Second Printworker Competition 18th November

A rather unusual scene confronted those members who arrived early to lay out the Council Chamber in the Civic Hall on 18th November with the tables piled two-high at the front and the Parish Councils luxury padded chairs available for our use. There were also three electric radiators and two large calor gas heaters - it appeared the Civic Hall heating had failed. The gas heaters were rapidly turned off leading to a marked improvement in the atmosphere in the room. Tables were rearranged and, after a hunt, their protective covers found hidden in the store room, and so the room was prepared for a print competition. In the absence of Bill Chadband (due to indisposition) members managed, at the third attempt, to assemble one of his print stands.

Everything was more or less ready when we noticed another problem - no judge, and we knew he intended to arrive by 7-15pm to go through the prints. The President tried to look unconcerned but recalled that meeting last year when the judge never did arrive. Ironically, that meeting was a match against Chapel CC and tonight’s judge was from that club. At 7-57pm, just as my blood pressure reached the ceiling, Tony Pioli walked in looking quite unconcerned - it appeared he had chosen to come by the scenic route and had been delayed by fog.

Six beginner/Intermediate prints were judged, with extensive comments on each, and Tony Pioli noted that almost all would not have been out of place in the Advanced section.

Moving on, Tony worked through the main group of prints holding some back without scoring to reassess later. He commented helpfully on each, drawing attention in many cases to how the composition matched the way a picture was ‘read’ or otherwise. He pointed out the importance of distracting elements near the edge of the frame and on the size of the main subject in the image demonstrating in many cases how further cropping could improve the impact of the print. Overall he stated he was impressed by the high standard of the work presented.

Having awarded marks up to 18 in the first run through, and having held back 18 images for a further look, Tony Pioli found himself having to award half marks to adequately rank these prints. He finally awarded 20 marks to four prints and declared “Buono Gioro (Good Morning)” by Geoff Robinson the overall winner.

Jonathan Bawden proposed a Vote of Thanks to the Judge and the President commented that it was a pity so many of the authors of the highly marked work were unable to be present.

Roger Dye