Prism Photographic Club

Despite numbers being seasonally down at this meeting, it was good to welcome new members to Prism and we were pleased they were able to bring photos for this enjoyable round of images taken at a community event in Guernsey.
Glen Irvin gave a very informative and professional commentary on a previous competition where members had to use flash photography. Jayne Priaulx had two stunning shots which both featured in the judges favoured images. It is a recognised fact that not using flash too much and therefore relying on changing the camera settings is far more preferable than images showing ghostly white faces and bleached out interiors. The proper use of flash photography is skilful and requires the photographer to understand light, to decide where the light source is best placed and how much intensity to use. Glen was pleased with many of the shots and it was noticeable that Pete Brehaut’s continued work on his portraiture paid off with his beautifully shot “Boudoir”. Even with a point and shoot, there are still choices that the photographer can make to ensure that good results are obtained from the in built flash.

Nikki le Clercq and Roger Whitehead both tied for fifth place in this week’s league competition. Members were marvelling over the montage of “Fun Day” that Roger had so skilfully compiled. As ever we were trying to see the “joins” but to no avail. A lot of work had been done to unite several excellent images into a colourful and artistic composition. Nikki has now proved that she has a winning style with her natural ability so “see the shot”. Her entry “Eggsamiming the Eggs” was a delightful study of a child’s inquisitive eggsammination of the egg class at the West Show. So often children will pose (don’t we know it!) when they see the camera but Nikki has done well to capture this moment under very challenging light conditions.
 Not only did Charlie Ogier do a snappy job serving teas and coffees, he won joint third with a comical shot of a clown getting an upper cut from a young lad. Entitled “Knock out Blow” it epitomised the fun to be had at community events and again, like Nikki’s shot, was well seen and captured. Great stuff Charlie, and a popular image. Richard Hearne shared third place with his “Vraic Eaters”, a delightful shot of one of the tableaux at the popular scarecrow walk. The detail was spot on with plenty of colour and showing perfect composition.
“Nearly new” member Rhian Tooley was delighted to gain a second place with a brilliant shot of the winner at the children’s races. Everything was correctly out of focus apart from the triumphant winner who was sharply in focus and perfectly placed in the frame. The red winning tape wrapped round the winner added to the movement and the whole atmosphere of this excellent image.
This month’s winner was Wendy Meade who’s “Up, up and Away” was taken in the evening at the West Show. Members commented that the lighting was excellent considering the ambient low light. Everything was perfectly in focus with a good detail in the passenger’s legs and feet. Wendy had waited til the ride was at the top of its circle and had used fill in flash to capture this winning shot. Because of the low light a tripod was necessary to ensure the static part was in focus.