League subject November 'Sky/Cloud Formation'

Prism was treated to a truly excellent evaluation of the shots taken at L’Ancresse by Rosemary Henry. Rosemary kindly accepted our invitation to judge this year’s Lihou Salver Competition and as a former BBC filmmaker and warden of the L’Ancresse Common her comments were valuable and much appreciated.

After some tricky subjects this year the last competition of 2011 was on the surface, an easy one. We are so fortunate here in Guernsey to witness the most glorious sunsets and for the early birds some dramatic sunrises. So if members chose to take the easy route and stun the voters with colourful technicolour then there was ample opportunity. However, some photographers love to “think outside the box” and perversely not do the expected spectacular sunrise or sunset.

What would you take if you had been asked to photograph “Skies, clouds”? Jon Bartlett took a timed exposure of a night sky, our youngest member captured fireworks bursting into the sky and Karen Millard captured the plumes of the Red Arrows.

We all agreed that Karen’s shot entitled “Clouds in Colour” was a beautiful composition. It had an abstract air about it yet there was no doubt that the Red Arrows were the main subject. A popular image, highly topical and voted into a well deserved fifth place.

In equal fifth Roger Whitehead’s “Herm” was up to his usual exceptional standard. Very heavy and threatening skies added to the drama of this image, but it was the sunlit south coast of Herm that made a perfect contrast within the seascape. This photograph was on subject and captured a special moment in local waters.

“I see the Moon” by Jayne Priaulx came a worthy fourth. This was a brilliant image and presented in a professional way, typical of Jayne’s attention to detail both in taking the shot and then making the shot look it’s best for competition.

In third place Annie Winch produced a magnificent image of Fort Grey. This would have done equally well in competitions for “Reflections” or even “Guernsey Forts” I cannot fault this photograph and despite the fact that the horizon is bang across the centre…usually a no no, it really works and is a delightful image of such a well photographed tourist attraction.

Delma Laker wasn’t present a the meeting but she must have been thrilled to gain second place with her “Winter Dawn”. As mentioned earlier we are so lucky to see “gaudy” sunsets and surely this image rates as one of the best. We are all aware of the capabilities of editing tools like Photoshop and images that can be rather oversaturated, however, for those of us who regularly witness sunsets on the west coast can verify that these colours really can, and do exist. Delma’s shot is stunning and not only colourful but well composed and managed.

Sarah Finch has done so well this year and yet again she achieved the top place with her “Dappled Sky” This was a popular and pleasing image that portrayed a dawn which seemed difficult to predict the forthcoming weather. Again, another entry which was bang on subject, dramatic and professionally presented. Well done Sarah for completing this year’s league competition with a winner!

Wendy Meade

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