The Judges
Mark Reeves FRPS
Mark joined the society in 2010 and achieved LRPS in 2012. In 2015 he and other members founded the RPS Landscape Group which was launched in January 2016. In 2019 Mark earned his ARPS in the visual art genre, followed by Fellowship in 2022.
Outside of the RPS, Mark gives regular talks to photographic societies and teaches photography to a number of private clients. He photography’s mainly modern architecture and creative landscape. His work has been exhibited in London and Liverpool and galleries around the north west of England.
Carol Olerud FRPS
Carol is a Dutch/ Australian woman, born in Brisbane from Dutch parents. She now lives in The Netherlands.
Carol is an experienced photographer, she started taking photos at age 12 when she got her first camera. Since then there’s been no stopping her. Mentorships, workshops, competitions, expositions are all things Carol has been busy with to stay up to date and to keep learning. She’s done jury work both nationally and internationally. The latest was in 2023 at the International Photo Festival in Pelt, Belgium.
Martin Addison FRPS
I have been enthusiastic about photography for getting on for 60 years and I still find it as exciting and engaging as ever.
I enjoy creating images in a number of genres including landscape and street, but my enduring love is to create images that intrigue and perhaps confuse, often by the use of ICM and multiple exposure.
I still use my camera but I also use my phone just as much, which allows me to use some of the very interesting apps which are available.
Foreword
The existing Raymond Wallace Thompson trophy competition has been with us since 2011 and for the Season 2023/24 it was decided to introduce a revised competition covering five genres. These were Flora & Fauna, Water, People, Scapes and Architecture.
Members were encouraged to vote for their favourite images within each category, the top five from each round moving up to Round 6, the final. In total 940 images were submitted giving us twenty-five top images for our selectors to choose from.
I want to thank our selectors, Mark Reeves FRPS, Martin Addison FRPS and Carol Olerud FRPS for their diligence and insight into their final choices. I was party to their deliberations and saw it was no easy task, but, in the end they came up with a worthy winner from a field of strong images.
Kenneth Ness FRPS – Competition Secretary
Winner of the Raymond Wallace Thompson Trophy
Judges’ comments
Elephant Dusting by Robin Price ARPS
A well caught, decisive moment with the dust pouring over the Elephant’s back. We see many images of Elephant’s but this has good shape and originality going for it. Lots of good detail such as the hairs on the animal’s chin and skin textures on the front of legs and trunk.
A striking and worthy competition winner.
Second place
Judges’ comments
Meadow Sunset by Laura Drury LRPS
A very creative image, one a photographer has created rather than taking a view. Lovely rich colours; interesting shapes and textures. The work has been put together very well indeed.
A deserved winner.
Third place
Judges’ comments
Atlantic Shore by John Scott
A beautifully composed seascape taken with a slow shutter speed to smooth out the water a little. This successfully makes the water less in competition with the detail of the rocks on the shore. The high contrasts have been well controlled so as to not lose detail in the highlights, whilst retaining details in the shadows. A great atmospheric image and a very good result.
Round 1
Flora and Fauna
Avocet with Chick
by Maggie Bullock ARPS
This image of an 'Avocet with Chick’ was taken at RSPB Leighton Moss, in Lancashire. The shot was taken from one of the coastal hides, where in spring 2023 approximately thirteen pairs of Avocets nested in this area. It was fascinating to watch these birds feeding and interacting with each other and I chose this image because the birds appear to be mirroring each other with their raised feet.
I had a reasonably high shutter speed as the birds were in motion and stopped down the aperture to ensure both birds were in focus.
I was delighted to receive the news that this image had won the 1st round of the new RPS Digital Imaging Competition.
Backs to the Storm
by Lynda Golightly LRPS
‘Backs to the Storm’ was shot on a winter trip to Yellowstone. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole Wyoming.
In winter, heavy snow forces the elk down from their high elevation summer ranges, and thousands of animals gather just outside the town. The day I visited the weather was severe with temperatures 20 degrees below zero and icy winds. Hundreds upon hundreds of animals were huddled together with their backs to the elements.
We battled through deep snow in blizzard conditions. Photography was challenging, battery life was about 15 mins, vision was limited and you couldn’t take off your gloves for fear of frost bite.
This is my favourite shot from the day, I feel it captures the harsh reality of winter for these beautiful animals.
Elephant Dusting
by Robin Price ARPS
This image was taken from a photoboat on the Chobe River, Botswana. A breeding herd of elephants had crossed the river to feed and I had noted that they had a tendency to dust themselves over their wet skin after they had emerged from the river.
With this image I was lucky enough to be able to isolate one of the many elephants and capture the full spray of the dusting.
I don't usually create a mono image from nature shots but in this instance I thought a high key image would show the dust pattern with the elephant giving the context to this almost abstract pattern.
Meadow Sunset
by Laura Drury LRPS
Sunset over a field of poppies and wildflowers with Chillenden
Windmill faintly visible in the background. The image was created using a shot of wild grasses combined with an ICM shot of the wildflower meadow with a texture added over the top. Lots of playing with colours and blending modes in Photoshop.
Hippos on the Chobe
by Maggie Bullock ARPS
This image was taken from a photography boat on the Chobe River in Botswana. We had been warned that on occasion Hippos can charge at the boats so we were quite alert!
One afternoon we were near a group of Hippos and this pair swam very close to the boat. The late afternoon light enhanced the shot, bringing out the detail of the closest subject.
I used the following camera and settings: OM-1, 150-400mm TC at 259mm, 1/800s at F5.6, ISO 5000. The new Lightroom Denoise Reduction tool did a good job of removing the noise.
Round 2 Water
Curling Wave
by Jayne Sanderson
I love taking photographs of water, the constant changes of the movement and reflections are a perpetual source of intrigue and fascination. My Curling Wave image was taken on a bright day, after having had heavy rain during the night, and the River Wharfe was in spate. I was drawn to the detail of the curl as the river tumbled over the rocks. I wanted to slow the motion and catch the colours reflecting through the water. Being able to use my zoom lens enabled me to isolate the subject without any distracting background. I rarely take a tripod with me, so I was pleased to have been able to keep the camera steady during the exposure time. I liked that the flow of the water has created a playful looking image and the golden reflection has added more detail. Luckily I didn’t have too much post processing to do other than basic editing, remove a couple of sensor spots and crop to a square format.
Seabirds and Waves
by Morag Forbes
LRPS
This image was taken in Iceland in October last year. The wind was high on Vik beach, whipping up the waves, the winter sun creating a lovely light, and the birds enjoying their dance above the surf. I used a couple of images taken at the same time to make this final image, placing the birds where I wanted them.
Highly Commended by Carol Olerud FRPS
Calm Water
by Peter Stickler ARPS
Calm water was taken in Lake Garda. Hand held one evening, I removed a small boat from the foreground, the boat you see was in the original frame, the image was also toned.
Highly Commended by Mark Reeves FRPS
Storm Wave
by Dave Balcombe ARPS
Last November I travelled to the South Coast for a weekend of photography with a few friends. We realised that on the Sunday afternoon the weather conditions would potentially give some big waves at Newhaven so we aimed to stop there on the way home. We had tried on a previous trip where we bumped into Rachel Talibart who had been kind enough to tell us what weather to look for. When we arrived it was just before high tide and 40mph winds were racing straight up the channel, it was difficult to stand up let alone take photos. I used my OM1 with 40-150 and 1.4 converter set to 1/400 @f8 and 1000ISO so I could freeze the spray. It was approaching sunset and the light levels were very low but at least it reduced the chance of blown highlights. I took a lot of photos and this was one of the best.
Waterwall
by John Scott
I took this on a visit to the Elan Valley, this is the dam situated next to the Visitor centre at the foot of the dam. On the day of my visit it was very windy with spray everywhere. I tried to get my partner to stand on the dam but she flatly refused citing Health and Safety reasons. I felt the shot needed something so I transported the figure in the picture from a bus stop in Penarth, with the assistance of Affinity Photo.
Round 3
People
Sunny Day in the Park
by David Nicholls LRPS
This was shot in New York’s Central Park on an unseasonably sunny Saturday at the end of October last year. People were out in droves and positively cascading down these steps which led to the ever-popular boating lake. With such constant movement, I thought that this would make a good multiple exposure composition. So, standing in one spot I made handheld exposures at 3 to 5 second intervals over a one and a half minute period, trying to avoid any camera movement. Once loaded into Lightroom, I selected the best sequence of five out of a total of 29 exposures and blended them in Photoshop. The inevitable camera movement between exposures gives just the right amount of blur to the stationary objects while the pedestrians take care of their own blurring!
Commended by Martin Addison FRPS
Highly
Forty Winks
by Catherine Chetwynd LRPS
This was taken in Habana, Cuba, and sums up the colourful eccentricity of the city and its people. Settled into an armchair on the street, dozing over his lunch, wearing wellies - says it all!
Walkway Man
by Mary Auckland ARPS
I spent a day photographing in Oxford, eventually in a shopping centre. Looking down from a walkway, I saw a hoard of people passing by on a lower walkway, with one solitary man busily texting, apparently oblivious. A sign of the times? I took several images with a slow shutter speed, but none of the individual images depicted quite what I felt I saw. So I blended three of the images to give the movement of the constant flow of people, contrasting with the stationary figure texting. Fortunately he was wearing a white shirt, which helps him to stand out amongst the crowds photographically, replicating the situation.
Simply Red
by John Scott
This is pretty much a spontaneous and candid shot of my daughter as she paused in front of a piece of wall art whilst on holiday in Spain. I particularly liked the way the colours and curved lines of the subject and background complemented each other.
Fathers Time
by Catherine Chetwynd LRPS
Taken in Habana, Cuba. These two men were sitting on a step enjoying each other’s company and like so many Cubans, were more than happy to be photographed. I love their bushy hair and beards, and the wrinkles round their eyes that tell a thousand tales.
Round 4
Scapes
Snow Grass
by Maggie Bullock ARPS
I was on a photography holiday in Finland and we were on a walk searching for Willow Grouse. Willow Grouse are mainly white and similar to Ptarmigan and so difficult to spot against a snowy background. Though we didn’t spot any Willow Grouse there was some interesting vegetation within the snowy landscape. I liked this shot as it is has a minimalist feel and the overlapping grasses provide a pleasing pattern against the white background.
I used the following camera and settings: OM-1, 150-400mm TC at 227mm, 1/1600s at F4.5, ISO 800, which may seem a bit strange but I was all setup for bird photography!
RainScape in London Town
by David Nicholls LRPS
Living in the US with my (American) wife, we make trips to London at least once a year. Ever since Covid, we have taken to the buses rather than the tube to get around, as you get to see more. This picture was taken from the top deck, front seat, of a 390 bus in the general vicinity of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was a wet December morning with street lights and shop signs shining through the murk, and rain on the bus windows. The scene cried out for a photo and my iPhone was happy to oblige!
Atlantic Shore
by John Scott
The photo was taken around the first week of January at Sandy Mouth beach just north of Bude. I think, in truth, it is known as the Celtic Sea but is part of the Atlantic, hence the title. The time of day was early afternoon and there was combination of sea mist and low cloud giving a very eerie feel to it. Out of shot you had the sun starting to go down in the west creating a very diffuse light. I didn’t do very much post camera apart from crop to 16:9 (removing some blown highlights caused by the sun) and a bit of dodging in around the beach pebbles.
Falindre
by Peter Stickler ARPS
Taken at Felindre reservoir. The top half is the original image. The bottom half of the original canvas is increased 100%. The top layer of the image is duplicated, flipped and moved to the bottom of the canvas. A displacement map of water is used to create the water ripple effect. Some editing in photoshop is used to edit the join of the two layers. The image is flattened and reopened in RAW. Saturation in green and yellow is increased and clarity turned down by15%.
Hunstanton Groyne
by Peter Orton
The image of a sea defence groynes was taken at Hunstanton in Norfolk. There was a gale developing; with an onshore wind which resulted in the high tide being much earlier. I had a short window, to access the site and before the groyne was submerged.
The plan was to document nature’s power, constantly pounding the man-made structures constructed to prevent coastal erosion. This power was in the sea and the wind. The sky is captured with strong dark clouds pressing down, and a glimmer of hope as a beam of sunlight silhouettes the hazard warning post. The sea state is shown by long exposure, the wave’s strong forceful movements are engulfing the wooden groyne. Previous damage to groyne is seen with the missing wooden stakes. Furthermore the presence of large pebbles, embedded in the wooden structures, provides a further indication of the power of nature.
Camera settings: ISO 200, 1 sec, F8, 24 mm. Technical issues were tripod stability, due to the pounding waves, for long exposure and access to the site. The rapidly rising tide meant wading back to land.
Round 5 Architecture
Odeon Brighton
by Martin Tomes
This photograph is part of the roof of what My Brighton and Hove calls Brighton’s ‘most unattractive building’; It’s the Kingswest Centre more commonly known as the Odeon which occupies a large part of the building. I was on a scouting trip for a Talk-Walk-Talk walk I was going to lead in Brighton, it was a bright January day, and I decided to shoot from an angle rather than head on to the roofline. It’s about shapes and lines so I converted to monochrome. I have cropped, straightened the verticals, removed a few distractions, and brought out the shapes and lines in the roof in Photoshop (which I learned how to do on Jonathan Vaines’ Monochrome Magic course).
Tottenham Court Road
by David Pearson FRPS
Inspired by an image I'd seen in a magazine, I set out one morning with just a wide-angle lens attached to my camera, to photograph tube stations underground.
I started at Westminster but found the sheer space and brutalism difficult to capture so I moved on to Tottenham Court Road and the Elizabeth line. My style has always been to look for high-key, minimalist and geometric pictures and here was something that really fitted the bill.
I spent a lot of time trying to get perfect symmetry in camera and then tweaking it in post, though it’s still not quite right. Monochrome was an obvious choice and, of course, there were plenty of stickers and dirty marks to be removed but I was pleased with the result.
I've toyed with the idea of making a panel but every corridor of every station seems to be exactly the same, so getting any variety is difficult.
Abandoned
Village Mosque
by Clare Collins ARPS
Taken in a small village in the Cappadocia countryside. These old mosques are tucked away but worth a visit if you can find them. They may be in a poor state with holes in the roof and floors, and may be used as a storeroom perhaps for building materials.If you can find the key holder you are rewarded with sightings of lovely old wall paintings. The locals were very curious as to why we would want to take photos of such places when there might be a brand new shiny mosque down the road.
Ceiling Lights
by Neill Taylor LRPS
I was invited to a meeting in a brand new office building that had been open for only one week. After the meeting I walked around photographing aspects of the interesting interior design, using my phone as that's all I had with me. Then I went to the coffee bar to relax. Sitting there with my caffè latte I looked up and saw this ceiling. The patterns and structure appealed to me and the three hanging lights somehow gave the scene some grounding. I later cropped and straightened the image a little and converted it to monochrome, although the original was almost all black and white anyway.
World Trade Centre Station, New York
by David Nicholls LRPS
This is part of the transport hub created after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The architecture is by Santiago Calatrava and is awe-inspiring, positively begging to be photographed! This was taken as part of the TWT architectural walk earlier this year which, despite heavy rain, yielded some very satisfying photographs. For this piece, I carefully positioned myself for perfect symmetry and waited for a pedestrian or two to populate an otherwise empty foreground. After a mass rush of passengers, one or two stragglers remained and my composition was complete!
One happy Trophy winner
We congratulate all those winners whoes work appears in this eZine. It is interesting to note how many of them had more than one win and often in different categories. But we also need to thank all those members who took part in the 2024 Digital Imaging Competition, whether you entered one round or all. Without you all there wouldn’t have been a competition.
However programmes like this don’t happen without the hard work of the team; Kenneth Ness for his management of the systems and helping members when things went a little wrong for them. To our three judges who worked hard to sift through 25 round winners to arrive at their final chosen awards. To John Elvin and Dennis Knowles as the post event team.
August 2024