Virtual Meeting, Set Subject Pdi Competition - Tuesday 12th January 2021.

   
               1st. Walk on By.                                 2nd. Glenbanchor.                          3rd. Abandoned Cottage.

On Tuesday 12th January, Morpeth Camera Club held a virtual meeting to welcome photographic judge Arjun Nambiar,
a member of Gosforth Camera Club. ' Abandoned ' was the theme for this years’ Monochrome Set Subject Competition
and the participants were looking forward to finding out the results and to hear Arjun's comments on their work.

He opened the evening by saying that he appreciated all genres of photography; having no bias, he said that it was an
artistic medium where one cannot be objective. He would never use the term ‘record shot’, because if the author felt it
worth entering the image into the competition then it was worthy of assessment. In this competition he was looking for
images that fitted the brief and for any techniques applied.

Among the fifty four images entered were abandoned and vandalised interior shots, wrecked trucks and cars, old shoes,
ramshackle stone buildings with window frames reclaimed by nature, and a sepia toned grounded fishing boat.

Monochrome photography is all about tonality and contrast. There should be no block shadows or featureless skies; the
mood is completely under ones control by controlling the light, even tonality gives less emphasis on the subject matter
and results in a scene with no focal point. He suggested that one can use selective brightening to make the subject stand
out, but with over sharpening, especially with clouds, the image becomes grainy and unnatural. He is not averse to cloning;
advising that a distracting feature at the edge of the frame should be removed to keep the eye focussed on the subject.
Cloning must be good or it stands out a mile, once processing has been noticed, it is what the viewer’ eye keeps returning
to. He suggested that photographers should train themselves in the field to look for distractions and it will then become a
standard thing to do.

Offering advice on alternative viewpoints, the judge said that the photographer should see what they like, and take more
than one shot from a different viewpoint and make it you own. Vignettes have to be chosen carefully; a dark one can depict
age but has to be relevant to the scene. Going through each image, making constructive comments along the way, he said
that borders should not overpower an image, one has to consider subtlety and whether it is meant to provide separation.
A borderless image can lead the eye into the frame, he added.

Following on, we saw vacant premises, a boat stranded on a stony beach, an abandoned fuel pump, railway sidings, ruins,
an old ice-cream van and cake stall, the derelict St George’s Hospital, a deserted gin gang, a lost cuddly toy, rusting farm
machinery, unused piers, a lighthouse cabin, allotment sheds, and derelict farm buildings.

The judge went on to say that this had been wonderful submission of images, enjoyable to watch and had found it hard
to choose the last nine places. Highly Commended positions went to Discarded Documents by Davy Bolam, Abandoned
Boat by Stephanie Robson, Unmasked by Steve McDonald, and On Reflection Abandoned Trolly to Paul Appleby.

Fifth place went to Kefalonia Cottage by Alastair Cooper, a totally abandoned cottage taking at a high, wide angled view,
the judge said that it succeeded in having a vertiginous effect; fourth place went to John Willmore for Grounded Fishing
Boat which was considered excellent and possessed a clear intent; third place with Abandoned Cottage was Glyn Trueman
which the judge said was a very high quality image with thought and skill applied; second place went to Steve McDonald
with Glenbanchor which was chosen for its high quality. Good choices had made this image, placing of the cottage above
the ridgeline to give importance to the building. The judge added that it had all round interest and would gladly display it
on his own wall.

Arjun then announced the winner of the Monochrome Set Subject Competition to be John Willmore with Walk on By. He
commented that the image spoke on different levels of emotion, one could empathise with the subject, which is not easy
to do; and that John had used a single image to completely convey abandonment. Club Chairman, John Barnes thanked
Arjun for his constructive comments conveying a fresh point of view.

Steph.