Over the course of the Camera Club year we run 7 monthly competitions, and each competition has an Open section (where members can photograph on any subject) and a Theme Section (where the members have to follow a brief on a theme). The themes this year were as follows:

1. Bull Island (no wooden bridge, no Poolbeg Chimneys)
2. Silhouette
3. Breaking the Rules
4. Frozen in Time
5. Portrait
6. Clips Clamps and Connectors
7. Broken

Congrats to the section winners this year.

Liz Stowe was the well-deserved winner of the Advanced Section. Alison Stewart, who was with the club for a year while home from Australia, took the crown in the Intermediate section, and in the Novices it was Deryck Vincent who emerged victorious.

Advanced Winner's Gallery 2018: Liz Stowe

Intermediate Winner's Gallery: Alison Stewart

Novice Winner's Gallery: Deryck Vincent

The list, when it was shared with the members, provoked some strong and often hilarious reactions but it’s fair to say that everyone took the challenge and some of the entries were stunning. The reason we have competitions, and in particular themed competitions, is to encourage members to push themselves beyond what they would usually choose to photograph, and to work on techniques involving different types of composition and using all of the camera’s different settings.

Everyone learns a lot when planning and capturing an image, and also in the judge’s critique of their work. Our judges are generally drawn from other camera clubs, we would ask an advanced photographer – usually with a particular or special interest – to review all of the competition entries and asses them in order of merit. Every member has the opportunity to see everyone else’s competition entries being critiqued and it is always a great learning experience.

There were promotions for any members who scored 85% or above over the course of the year, so the league tables are a great way of helping member to progress.
You can see some of the winning competition entries here.