3rd. Monthly Competition. Prints and Digitally Projected Record Shots.

Somewhere between the minimum and maximum lies the Holy Grail for those in management, the optimum. The right number for maximum efficiency, the balance between too little and too much and too few and too many. Life and business both offer many examples.

Our Club now has an active and happy group of approaching fifty members ( in number not age !) who provide financial stability and enjoyable company at our meetings and outdoor camera rambles. They would be envy of many other less fortunate Clubs. So what has this to do with Tuesday’s meeting?

If you were there, you will have already guessed. Our problem is dealing with the increased number of competition entries, within a reasonable time frame, in one evening. Finding that optimum balance between allowing members to submit a number of images and providing the visiting Judge with enough time to offer a worth-while assessment and helpful critique of each when viewing. To provide time for him to give a considered and encouraging judgement not just a snap decision and mark.

Faced with some hundred odd images and two hours, less tea break, to do it, Judge Brian Williams LRPS initially took it in his stride with the assurance that his wealth of experience provides him. He should have had a pinger-timer set to one minute or less to meet his brief and he deserved better. Unlike others, he omitted his life story or how his parents gave him a box-brownie at the age of three and got on manfully with the job. Faced with an uphill struggle his stride moved up to a canter and he coped wonderfully with the array of Prints and Digitally projected images. Camera Club Judges, like football referees, will never get it right in the eyes of everybody but few could find fault with his unerring eye for a good image and selection of worthy winners. Recently joined and younger members contributed some excellent images too which augers well for the club’s future.

Our Hon. Treasurer, Martin Sothcott, received a well deserved round of applause at the news that his image of the new walkway leading diagonally to the old boathouse at Newtown Creek, which had been runner-up in this year’s “I. W. Photographer of the Year” awards, had beaten some 2000 entries nationwide to take first place in the prestigious Landscape Section of the annual competition sponsored by “Wildlife World”. He has done himself and our Club proud.

In closing, I thanked Judge Brian Williams LRPS for his hard work and paid tribute to Larry Darby, Assistant Competition Secretary, for his time spent mastering the Club’s free new software for the screening of projected images, courtesy of our member Malcolm Young. This showed “Held Back” images in a panel rather than relying on the Judge’s memory when individually presented with the title, image and points awarded superimposed.

Apologies to our members for a long-haul session on economy class seats. It put undue pressure upon your derrieres as well as your patience and we will have to address this problem as a matter of urgency.

Next week is “end of term” and so we will move at a more leisurely pace as we celebrate the coming of the Christmas break. I look forward to your company and nibbles.

Kind regards

Dick Loaring LRPS Chairman