Bottom of the class!

Recently I've discovered a new way to channel my thirst for photography, through the local Camera Club. Hopefully I'll pick up some new skills and ideas as well as some feedback on some of my favourite photos. The club meets in neighbouring Darwen each week, but it's only a mile or so from where I live, so it's virtually on my doorstep.

I was a little apprehensive at first but everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. On my first week the club had arranged for a slideshow from an experienced photographer from a nearby club, and the theme was landscapes of Snowdonia, which is where I'd been just the month before.

This week was my third visit, and the meeting would be devoted to the club's monthly competition. There's no prizes or medals, but even so it is competitive and I was eager to hear how my three entries had fared. The pictures, presented anonymously, were being judged by one of the club's most experienced photographers, and my first effort, of our Welsh holiday cottage (shown here) was soon on the screen for critiquing. The earlier pictures had all scored a healthy 8 or 8.5 out of 10, and I thought mine was in with a shout. However although the judge liked several elements of the picture, he felt the sunlight through the leaves 'killed it' and I earned just 6 marks! If this wasn't disappointing enough, one of the next pictures up, despite being clearly out of focus, beat it with a score of 7!

After this setback, things improved with the two other pictures I had in the competition, both taken during the photo session with Ian's girls Alice and Grace the other week (see 'studio portraits' from my other blog). These did fare much better, with some very positive comments and respectable scores of an 8 for one and a very impressive 9.5 for the other.

Despite being close to perfection it wasn't enough as half a dozen pictures had been shortlisted for the top spots, but joint 7th wasn't bad for a first effort.