On Friday September 30 experienced judge Caroline Preece LRPS judged the 2022 Open Colour competition.
Caroline commented on the high quality and wide range of subjects among the entries. In her remarks she reminded members to make the subject the true star of the photo, “there can only be one star, try to avoid competing elements. If everything is important, nothing is important”, she said.
The positioning of the subject in the frame is vitally important, “give the subject room to breathe and if there’s motion provide somewhere into which the subject to travel”
Caroline had some words about filters, “use them subtly so that they don’t unintentionally become the subject of the picture – or, go the other way and make them stronger.
“Light is absolutely critical”, Caroline said. Regarding a number of images the authors could have used dodging and burning to subdue bright areas where that was distracting. “Try to incorporate looking at light into your everyday life. See how it falls but try not to crash the car!”
Diagonals can add energy to a scene unless your goal is serenity.
On the subject of street photography she said that an interesting background is not enough to hold attention. The interest of the main subject and the expressions and gestures are important.
Framing can help add to the narrative particularly in sports photography where the direction of travel is important.
The results are as follows:
1 – Wavelength, Tim Sawyer
2 – Re-imaged, Jayne Sanderson
3 – Captivity, Nick Hodgson
HC – Portrait of Yellow Trumpet Fish (Gulf of Mexico), Nigel Steels
HC – Escaping the pages, Sharon Sawyer
C – No 10, Richard Ramsay
C – Gone Over, Tim Sawyer
C – Winter in the Highlands, Stu Thompson
C – One Small Step, Mark Waddington
Ilkley Camera Club is currently meeting on Friday evenings at 7.30pm. Some meetings are held at St Peter’s Church Hall in Addingham and others on Zoom. For more information visit the Club website at ilkleycameraclub.co.uk or their Facebook page, facebook.com/ilkleycameraclub