Annual Nature Competition

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There was a large entry for the Annual Nature Competition judged by Ralph Snook ARPS EFIAP/b DPAGB. Ralph has judged club competitions many times and he was sorry that he was unable to visit in person on this occasion, but members were able to hear his comments via Zoom.

Ralph commented that the entries portrayed ‘nature’ in the widest sense with images of plants, fungi, and insects as well as many birds and mammals.

With such a large entry from the Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced sections to be commented on and awards given Ralph pointed out that it was the small details that often made the difference of gaining an award or not. Background distractions and over-processing let down some images. Often ‘telling a story’ or showing habitat is what a judge looks for in a nature image. Many images were described as ‘pictorial’ and that was what appealed to the judge as he liked to see something a bit different.

White Faced Whistling Duck by Jane Wiltshire

The 53 PI entries were shown first, and Ralph picked out 15 for awards. First place went to a superb close-up image ‘White Faced Whistling Duck’ by Jane Wiltshire. The image was sharp and showed the texture of the feathers and Ralph felt it stood out from the rest. Jane was awarded the Bowker-Praed Challenge Trophy awarded for the best Projected Image. Jane was also awarded second place with another well taken image ‘Mating Demoiselles’ and the third entry by Jane ‘Bickering Buzzards’ gained an HC so very well done to Jane.

Third place went to David Wilkinson for a well caught image of a Pine Marten titled ‘Kit Investigating its Territory’.

Next came the 21 entries in the print section. Sadly, members were unable to see the actual prints but hopefully they will be on show at a later meeting. Projected Image copies of the print entries were shown, although Ralph gave his judgement on the actual prints which he was able to examine closely. Often there is some difference between the print and the PI version and Ralph pointed out that details were sometimes better in one than the other.

Marbled Whites at Dawn by Tony Leach

Again, it was a more pictorial image that appealed to the judge. Deceptively simple the rim-lit image ‘Marbled Whites at Dawn’ by Tony Leach gained first place and was awarded the John Sowman Memorial Trophy for the best Print.

Second place was awarded to David Wilkinson for his image of otters titled ‘Annoying Cub’. Third place went to ‘Bellowing Red Stag’ by Barbara Jones with the stag’s head and antlers standing out well against the background.

A very enjoyable evening with a very wide range of interesting subjects. Thank to Ralph for his helpful comments on how images in his opinion might have been improved and for choosing the winning images. Thanks to all who entered and congratulations to all those who gained awards in this very tough competition. PM

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