This week Zoom meeting was the judging of what is known as the Three Way Battle. This is a yearly low key and fun competition between the three camera clubs based in Penrith, Carlisle and Keswick. Each club enters fifteen digital images with only one image allowed per photographer, and the images are scored out of twenty. The judge for the event was John McVie, a well-respected and experienced photographer and judge from Dumfries. Interestingly, out of the forty-five images more than a third were of natural history.
Keswick did extremely well with the highest total score and the only two images to score the maximum twenty points: Sue Rugg, with a dreamy shot of white ponies on the equally white sand dunes of Luskentyre Beach in the Western Isles,
and David Stephenson’s terrific monochrome winter panorama of a churchyard in Iceland, with David’s shot being picked as “Best in Show”.
Carol Minks scored nineteen with a shot of a Mistle Thrush on Rowan berries, taken I think in Bells Close car park,
as did David Rayment with a Dipper with a beak full of insects bobbing on a rock in the river with its wings outheld.
Pictures from Ken Rennie, Chris Burgess and Alan Walker scored eighteen points.
An enjoyable and satisfying evening which showed the breadth and depth of photographic talent within the society. The only disappointment was that we could not extend things into a chat and a buffet after the judging, something to look forward to with next year’s event.
Tony Marsh