were K. M. Alexander with
his Crested Hornbill, Humble Bee and Conversation, and John Slater with a
beautifully seen Willow Herb. There were other slides of remarkable
quality giving tribute to the patience and care and attention to detail,
which the entrants to this section required.
Moving onto section two, the
Landscape/Seascape, revealed more than one noble soul who had obviously
been up at the crack of dawn to get the picture. Winner was National
Newsletter Editor, Bill Reid, with a beautiful landscape called ‘Skye
Life’. This was almost ‘three dimensional in its effect’. In the
foreground was a brilliant red tractor, whilst in the background showed
misty blues and lowering clouds. Rivaling this for winning place included
Frosty Morning by Bob Dowlman, Swindale and Stack Rocks from Ray Watt and
Lakeside and Poplars from Mrs. Pearle.
Section 3, Architecture, had a worthy
winner in F. L. Pratley’s Gatehouse Lane, The beautiful composition and
the lovely warm brickwork were excellent. The challengers included Abbey
Ruins and Country Church from Ron Knowles, Cologne Cathedral, Eiffel Tower
and National Gallery from Bill Reid and Forecourt with seated figure by
John Muitt. First prize was a Starblitz 3600BTZ Twin Headed flashgun with
built in slave.
The People category was a difficult one
to select. There were so many really good slides that it is a pity
everyone wasn’t able to win first prize1 First prize went to Wayne
Harris, LRPS, with a portrait that would put many a professional to shame,
called Lady Punk. The lighting, modeling and processing were all superb.
Wayne’s Conversation was a challenger,
as was Peanut. Vendor from C. Cowling, Two Boys by R. H. T. Tibbles,
Carnaval Lady by Bob Dowlman, Lynne by John Slater, Refreshment Time,
Cavalier‘s Wife and Sandra from K,M. Alexander.
The final section was Special Effects.
This proved to be the hardest of all to select and outright winner. There
was such skill and ingenuity shown bt the entrants, that I feel sure some
of them could write their own magazine article, on the art of the special
effect. Winner was by Mike Puttick from Area 3. His slide was of a
chateau, but the colours had been reduced to two - black & yellow. The
effect was truly marvelous. The competition was fierce with three
beautiful challengers from Wayne Harris, Jab Tank, Helmets and Blue Speed,
Scarlet Campus and Goldfish from Ray Watt and Washing-up Bubble and
Decanter Stopper from Ken Alexander. The winners and the runners up,
together with the various consolation prizes have been sent to all
winners. I’m pleased to say that every entrant won several prizes. In
fact several entrants did get a prize for every slide they entered.
What we have to do now is to try and get
the sort of work that is being produced by C.R.C. members shown to much
wider audience. I am sure that with a slide show made up from members’
work put on in every Area, with the membership of the Colour Reversal
Club; the Club would make a dramatic upward turn. ‘Naturally’ such
shows would need plenty of publicity,
material for the Club, together with leaflets and application forms. But,
the very structure of the Club into it’s various Areas, the amount of
work involved in actually staging the shows would be shared, and should
not be too great a strain. The publicity material would be the main
headache. (Could this, be a challenge to our new Publicity officer!)
Anyway, I think it is something that the Committee might consider. I’ve
done my bit in starting the ball rolling and the sixteen entrants who were
keen enough to send in their entries made the whole thing possible. Your
work deserves a wider showing.