Our third round of competitions contributing points towards the Mayor’s Cups featured Open and Still Life images as both prints and digital projected images and was judged by Lee Spencer-Fleet from Bristol.

A smaller than usual number of prints were submitted and the winning Open print was “Blue tits in flight” by Dave Garmont and the winning Still Life print was “Cameras” by Nigel Walkley.

The projected image competitions attracted many more entries and Rob Slade won the Open section with “Brothers and Sisters” whilst the Still Life section was won by Melanie Dartnall-Smith with “Macabre side of the glass”.

Several Still Life images featured fruit items which had been photographed at a previous practical evening. The judge gave several ideas and suggestions on how to make such images more impactful through incorporating other elements into the image and creating more depth in the displays.

Our second presentation of the new year was made by Steve Myall who actively participates in the Flickr “100 Strangers” project. This involves taking pictures of complete strangers and finding out some of their background information, in essence it is street photography but with permission.

Steve started by giving many examples of locations where people who were willing to be photographed could be found including comic con events, carnivals, costumed tour guides etc. The project requires a short write up of each encounter and the techniques used. Having identified suitable backgrounds and people Steve makes his approach, explains the project and in most cases obtains consent to take photographs. He often moves the subject to a background of his choosing and his eye for colour matching or seeking contrasting colour environments was evident in his work.

There is scope within the project for sub-projects such as men with beards, hat wearers and his favourite group of all – people with colourful hair styles. Having grown in confidence and refining his camera techniques, Steve is now into his fourth set of centenary images and relishes the challenges and surprises that he encounters.

The main activity of the evening was “Still Life” photography and members brought in a diverse range of items to photograph ranging from coins, perfume bottles, fruit, geological specimens, holly, figurines and even a home-made three dimensional chess board. At times the room looked more like a craft fair than a camera club meeting but with a number of display tables set up, members were able to experiment with various lighting equipment and show their creative flair through improvising with backdrops and compositional arrangements.

In addition to potentially producing some entries for an upcoming still life competition later in the season, it also allowed some of us to reacquaint ourselves with our camera equipment and find new features on the camera menus to try out. Despite the wind chilling weather, a good attendance was in evidence and the combination of practical photography and social interaction added to the enjoyment of the evening.