Our judge for the evening was Paul Graber LRPS (SPA) from Guildford Photographic Society.  Now in his second year of judging, he noted that he really enjoyed the opportunity to take part in a mono competition where the photographer can make a conscious decision to use black and white, using shapes and textures for impact and can be more daring to create an image with real drama.

Paul provided considered, constructive critiques of the evening’s images in each of the three categories (standard, intermediate and advanced) which covered a whole range of genres; there were fine examples of portraits, landscapes, sports action, still life, macro, street, abstract, nature, architecture and more.

Paul was particularly impressed with the Club’s technical skills; the post-processing and print quality were very good indeed.  That said, he pointed out that some images scored well that were weren’t technically strong; so, fellow members, don’t let that put you off entering your images.

I particularly enjoyed the strong composition and detail of Ken Underhay’s “Forge”, and the simplicity of Michael Leonard’s “Clock Tower” which broke some of the rules of photography (e.g. by putting the main feature right in the centre). Rules are to be broken!  Simon Smith’s superbly captured “Seven O’clock Shadow” was well seen, with the shadow of the waterspout completing the figure 7, even pointing as if to 7 o’clock.  An image so easily overlooked!  In the advanced category, I was impressed with both of Elvio Morcillo’s images; “Rock Guitarist” and “Early Learning” both highlighted the character of the individuals in different ways.  There were too many excellent images to mention individually, or to include with this article, but the stand out image for Paul and for me was Keith Wellbelove’s “Girl In The Gallery” which was superbly composed.

It was a truly inspirational evening made particularly enjoyable by Paul’s comprehensive and clear comments.  Well done and thank you, all round!

Jonathon Bartle