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Print League Completed

Open & High/Low Perspective Rounds

This Thursday saw the final two rounds of our print league competition. We had a fantastic 22 images entered in Open and a healthy 8 in High or Low Perspective set subject round. The standard was remarkably high, which gave Kevin Day, our judge for the evening, a very difficult task and almost ran the Open competition twice because of the number of images he needed to hold back to make his final marking decision. Special you mention to Colin Macdonald and Antony Olins, are latest members who both did fabulously well on the night.

The galleries have been added in the usual place, but to build the suspense, we’re not announcing the winners of either the Print or PDI Leagues until the Summer Party in June!

Image credit: Steve Bailey – Sunrise on the Jetty

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Galleries Updated

Galleries Update

Apologies for the delay but the galleries are now finally up to date. Recently added to the Gallery Page include: the final round of the PDI League, Rounds 5 & 6 of the Print League and the results of the Landscape and Portrait Cup.

Congratulation to all the members who have images in the new galleries but special mention to Rose Highet, the youngest member of our club, for her success in the Portrait Cup with “Monochrome Daydream” and “Time for Tea” .

  • Monochrome Daydream
  • Time for Tea
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League Table Update

PDI League wide open!

With only one round remaining in the PDI league things couldn’t be tighter at the top!  In the advanced group, Gordon, Steve, Ian and Alan are all within a point of each, with Vanessa not far behind.

In the intermediate group Lisa has a healthy lead, but Saud and Paul are in hot pursuit!

Updated PDI League table are here and in theMembers Area

Everything could change in the closing round of the PDI League – get your entries in!

The Print league competition is also very close although we’re only half way through. Scores so far can be see here

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Smartphone Competition 2023

The ‘CCC Smartphone PDI Competition’ – ‘Open’ theme

Competing for a really nice certificate on 30th March 2023 and judged by Paul Burwood of Field End Photographic Society.

We are running this for the first time this season intending for it to become an annual competition held each season for images taken by members using only their smartphone. For this season’s competition your committee has decided to be kind to you by relaxing the entry guidelines and by making the competition theme ‘OPEN’. Images can be retouched if desired. Images will be shown by projection.

Guidelines

  1. The image must comply with the general rules as stated in the handbook.
  2. All elements of the entry are limited to the author’s original work.
  3. Image data files to be created using a smartphone only.
  4. Images that have been retouched by using camera apps, photo editing apps, other software, etc. will be accepted.
  5. Both colour and monochrome images will be accepted.
  6. Each member can submit up to four images via PhotoEntry in the usual way and in order of preference 1 to 4. If the total entry is considered too large, then it may be reduced at the discretion of the Competition Secretary by removing images in reverse order i.e. number 4 first.
  7. The judge for the competition will comment on the images but not score. Instead, images will be held back or not ultimately selecting a first, second & third place image.
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Ant’s Antics

A Year on Tour

Anthony Highet blogs about hosting photographic events across the UK….

The eagle-eyed of you may have noticed that I wasn’t attending meetings as often last season, and the truth is, I can’t see that improving much this coming season either.  So I just wanted to share this blog to explain where I’ve been.

For a little over a year I have been lucky enough to hold the role of ‘Operations Director’ at Creativity Hub Events, a premium fashion photographic events company that delivers awesome events for photographers of all standards to empower their portfolio all over the UK.

I can hear you all asking, “but what do you actually do?”

Well, in simple terms, I am responsible for the day to day running of the business, project delivery, finance, insurance, on site health & safety and logistics.

Believe it or not, I was quite reluctant when first asked to join ‘The Hub’…lot’s of self doubt filled my mind, am I capable, am I talented enough, will people take me seriously?  And in truth, I still struggle with the dreaded ‘imposter syndrome’ ahead of every event.

But would I change it?  Should I have said ‘NO’?  Absolutely not!  Thanks to my amazing colleagues, and the incredible spectrum of people across the photographic industry that I get to work with every day, I have discovered skills and abilities that I didn’t know I had in my locker, and together with my team we’re achieving some amazing things that we were told were impossible.

Some may even remember myself and my colleagues presenting a taster session at Croxley in the New Year?  Well, rather than repeat that session, I just wanted to share a little update about my rollercoaster journey over the last 12 months, and what adventures the next 12 months might entail…

And what a rollercoaster the last 12 month have been, it feels incredible to sit back and look at our progress over the last 12 months.  From emerging from lockdown with our sold out ‘Daydream Believers’ fantasy themed event in July 2021, located in a stunning Treehouse with Forest surroundings…hobbling together any lighting that we could find.  To our huge Art-Deco ‘Roaring Twenties’ event at the beginning of this year with our new lighting partner, Rotolight’ providing us with the most technologically advanced LED lighting available.  Demand was so huge we had to run the event across 5 days, and then Sony got in touch.

Yes you read that right…Sony!  The message read; “We loved your Twenties event, please can we hire you to host that same event for our Sony Alpha Ambassadors?”  Some of you may have even seen us in a variety of photography magazines over the last few months.  This year has been such a sharp upward trajectory that I often have to pinch myself to check that I’m not dreaming.  It’s been one hell of a ride.

So where is next on the tour?  Well, the trajectory only get’s steeper!  Having just wrapped our sold out Utopia event in Northamptonshire, some of my colleagues are currently exploring secret locations in Italy ahead of the launch of our newest venture, ‘Creativity Hub Escapes’ where we will be providing photographic holidays for people who want to escape the norm from 2023.  Of course, I wish I was out there exploring with the team…but someone has to run the show back home!

I’m also really excited about our next event which is on ‘home turf’, in Bushey.  A 1940’s inspired immersive fashion experience, ‘Fashion on the Ration’ complete with air raid shelter, authentic military vehicles, dancers and some of the best agency fashion models in the country, it’s going to be an amazing show.  And from there, it’s the big one.  The biggest project I’ve ever managed in my career to date…we will be exhibiting at The Photography Show at the NEC with Sony & Rotolight.  Someone pinch me…I can actually say that Sony…THE Sony is one of our customers!

So why am I telling you all this?  Well, until 2017 I had never photographed a model, the thought seemed completely alien to me at the time.  Until I joined Croxley Camera Club, and I attended one of the club studio evenings hosted by John Flynn.  His advice that cold February night still rings out to me as the moment in time that changed my life entirely…

“Use these settings, point the camera that way, push this button”

Thank you John, and thank you Croxley Camera Club x