Small Print Competition 18th November 2009

The selfless dedication of snappers was never more in evidence than when Society members huddled together for the recent Small Print Competition in the warmth of Thie Ellyn, off Withington Road in Douglas, sheltering against the harsh external elements on a dreadful night on which Forecasters had predicted “the worst storm of the Winter (so far).  Perhaps we should not have been surprised at the good turnout when the guest judge for the evening was one of the Society’s stalwart members of over 50 years’ standing, Jessie Russell!  Jessie, our very own Peter Pan character, is as youthful and enthusiastic about this wonderful hobby of photography today as she was when she started out all those years ago.

Jessie began by setting out her own judging criteria – correct exposure; good composition; clear definition; and impact.  She then proceeded to offer constructive comments on each of the 53 entries (31 in the Standard Class and 22 in the Intermediate Class), giving helpful tips designed to encourage improvements in most cases.  Judging in any ‘open’ competition is never easy because rating the relative merits of such a wide variety of subjects is always a challenge.  Jessie was undaunted by the task she had been set and was quickly in her stride.  She explained that every picture should tell a story and could often be improved in several ways, such as by changing the angle of view in order to remove unwanted distractions from the main subject and to focus attention on the principal point of interest.  As the eye is naturally drawn to a prominent colour, for example, near the edge of the image, she advised that it was usually better to crop or clone it out.   Titles, she said, can help sometimes to clarify what was in the author’s mind when the image was captured and, provided it is well used, humour can help to lift an entry higher in a judge’s assessment.

The Small Print Competition provides an excellent opportunity for the less experienced to submit their work for appraisal and advice.  The advanced workers are debarred from entering.  All of the authors gained useful tips on this night to improve their techniques so there were no real ‘winners and losers’.  However, Jessie had been asked to select her personal order of merit for the two Classes, which she announced as follows:-

Giving a well-deserved vote of thanks, President Chris Blyth complimented Jessie on her ability to give such a detailed range of comments without the aid of notes on the entries, conveying her wealth of knowledge and sharing her experience and in such a kindly manner.

After a break for refreshments, the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union’s black and white Print Folio, made up of 55 mounted images, was exhibited.  With such a high overall standard of work on view, it was pleasing to be able to congratulate two of the Society’s members, Sue Jones and Dianne McCudden, on having had their prints selected for inclusion in the folio.

ANTONY HAMILTON