Competitions

To view the latest competition results, please “Click Here“

Club Competitions.
Every year as part of the Camera Club season, we hold numerous competitions both in Prints and Digital Projected Images (DPI’s), which are open to all club members to enter. All of the competitions are “Open” subject, where you can enter any type of image, e.g.: colour, monochrome (black & white) or creative (i.e. not reality), as long as they comply with the competition rules.

Website display of photographs submitted by club members.
Nantwich Camera Club publishes the highest scoring images submitted by its members into club competitions. Club members also have the opportunity to show other examples of their photography in the Members Gallery section of our website. All images shown are published on the strict understanding that these works are original and created solely by the submitting member. Nantwich Camera Club does not assume responsibility for any instances of plagiarism or copyright infringement. Should any member’s image be found to have been passed off as their own when it is, in fact, someone else’s work, the responsibility lies with the submitting member. Nantwich Camera Club reserves the right to disqualify and take appropriate actions against members found in violation of this policy. By participating, members agree to these terms.

To read the rules of club competitions, please click on this link.

Procedure for the Preparation of Projected Images for Club Competitions click here

Inter-Club Competitions
Each year Nantwich Camera Club participate in a number of inter-club competitions. To find out more about these competitions and how the Nantwich Camera Club selections are made, please “Click Here“

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Submitting Competition Entries Using “PhotoEntry”

From the start of the 2018-2019 season, all competition entries are to be submitted using a new system called, “PhotoEntry”.Guidelines have been produced covering the key areas of enrolment, logging on, entering a competition and handling problems.Click on the links below to read these guidelines:

• PhotoEntry Intro & Enrolment Guide
• PhotoEntry Login Guide
• PhotoEntry Enter a Competition
• PhotoEntry Handling Problems
• PhotoEntry Scores & League Tables

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History of Past Competition Trophy Winners.

At the end of each competition season, trophies are awarded to the winners of each competition section, Print Photographer, Slide/Projected Image Photographer and Clubman. The Clubman trophy is awarded to the photographer who has achieved the highest combined score in both the Print and PI competitions.

Click on this link to view the trophy winners list.

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Tuesday 10th December 2024
3rd Club Competition
Judge:- Tillman Kleinhans

On Tuesday evening Judge Tillman Kleinhans travelled from St Helens to judge the 3rd Club Competition of the season. He began by stating that photography is an art and therefore opinions are subjective. He stressed that as long as the author likes the image that is really all that matters, and he does not really believe images should be given marks. However, as that is what our club requires, he proceeded to do as requested. He began by judging the 22 print entries, giving clear and constructive critique of each image, holding back 6 for further consideration and subsequently awarding these marks as follows :-

20 Points
“Sprint To The Finish Line” by Bryan Averill HON CPE BPE1
19 Points
“Comfort Break” by Bryan Averill HON CPE BPE1
“Street Selfie” by Denise Compton
18 Points
“Great Spotted Woodpecker” by Emma England
“On The Edges” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“White Tailed Eagle In Autumn Light” by Emma England

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 28 Projected Images commenced. These were given the same careful consideration as the prints and 7 retained for further consideration. On viewing the images for a second time Tillman decided that 1 of the retained images should have been awarded 17 marks. The remainder were marked as follows:-
20 Points
“Barbary Macaque Yawning” by Bryan Averill HON CPE BPE1
19 Points
“Bumblebee On Drumstick Allium” by Emma England
“Junction Of Curves” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
18 Points
“Peony” by Alison Wood
“Topi Dawn” by Adrian Wright
“Focused On The Next Gate” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
Tillman finished by saying that, whilst there is nothing wrong with “fantasy” images, it was nice to judge a competition without any and that he looked forward to visiting us again in the near future.

Deputy Chairman Pete Allcock closed the meeting by saying that he never fails to be impressed by the standard of photography within our Club.

League Tables

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Tuesday 26th November 2024
Five Towns Mono Competition 2024
Judge:- Judy Mainwaring

On Tuesday evening 7 members of our Club travelled to Whitchurch for the annual competition between 5 local towns known as the 5 Towns Mono Competition for the Alan Challinor Trophy. In the 1980s few Members of Nantwich Camera Club were producing mono prints. Alan Challinor was a master printer and wanted to encourage mono printing, so he presented this trophy to the Club. The Club then decided to invite other Clubs to participate, and the 5 Towns Mono Competition was formed. John Dodd also presented a trophy for the “Print of the Night”.

The participating Clubs this year were Alsager Camera Club, Crewe Photographic Society, Mid-Cheshire Camera Club, Nantwich Camera Club and Whitchurch Photographic Society. Each Club submitted 12 Prints giving Judge Judy Mainwaring 60 prints and the difficult task of choosing a winning print and justifying the scores given to the remainder. She went through giving constructive critique on each image and retaining quite a few for further consideration, such was the quality of all the prints. When the prints had all been marked the total scores for each club were as follows:-

The overall results were:-

Alsager Camera Club	208
Mid Cheshire CC	208
Nantwich Camera Club	204
Whitchurch PS	200
Crewe Camera Club	196

As Alsager and Mid-Cheshire had the same number of points Alsager were declared winners as they had more images that scored 20. “Print of the Night” was “Mr and Mrs” by Emma England of Nantwich Camera Club.
The top scoring images were as follows:-

Here are the scores for the remainder of the Nantwich entries:-

Author	Title	Score
Andrew Charlesworth	Church of St John	17
Andrew Charlesworth	Angel of the North	17
Andrew Charlesworth	Winter Oak	17
John Dodd	Stag in snowstorm	17
Lee Evans	Southport Pier	16
Wray Douglas	Allegheny Steps	16
Alison Wood	Fence in the Dunes	15
Denise Compton	Crowd Control	15
Emma England	A Storm Approaches	15

It is interesting to see who has won the “PRINT OF THE NIGHT” trophy over the years!

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Tuesday 5th November 2024
2nd Club Competition
Judge: Ralph Duckett

On Tuesday evening Ralph Duckett made his first visit to our Club to judge the 2nd internal competition of the season. He commenced by explaining that we are all judges, but not all of us stand in front of an audience and express our opinions and try and justify the reason for that opinion. He said that he had briefly viewed the Projected Images that had been supplied to him beforehand, but that this was only to give him an idea of the general standard as he prefers to judge on the night.

He commenced with the 24 prints, immediately holding several back for further consideration, and awarding some higher scores as he went along. He gave positive critique on each image, suggesting that perhaps a slight crop could have made the image stronger, or more tonal range particularly in the mono images.

He retained 7 images for further consideration one of which he subsequently awarded 17. The remainder of the retained images scored as follows: –

20 Points
“Frederica Brignone” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
19 Points
“Dunstanbrough Castle” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Crowd Control” by Denise Compton
18 Points
“Mandrill Stare” by Emma England
“Bumblebee on Verbena” by Emma England
“Dance Like Nobody’s Watching” by Andrea Davies

“Tryfan at Sunset” by Lee Evans HON CPE and “Paddington Hard Stare” by Andrea Davies had already been scored with 18 Points.

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 31 Projected Images commenced These were also given the same careful consideration by Ralph. He again gave helpful suggestions as to how some, in his opinion, could have been improved. He retained 12 images for further consideration and one of these he awarded 17 points. The remainder of the held back images scores as follows: –

20 Points
“Just the Two of Us” by Andrea Davies
19 Points
“Crashing Through the Control Gate” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Chamonix Valley” by Bryan Averill HON CPE BPE1
“Catch of the Day” by Huw Lewis
“Dewy Spider” by Emma England
“Black tail godwit” by John Dodd
18 Points
“Sri Lanka Stilt Fishermen” by Andrea Davies
“Mating Common Blues” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Badger Nose to Nose” by Huw Lewis
“St Paul’s Cathedral” by Denise Compton
“Buttercup Fun” by Wendy Williams CPAGB

Ralph finished the evening by saying that he had really enjoyed judging for us this evening and hoped to be back to judge again in the not-too-distant future.

Well done to all entrants especially Andrea who has rejoined after a year off travelling (and capturing some high-quality images) and new member Huw Lewis who has scored highly in both competitions. Congratulations are also due to member Bryan Averill for attaining the qualifications “HON CPE” and BPE1, and to member Lee Evans for his “HON CPE”.

League Tables

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Tuesday 29th October 2024
Whitchurch v Nantwich Interclub Competition
Judge: Ian Whiston EFIAP/p, MPSA, DPAGB

On Tuesday evening a few members travelled to Whitchurch Photographic Society for our first inter club battle of the season. For the battle, there were 30 prints and 30 Projected images, 15 for from each club for both sections. Judge Ian Whiston started off by marking the prints. Scores as low as 15 points were given to some prints, which is unusual in a club battle as all the images have previously been awarded high scores in other competitions. 15 other prints scored 16/17 from each club. The lower scoring prints were marked down by the judge for having visible white spots that could have been removed, the mount cropping the image too much after being applied, slightly burnt out areas and images being too dark. 11 Prints were held back to receive top marks at the end, 7 from NCC and 4 from WPS. 4 prints received 18 points, 3 given 19 points, and unusually 4 prints received top marks of 20, this was evenly split 2 each per club. Top scoring Prints were as follows:-

20 Points
“Fraser Rogers on TAG Honda” by Wray Douglas NCC
“Slalom Skier Katharina Huber” by Andrew Charlesworth NCC
“Spiritual Healing” by Paul Hayward WPS
“Sunrise Over Mam Tor” by Sandy Robertson WPS
19 Points
“Braving the Elements” by Bryan Averill NCC
“In The Misty Forest” by Bryan Averill NCC
“Humpback Whale Feeding” by Sandy Robertson WPS
18 Points
“Yr Wyddfa” by Lee Evans NCC
“Marta Bertoncelli” by Wendy Williams NCC
“Sandwich Tern with Prey” by Wray Douglas
The overall scores for the Prints were Nantwich 262 and Whitchurch 256.

After the interval the projected images were judged by Ian in the same strict manner. Images were scored low for wide distracting white borders. He suggested, if using borders, the colour should relate to something in the image colour pallet. 16 images were marked 16/17 with 14 images being held back for higher grading. 5 images were scored 18, 5 scored 19 and again 4 images given top marks of 20, unfortunately this time all the top scores went to Whitchurch. Top scoring Projected images were as follows:-

20 Points
“A Wet Ride Home” by Patrick Miles WPS
“Afon Lloer Falls” by Phil Buckle WPS
“Decadence” by Paul Hayward WPS
“Mar Menor Sunrise” by Phil Buckle WPS
19 Points
“Arina Kontchakov” by Bryan Averill NCC
“Old Retriever” by Andrew Charlesworth NCC
“On a Mission” by Adrian Wright NCC
“Beach Walk” by Sandy Robertson WPS
“Peaceful Easy Feeling” by Paul Hayward WPS
18 Points
“Glen Etive” by Denise Compton NCC
“Slalom Skier Ralph Weber” by Andrew Charlesworth NCC
“Mortally Wounded” by Sandy Robertson WPS
“Pondering” by Ruth Elner WPS
“Wind Power” by Patrick Miles WPS
The overall scores for the Projected Images were Nantwich 261 and Whitchurch 271.

The combined scores from both sections were Nantwich 523 and Whitchurch 527 meaning Whitchurch won on the evening by 4 points.
Ian ended by saying he had viewed a lot of high quality images over both sections, and found it difficult to pick faults with the top scoring images, hence so many scoring 20 points in the end.

Results

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Tuesday 1st October 2024
1st Club Competition
Judge: Ove Alexander

Tuesday 1st October saw the much-anticipated 1st Club Competition of the season. Images are marked out of 20 Some images were not awarded points on the initial pass. These were held back for further consideration before being awarded points 18, 19 or 20. Images scoring 17 and under are usually marked as they go along. Totals for each entrant enable a League Table to be produced giving a winner at the end of the season. There are 3 separate Leagues, Print, Projected Images and Clubman (Print and Projected Image scores added together).

Judge Ove Alexander emphasised that the suggestions he made in order to improve the images were purely his opinion and may not work for the author. Judging commenced with the Print section with a slightly disappointing entry of 20 prints. Ove gave positive constructive critique on each image. In some images he felt that the greens, in particular, would have benefited from slight desaturation as they tend to be too vivid when printed. He retained just 4 for further consideration subsequently awarding marks as follows: –
20 Points
“Slalom Skier Katharina Huber” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
19 Points
“Peony” by Alison Wood
18 Points
“Fraser Rogers on TAG Honda” by Wray Douglas
“The Tiger of the Sky” by Emma England

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 34 Projected Images began. These were given the same careful consideration 7 were retained for further consideration. They were subsequently awarded scores as follows:-
20 Points
“On a mission” by Adrian Wright
19 Points
“Nest Building Dipper” by Pete Allcock Hon CPE
“Arina Kontchakov” by Bryan Averill
“Moreton Corbet Castle” by Lee Evans
“Swiss Skier Michelle Gisin” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
18 Points
“Iolaire Suile na Grein – eagle with the sunlit eye” by Adrian Wright
“Glen Etive” by Denise Compton

Ove concluded the evening by saying that he had had a really difficult job as all the images were of a very high standard and he had enjoyed seeing them all.

League Tables

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Tuesday 23rd April 2024
Set Subject Competition – Architecture
Judge : John Royle

On Tuesday evening the Club held a set subject competition. This did not count towards points for the league as it had previously been poorly supported with some members feeling it a little unfair if it was not their genre, whilst others thought it good to try something different. It was decided to hold it as a separate Projected Image only competition. Members were invited to submit up to 3 images each. 10 Members entered 29 images. There was a good variety of subjects with only a couple that John found to be not entirely in keeping with the set subject. He gave clear constructive critique on each, emphasising more than once that 16 was a good score. He also remarked on the quality of the projection saying it was so clear and bright.

He retained 6 for further consideration subsequently awarding points as follows: –
20 Points
“PPG Place” by Wray Douglas
19 Points
“Roofs Among The Graves” by David Hoyle
“Arconic Centre” by Wray Douglas
18 Points
“The Depot, Reflecting Rotterdam’s Architecture” by Adrian Wright
“Listed Brutalism by Sir Basil Spence” by Alison Wood
“Cloisters” by Wray Douglas

Winning PI

To see the top Images from this competition,
Click Here

Print Score Sheets

After a short interval for refreshments we held the inaugural “Brian Sankey Trophy” donated by the family of the late long time member Brian Sankey. Brian was a keen printer so it was decided that anyone who had entered prints in a competition this season would be invited to select one of their prints to enter. These were displayed at the back of the room and members were given voting forms to enable them to vote for their favourite. The winner of this was Wray Douglas with his print “Bright Eyes”

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Tuesday 9th April 2024
6th Club Competition
Judge: Jason Wharam DPAGB

On Tuesday evening the Club held the final competition of the season. Our judge for the evening was Jason Wharam who had come to judge as a last-minute replacement for Andy Polakowski who was unable to attend. He began by explaining that he was autistic so may unintentionally upset some people with his honesty, but that he hoped we would appreciate that he says what he thinks and means it constructively. He went on to say the best piece of advice he was ever given was to leave your image for a few days after you think it is finished, and then go back and re-examine it to make sure you have missed any small details. It is also helpful to show it to a fellow Club Member as they may spot something that you haven’t.

He was impressed by the number of print entries saying it is the highest number of entries he has judged for a long time. He gave clear and detailed constructive critique of each image, suggesting camera setting for some that, in his opinion, would have improved the outcome, and suggesting Photoshop techniques that could have been used to improve others. He marked down severely any images that had dust spots as he considered this just laziness.

He retained just 5 images for further consideration subsequently awarding marks as follows: –
20 Points
“Whisky” by Lee Evans
19 Points
“Silent Hunter” by Emma England
“Strangers On The Shore” by Bryan Averill
18 Points
“Lonely Tree And The Sky” by Bryan Averill
“Tight Turn” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the projected images took place and they were given the same careful precise consideration as the prints. He retained 7 images for further consideration subsequently awarding 2 of them 17 points and the remainder as follows: –
20 Points
“We Are Watching You” by John Kay
19 Points
“Bumblebee On Erynguim by Emma England
“Old Retriever” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
18 Points
“Rider16 Robert Smith” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Moody Kinderdijk” by Adrian Wright

Congratulations to Pete Allcock Hon CPE for winning the Projected Images League, Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB for winning the Print League and the Clubman League.

Jason closed the evening by encouraging the members to take advantage of the help on offer at our next meeting and said that any member should feel free to contact him if they felt he could help them in some way.

League Tables

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Thursday 4th April 2024
Crewe V Nantwich Interclub Competition
Judge: Will Stead EFIAP CPAGB PSA 3

On Thursday evening there was a good turnout from both Clubs for the Annual Interclub Competition hosted this year by Crewe. Judge Will Stead explained that he had already seem the Projected images of all the entries but having had a quick look through the prints on arrival he was surprised to see that the prints were better than their digital versions. He said they were all of a high standard and it would be difficult to choose a winner. He went through the prints first giving constructive critique on each and in many cases finding a small distraction on the background that warranted a slightly lower mark.

He retained 7 for further consideration and awarded these as follows: –
20 Points
“Big Red” By Emma England (Nantwich)
19 Points
“Morning Walk” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
“Braving The Elements” by Bryan Averill (Nantwich)
“Redshank Feeding” by Wallace Baxter (Crewe)
!8 Points
“Sandwich Tern With Prey” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
“Making a Splash” by Emma England (Nantwich)
“Book Reader” by Keith Mulliner (Crewe)

After the marking of the prints the scores were Nantwich 259 and Crewe 244.

After the break the same constructive critique was afforded to the projected images. Will retained 8 images for further consideration awarding points to these as follows: –
20 Points
“Going Down” by Stephen Coyne (Crewe)
19 Points
“Kingfisher with Lunch” by Emma England (Nantwich)
“Lonely” by Fiona Quarterman LRPS (Nantwich)
“Cape Buffalo with Oxpeckers” by Ian Whiston (Crewe)
“Cheetah with Siblings” by Ian Whiston (Crewe)
18 Points
“Dropping In For Dinner” by Adrian Wright (Nantwich)
“Polocrosse Action” by Pete Robinson (Crewe)
“Steam Trawler Sheraton Wreck” by Paul Hill (Crewe)

The final score for the Projected images was Nantwich 251 and Crewe 255. This meant Nantwich were overall winners with totals of Nantwich 510 to Crewe 499.

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Tuesday 26th March 2024
Nantwich vs Alsager Interclub competiton.
Judge: Steve Hitchin DPAGB

On Tuesday evening the Club met with guests from Alsager Camera Club for our annual interclub competition. Judge Steve Hitchin commented that when he first viewed the images he did not know how he was going to choose between them as they were such a high standard. The judging commenced with the 30 prints, 15 from each club. Steve gave constructive critique on each of the images. He pointed out what he particularly liked about each image, and suggested in some cases ideas that, in his opinion, might have improved them further. He retained 13 images for further consideration, he then awarded 4 of these 17 as he had held back a lot of images.Points were subsequently awarded to these as follows:-

20 Points
Print of the night: “Church of St John” by Andrew Charlesworth – Nantwich Camera Club
“Braving the Elements” by Bryan Averill – Nantwich Camera Club
“Splattered” by Jason Rowley – Alsager Camera Club

19 Points
“Lloyds Building” by Andrew Charlesworth – Nantwich Camera Club
“The Bathwater is Cold” by Geoff Reader – Alsager Camera Club
“Talacre Lighthouse Sunset” by Lee Evans – Nantwich Camera Club

18 Points
“Kestrel at Waterfall” by Andrew Donkin – Alsager Camera Club
“Morning Walk” by Wray Douglas – Nantwich Camera Club
“Bright Eyes” by Wray Douglas – Nantwich Camera Club

The total scores were Nantwich 263 and Whitchurch 255, a close contest.
After the break for refreshments the Projected Images were given the same constructive critique and Steve retained 13 of these for further consideration, he then awarded 3 of these 17 as he had held back a lot of images. The remainder of these were subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
DPI of the Night: “In the Heat of the Battle” by Pete Allcock – Nantwich Camera Club
“Baby Orangutan” by Andrew Donkin – Alsager Camera Club
“Tube Station Duel” by David Beardmore – Alsager Camera Club

19 Points
“Sand Racing” by Andrew Donkin – Alsager Camera Club
“Ruby Meadowhawk” by Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club

18 Points
“Kingfisher with Lunch” By Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club
“Uncertain Future” by Geoff Reader – Alsager Camera Club
“Colour Splash” by Bryan Averill – Nantwich Camera Club
“Barn Owl” by Peter Farrer– Alsager Camera Club
“Concentration” by Jason Rowley – Alsager Camera Club

The total scores for the DPIs were Nantwich 253 and Whitchurch 261, another very close result meaning that it was a draw!

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Tuesday 5th March 2024
5th Club Competition (Mono)
Judge: Adrian Lines MPAGB, FBPE, ARPS

Tuesday evening saw the Club’s annual mono competition. Members can enter up to 3 prints and 2 Projected images in this competition. Our judge for the evening was Adrian Lines who is a well known and respected judge within the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union (L & CPU). He had been able to see the prints briefly upon arrival but stated that, although he had been supplied with digital versions of the prints previously, he had not looked at them as he preferred to judge the actual print and not have seen the digital version.

There were 35 entries from 12 different members. Adrian went though them giving detailed constructive critique on each, in many cases expressing the opinion that the print lacked contrast. He retained 9 images for further consideration awarding marks as follows :-

20 Points
“Angel Of The North” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
19 Points
“In The Misty Forrest” by Bryan Averill
“A Storm Approaches” by Emma England
“Fence In The Dunes” by Alison Wood
18 Points
“Winter Oak” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Mr and Mrs” by Emma England
17 Points
“Allegheny Steps” by Wray Douglas
“Southport Pier” by Lee Evans
“Northern Lights Cathedral” by Wendy Williams CPAGB

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 30 entries from 15 members began, Adrian gave the same detailed constructive critique to the projected images, holding back 10 for further consideration. These were subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“In The Heat Of Battle” by Pete Allcock Hon CPE
19 Points
“Left behind form a sad time” by Dave Weatherby
“Covid 19 Vaccination Centre” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Caught In A Shower” by Bryan Averill
18 Points
“Nantwich Lake Overflowing” by Lee Evans
“A Pair Of Old Wrecks” by Emma England
“Welsh Poppies” by Alison Wood
17 Points
“Mute Swan Courtship” by Pete Allcock Hon CPE
“Winter Walker” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Fern In Detail” by Emma England

League Tables

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Tuesday 30th January 2024
4th Club Competition
Judge: Richard Hainsworth CPAGB, AFIAP, EFIAP, DPAGB, EFIAP/b

On Tuesday evening the Club welcomed Richard Hainsworth to judge the 4th Club Competition of the season. He commenced by explaining that he had seen the digital versions of both the prints and Projected images and had given provisional scores, and in some cases, where he thought improvements could be made, had actually imported them into Lightroom and made adjustments. He also stated that, despite this, he was judging what he actually saw on the night so if they were better than they had appeared to be on his computer they would receive a higher score, but if not as good he would not mark them lower.

The judging commenced with the 26 Print entries. He gave careful detailed constructive critique on each and held back just 4 for further consideration subsequently awarding marks as follows:-

20 Points
“Sandwich Tern With Prey” by Wray Douglas
19 Points
“Church Of St John” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
18 Points
“Yr Wyddfa” by Lee Evans
“Big Red” by Emma England

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 30 Projected Images commenced, Richard once again giving the same detailed constructive critique to each. He retained 7 of these for further consideration subsequently awarding marks as follows:-

20 Points
“Lonely” by Fiona Quaterman
19 Points
“Dipper With Lunch In Sight” by Pete Allcock Hon CPE
“Ren Mishima” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Slalom Skier Ralph Weber” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Train To Nowhere” by Fiona Quaterman LRPS
18 Points
“Room For One More” by Bryan Averill
“The Last House” by Adrian Wright

League Tables

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Tuesday 12th December 2023
3rd Club Competition
Judge: Linda Bell LRPS, CPAGB, AWPF, BPE3

On Tuesday evening we welcomed Linda Bell to judge our 3rd Club Competition of the season. She had seen the PDIs of the entries beforehand and had looked through the actual prints on her arrival. Judging commenced with the 28 prints. She emphasised that although she had seen the Digital versions of the prints, and they were being shown tonight for the benefit of the audience, she was only judging the prints. She gave positive constructive critique on each image saying that images scoring 15 she really liked but reserved the higher scores for the ones she felt had something a bit more special, and the ones that scored lower needed more work. She retained 6 for further consideration, subsequently awarding marks as follows:-

20 Points
“Lloyds Building” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Bright Eyes” by Wray Douglas
“Evening Light Sassolungo” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

18 Points
“Beautiful Demoiselle” by Trevor Clowes
“Marching Hammarkop” by Emma England
“Autumn Reflections” by Alison Wood

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 32 Projected Images commenced. Linda said she was once again impressed by the variety of subjects submitted and gave the same positive critique on each. She retained 5 images for further consideration subsequently awarding marks as follows:-

20 Points
“Dropping In For Dinner” by Adrian Wright

19 Points
“Seeing Double” by Emma England
“Barnie In The Rain” by Pete Allcock CPE

18 Points
“Maasai Mara sunset” by Adrian Wright
“Nectaring Monarch” by Emma England

League Tables

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Wednesday 15th November 2023
Five Towns Mono Competition 2023
Judge: Rebbecca Entwhistle

This competition has been running for many years and is recognised as a prestigious event in the competition calendar. The clubs that took part this year were Alsager CC, Crewe PS, Mid-Cheshire CC, Nantwich CC and Whitchurch PS. All entries are ‘mono’ prints and the competition usually attracts high quality entries. A DPI of each print is projected at the same time as judging is taking place in order to ensure the audience can see the images. Each club submits 12 images – a total entry therefore of 60 images – which are presented to the judge in random order.

The Competition has not taken place for a number of years due to the Pandemic and was hosted this year by Mid Cheshire CC. To enable members who were unable to attend in person the meeting was also transmitted on Zoom. After a few minor technical hitches the judging, by Rebbecca Entwhistle, commenced. Rebbecca said she had a very difficult task ahead of her as the images were all of a very high quality. She gave constructive critique on each image, pointing out little details that, in her opinion, may have improved the images. She retained quite a few for further consideration eventually awarding points as follows:-

Club	Title	Score
Nantwich Camera Club	Ice Maiden	20
Alsager Camera Club	Making a Splash	19.5
Crewe Photographic Society	Lady with an apple	19.5
Nantwich Camera Club	11-56 Canary Wharf	19.5
Nantwich Camera Club	Cute Highland Couple	19.5
Nantwich Camera Club	Mane Man	19.5
Nantwich Camera Club	Slalom Skier Marco Fiffner	19.5
Crewe Photographic Society	Lone Tree and Pen-y-ghent	19
Mid Cheshire Camera Club	Flat Out	19
Whitchurch Photographic Society	Dedication	19
Whitchurch Photographic Society	Unobserved Tender Moment	19
Mid Cheshire Camera Club	Bond	18.5
Mid Cheshire Camera Club	Wet Hyena Smile	18.5
Whitchurch Photographic Society	In the Canyon	18.5
Crewe Photographic Society	Steam Engineer	18
Nantwich Camera Club	Gateway to the Lakes	18
Nantwich Camera Club	Male Leopard	18

The remainder of the Nantwich images scored as follows:-

Nantwich Camera Club	Windows on the Soul	17
Nantwich Camera Club	Enjoying The Challenge	16
Nantwich Camera Club	Distracted	15
Nantwich Camera Club	The Dark Hedges	15
Nantwich Camera Club	Misty Wet Morning	15

The overall results were:-

Nantwich Camera Club	212
Mid Cheshire Camera Club	204
Alsager Camera Club	199.5
Crewe Photographic Society	194.5
Whitchurch Photographic Society	193.5

As a result Nantwich retained the trophy once again and the evening ended with the Chairman of Nantwich Camera Club, John Kay, accepting the trophy on behalf of the Club. John also accepted the trophy for the “Print of the Night” on behalf of Wendy Williams who had been unable to attend in person but had watched on Zoom!

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Tuesday 7th November 2023
2nd Club Competition
Judge: Robert Millin DPAGB EFIAP/g SPSA EPSA ABPE

Tuesday evening saw a good turnout including several potential new members for the 2nd Club Competition of the season. Judge Robert Millin commenced the judging with the Print section, emphasising that although the audience could also see the projected version of the print he was only looking at and judging the prints. He gave concise and constructive critique of each of the 24 prints and retained 8 for further consideration. These were subsequently awarded marks as follows:-

20 Points
“Alpine Skier – Alexis Pinturault” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Ogwen Valley From Yr Garn” by Lee Evans
“Marta Bertoncelli” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Rutting Stag” by Wray Douglas

18 Points
“Talacre Lighthouse Sunset” by Lee Evans
“Braving The Elements” by Bryan Averill
“Autumn Glow” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Alfa male chimp” by John Dodd

After a short interval for refreshments Robert said that he thought our prints were very well presented as he often comes across prints that are not well mounted. He then commenced the judging of the projected images which he had taken the opportunity to view prior to the meeting so had already given provisional scores. He gave the same clear and concise critique to the 34 entries, retaining 8 once again for further consideration and awarding points as follows:-

20 Points
“Defying the Elements” by Adrain Wright

19 Points
“Number 307” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Stag In Early Morning Autumnal Light” by Pete Allcock
“Colour Splash” by Bryan Averill
“Sheltering From The Rain” by Wendy Williams CPAGB

18 Points
“Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonfly” by Rex Kingsley
“Silver Spotted Skipper” by Emma England
“Flying Over The Lock” by Emma England

League Tables

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Tuesday 31st October 2023
Nantwich v Whitchurch Interclub Competition
Judge: Dave Tucker EFIAP/gold, DPAGB, CPAGB, BPE3*

On Tuesday evening the Club met with guests from Whitchurch Photographic Society for our annual interclub competition. Judge Dave Tucker explained that he was not expecting to award a huge range of marks as images in an interclub competition are generally of a high standard. The judging commenced with the 30 prints, 15 from each club. Dave gave constructive positive critique on each of the images. He pointed out what he particularly liked about each image, and suggested in some cases ideas that, in his opinion, might have improved them further. He retained 10 images for further consideration, having already awarded 18 points to 2 images as he went through originally. Points were subsequently awarded to these as follows:-

20 Points
“Come Into My Parlour” By Paul Hayward – Whitchurch Photo Society
“French Street” By Sandy Robertson – Whitchurch Photo Society

19 Points
“Making a Splash” By Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club
“Winter Sycamore” By Patrick Miles – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Snowboarder” By Bryan Averill – Nantwich Camera Club
“In a Sicilian garden” By Paul Hayward – Whitchurch Photo Society

18 Points
“Despair” By Fiona Quarterman – Nantwich Camera Club
“Pretty in Pink” By Judy Naden – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Sisters of the Universe” By Paul Hayward – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Anglesey Barracks” By Alison Wood – Nantwich Camera Club
“On The Beach” By Bryan Averill – Nantwich Camera Club
“Choco Toucan” By Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club

The total scores were Nantwich 261 and Whitchurch 260, a very close contest

After the break for refreshments the Projected Images were given the same careful positive critique and Dave retained 12 of these for further consideration, having already awarded 18 points to 4 images. The remainder of these were subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Burrowing Owl” By Sandy Robertson – Whitchurch Photo Society
“White Tulip” By Nick Hutt – Nantwich Camera Club

19 Points
“The Artist’s Model” By Paul Hayward – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Wicca’s World” By Ruth Elner – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Eurasian Jay” By Pete Allcock – Nantwich Camera Club
“Dedication” By Philip Burness – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Three of a Kind” By Andrew Charlesworth – Nantwich Camera Club
“Macaque Family” By Bryan Averill – Nantwich Camera Club

18 Points
“Feed Me” By Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club
“Great Grey Owl in Flight” By Sandy Robertson – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Aquatic Beauty” By Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club
“Elegance” By Paul Hayward – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Ruby Meadowhawk” By Emma England – Nantwich Camera Club
“Don’t be Afraid, Little One” By Les Jones – Whitchurch Photo Society
“Separation” By Andrew Charlesworth – Nantwich Camera Club
“Disturbing The Peace” By Andrian Wright – Nantwich Camera Club

The total scores for the Prints were Nantwich 266 and Whitchurch 265, another very close result meaning that Nantwich were the overall winners by just 2 points!

Dave finished by saying that he had thoroughly enjoyed seeing and judging our images even though it had proved very difficult because of the high standard, and adding that it was very rare for him to award more than one “20” but that he had felt it necessary in both sections tonight!

Results

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Tuesday 3rd October 2023
1st Club Competition
Judge: Jane Lines MPAGB, LRPS, BPE5*

Tuesday evening saw a good turnout of members for the 1st Club Competition of the season. The judge for the evening was Jane Lines who had travelled from Wigan to be with us. Judging commenced with the 23 print entries that Jane had taken a quick look through on her arrival.
She went through the entries giving clear and concise critique on each and retaining 7. Marks were subsequently awarded for these as follows:-

20 Points
“Willow” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Morning Walk” by Wray Douglas
“We’ll Meet Again – (Sword Beach) by Fiona Quarterman LRPS
“Bowled” by Howard Holden
“Anglesey Barracks” by Alison Wood

18 Points
“Choco Toucan” by Emma England
“Little Grebe” by Wray Douglas

After a break for refreshments the evening continued with the judging of the 30 projected images. The same careful and concise consideration was given to these and 9 retained for further consideration. Marks were then awarded as follows:-

20 Points
“Family Time _ Eurasian Otter” by Pete Allcock

19 Points
“Kingfisher With Lunch” by Emma England
“Going Downtown Reykjavik” by Fiona Quarterman LRPS
“Eternity Ring” by Adrian Wright
“Abandoned” by John Kay
“Cullernose Point” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

18 Points
“Common Buzzard in Early Morning Light” by Pete Allcock
“Sole Survivor” by Bryan Averill
“Tewksbury Abbey” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Determined” by Martin Watson

Jane finished by thanking us for inviting her to judge and said the she had really enjoyed seeing our images.

League Tables

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Tuesday 11th April 2023
Inter-Club Competition:- Nantwich v Crewe
Judge: Roger Evans MPAGB, FBPE, EFIAP

On Tuesday evening our club welcomed visitors from the neighbouring Crewe Photographic Society for our first face to face meeting with them since the pandemic. The judge was Roger Evans who has judged for us previously. He began by saying that the scores would not be widespread as he was judging high quality entries from both clubs so he would have to “nit-pick” to differentiate the images.
The judging commenced with the Prints, fifteen from each Club. Roger gave constructive critique on each, holding back seven for further consideration, subsequently awarding points as follows:-

20 Points
“Guardian of the Bluebells” By John Royle (Crewe) – Print of the Night
“Kingfisher With Catch” by Emma England

19 Points
“Burbage Brook” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
“The Lady Of The Castle” by Keith Mulliner (Crewe)

18 Points
“On The Beach” by Bryan Averill (Nantwich)
“Canary Wharf” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Springtime Walk” by Paul Hill (Crewe)

Results Prints

The overall score for this section was 254 for Nantwich and 252 for Crewe.

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the Projected Image section commenced and followed the same routine, with Roger holding back nine images for further consideration. These were then scored as follows:-

20 Points
“Ruppells Vulture Landing” by Ian Whiston (Crewe)

19 Points
“Three Of A Kind” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Chloe Playing Harp” by Keith Mulliner (Crewe)
“Glacier Dawn” by Stephen Coyne (Crewe)

18 Points
“Travis Ganong” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Four-Spotted Chaser” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
“Eurasian Jay” by Pete Allcock (Nantwich)
“Goldfinch On Teasel” by Ray Hill (Crewe)
“Nuthatch Looking For Danger” by Ray Hill (Crewe)

Results PDI

The overall score for this section was 248 for Crewe and 244 for Nantwich. The overall score was therefore 500 for Crewe and 498 for Nantwich meaning Crewe have just beaten us once again.

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Tuesday 4th April 2023
6th Club Competition
Judge: Phil Chadwick DPAGB AWPF AFIAP BPE5* Hon-NWPA

On Tuesday evening the Club welcomed Phil Chadwick who had travelled from North Wales to judge our competition. He said that he was pleasantly surprised by the high standard of the images and thought that he was going to have a difficult job ahead.

The evening commenced with the twenty-six prints entered by thirteen members. Phil gave constructive critique on each explaining his reasons for awarding the scores. He pointed out where, on several images, he thought it would have been beneficial to have selected certain areas for darkening, or reducing the saturation. He retained nine images for further consideration subsequently awarding points as follows:-

20 Points
“Despair” by Fiona Quarterman LRPS

19 Points
“Too Cold To Play Out” by David Hoyle
“Owzat” by Wray Douglas
“Go Away I’m Having A Bad Day” by Emma England

18 Points
“Misty Wet Morning” by Bryan Averill
“Steaming Out of The Mist” by David Hoyle
“Anglesey Barracks” by Wray Douglas
“The Elusive Water Rail” by Pete Allcock
“Longleat Lioness” by Wendy Williams CPAGB

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the Projected Images commenced. There were thirty-six images from eighteen entrants. Phil gave these the same careful consideration retaining twelve for further consideration. He awarded six of the remaining images eighteen points, a further four nineteen points, leaving him with two images. He said that he had decided his winner beforehand but was tempted to change his mind. However, he decided to go with his original choice which was “Downhill Skier Nico Gauer” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB in preference to “Number 54” by Wendy Williams CPAGB.
Points were awarded to the retained images as follows:-

20 Points
“Downhill Skier Nico Gauer” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Number 54” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Safely Through The Gates” by Roy Penlington
“Italian Chapel Lamb Holm” by David Hoyle
“Reaching For The Sky” by Emma England
“Loch Arkaig In Autumn” by Bryan Averill

18 Points
“Going Bananas” by Emma England
“Cross-Country Eventer” by Roy Penlington
“Frosted Pines” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Northern Gannets” by David Luker
“Orchid” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Bonneville Morning” by David Hoyle

A special mention for Fiona Quarterman for gaining her first win in her first season with the Club.

League Tables

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Thursday 23rd March 2023
Inter-Club Competition:- Alsager v Nantwich
Judge: Gerald Chamberlain

On Thursday evening eight members of Nantwich Camera Club made the journey to Alsager for the first face-to-face Competition between these Clubs since the pandemic. The low turnout for Nantwich may have been because we were told that we could watch proceedings via Zoom but due to a misunderstanding this did not happen.

Judge Gerald Chamberlain had travelled from Cumbria in his Campervan which was parked for the night on the car park. He explained that his main criteria for judging was how well the image conveyed what the author was trying to say, and that technical competence played a slightly less but significant roll. He said the images were all of a very high standard so he was going to have a difficult job justifying his marks.

The Judging commenced with the 30 Prints, 15 from each Club. He gave positive constructive critique of each, pointing out how, in his opinion, cloning out small distractions would have greatly improved the image as once he had seen it his eye was constantly drawn away from the main subject to the minor distraction.

He retained just 6 for further consideration having already awarded the ones scoring up to 18 points.
These were subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Rounding The Control Gate” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Sisterly Love” by Geoff Reader (Alsager)
“Young Country Fox” by Jason Rowley (Alsager)
“11-56 Canary Wharf” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Sisterly Love” by Geoff Reader (Alsager)

19 Points
“Dipper with Catch” by Jason Rowley (Alsager)
“My Ball” by Geoff Reader (Alsager)

The Print of the Night was “Sisterly Love” by Geoff Reader (Alsager)
The results for the Print Section was Nantwich 250 and Alsager 246

Print Results

After a short break the judging of the Projected Images commenced. The same consideration was given to these and he retained 4 images which scored as follows:-
20 Points
“Three of a Kind” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Sunset Sail” by Bryan Averill (Nantwich)
19 Points
“Travis Ganong” Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Eurasian Jay” by Pete Allcock (Nantwich)

The Projected Image of the evening was “Sunset Sail” by Bryan Averill.
The results for the Projected Image Section was Nantwich 251and Alsager 247

Results PDI

The overall score was therefore Nantwich 501 and Alsager 493.

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Tuesday 7th March 2023
5th Club Competition (Mono)
Judge: Nick Hilton EFIAP, DPAGB, BPE5*

On Tuesday evening after a slight technical hitch Nick Hilton, our judge for the evening, explained the three elements he looked at when judging. The first element was impact. Secondly he looked at the technical aspects such as tonal range, sharpness, shutter speed, etc and finally whether the image suited mono. He gave a wide range of marks, saving seventeen and upwards for his held back images.

The judging commenced with the Prints. As is customary for the Mono Print Competition, members are allowed three entries. There were a total of forty entries from fourteen members.

Nick went through each image giving extensive positive constructive critique on each, expressing the opinion that, in his opinion, the projected version was better than the print and the quality of the print had given rise to a poorer score than it might have been.

He retained nine for further consideration subsequently awarding points as follows:-

20 Points
“11- 56 Canary Wharf” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Cutie Highland Couple” by Emma England
“The Dark Hedges” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Slalom Skier Marco Fiffner” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

18 Points
“In Full Flow” by Bryan Averill
“Kelly Hall Tarn” by Wray Douglas
“Driven” by Wray Douglas

After a quick break for refreshments the judging of the thirty-six Projected Images by 18 members commenced. Nick went through these a little quicker but still gave the same careful consideration. He retained eight images and awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Separation” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Time To Reflect” by Andrea Davies
“Exiting The Bend” by Roy Penlington

18 Points
“Focused” by Bryan Averill
“Oulton Park Racer” by David Luker

League Tables

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Tuesday 31st January 2023
4th Club Competition
Judge: Les Hitchcock ARPS

On Tuesday evening the Club held the 4th Club Competition. The judge, Les Hitchcock ARPS, who had travelled from Warrington, said that he had pre-viewed the images and thought them to be of very high quality. He said that this meant even if the image was given a lower score he still thought it was good, but not as good as the rest! He stated that he was expecting an extremely difficult job selecting just one winner from each section.

The judging began with the Prints Section. There were 28 entries. Les went through the images marking some and holding back others for further consideration. He illustrated suggested crops by way of pieces of mount board that he had brought along for this purpose. He held back half of the entries. He then proceeded to mark each of the retained images, adding to the tension by selecting a random image and scoring it, rather than the usual method of awarding the lower scores first. He did, however, hold on to the top scoring image until last!

Top Scorers were as follows:-

20 Points
“Emerald Beauty” by Emma England

19 Points
“Wilder Kaiser” by Howard Holden
“Kingfisher With Catch” by Emma England
“Autumnal Decay” by Wray Douglas
“Refuge De Lognan” by Bryan Averill
“Goldfinch” by Pete Allcock
“Langdale Blea Tarn” by Howard Holden
“ A Winters day” by Andrea Davies

18 Points
“Five” by Mike Quarterman
“Learning The Ropes” by Ruth Holden
“Sounds Of Silence” by Fiona Quarterman LRPS
“Lets Go” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Early Morning Cuppa” by John Dodd

After a short break for tea and biscuits the judging of the 36 Projected images commenced. The judging followed the same format as the Prints section. He again held back half of the entries for further consideration. Points were awarded to the top scoring images from these as follows:-

20 Points
“Macaque Family” by Bryan Averill

19 Points
“Colours Of Patagonia” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Storm Gathering Over The Great Orme” by Nick Hutt
“Male Orange Tip” by David Luker
“Night Chases Day Away” by Nick Hutt
“After The rain” by Andrea Davies
“On Display” by Emma England

18 Points
“Puffin With Sand Eels” by Brian Sankey
“Cumulus Reflections” by John Kay
“Eurasian Jay” by Pete Allcock
“Industrious” by Adrian Wright
“Sunset Sail” by Bryan Averill
“Royal Stag” by Brian Sankey

League Tables

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Tuesday 13th December 2022
3rd Club Competition
Judge: Diana Magor EFIAPb, MPSA, CPAGB, LRPS, BPE3*

On a bitterly cold evening judge Diana Magor came from a snowy Hoylake to judge our 3rd Club Competition of the season. She commenced by explaining that she had viewed the images several times at home and sorted them into 3 different groups, although some had changed groups on subsequent viewings. The 3 groups were the ones she really liked, the ones she felt didn’t work, and the remainder formed the 3rd group. After leaving them for 24 hours she then went back to them and scored them, but said she may still change this on seeing them on the night.

Judging commenced with the prints. She was a little surprised that there were only 24 prints entered but gave each constructive critique and giving clear indication of how she felt they could have been improved, and how to achieve it in software where applicable. She also remarked that some had been let down by the printing as the projected version was actually better. She retained 13 for further consideration. She awarded 3 of these 17 points. When most of the remaining images had been awarded points 2 remained. Diana said she had chosen her winner beforehand but on seeing the actual prints, one of which was printed on a textured paper she was now torn between them. However, she decided to stick with her original choice and subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Thermal Pool” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Looking Across To The Skerries” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Hope” by Fiona Quarterman LRPS
“Velo Retro 2” by Wray Douglas
“Colourful India” by Andrea Davies
“Summer Daze” by Bryan Averill
“Ridiculously Cute” by Emma England
“Catch Me If You Can” by Wendy Williams CPAGB

18 Points
“Common Sandpiper – Loch Scridain Isle of Mull by Pete Allcock
“Little Cutie” by Emma England

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the Projected Images followed the same format and the 30 entries were afforded the same careful consideration and critique. Diana retained 13 of these for further consideration, 2 of which were awarded 17 points. The remainder were awarded points as followed:-

20 Points
“St Benet’s Level Drainage Mill” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Liverpool Waterfront” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Autumnal Glory” by Andrea Davies
“Branching Out” by Adrian Wright
“Three Of A Kind” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

18 Points
“White Water Rafting” by Roy Penlington
“Greater Crested Grebe” by Brian Sankey
“White Tulip” by Nick Hutt
“Striated Caracara” by David Hoyle
“Red Kite In Flight” by Pete Allcock
“Rydal Reflections” by Andrea Davies

Bryan Averill, standing in for Chairman, John Kay gave a vote of thanks and said the it was good to see new members and some longer standing members who didn’t usually feature in the top scorers doing well.

League Tables

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Tuesday 8th November 2022
2nd Club Competition
Judge: Graham Currey

There was a good turn out on Tuesday evening for our 2nd Club Competition. Judge Graham Currey said that he had seen the images and thought there were a good selection of high quality images in both the Print and Projected Image Sections. He explained that, as a judge, you can’t win as the author of the higher scoring prints will think that you are a good judge, but those with the lower scores will think you a bad judge! He also said that Chris Widdall refers to him as the generous judge! He said a judge’s personal preferences have to enter in to it, but that he is also looking for technical competence.

The judging commenced with the 26 entries in the Print Section. Graham gave comprehensive constructive critique on each image pointing out what he particularly liked about each and gave suggestions as to how they could be improved in his opinion. There were a couple of images that he said, although he was only judging the print, he felt the projected version was better and the printing process had let the image down. He retained half the images for further consideration subsequently awarding 4 of these 17 points. He awarded 4 images 18 points, and 2 images 19 points leaving him with his final 3. He stated that he had already chosen his winner but was curious to see how many of the audience agreed with his choice. He then asked for a show of hands for each image, but clarifying that you could only vote once, and not for your own image. After he revealed his winner it was clear that the majority of the audience were in agreement with him!

The high scoring images were as follows:-

20 Points
“On the Beach” by Bryan Averill (1st Place)

19 Points
“Racing Ferrari” by Wray Douglas (2nd Place)
“Blea Tarn” by Wray Douglas (3rd Place”
“Red Grouse” by Bryan Averill
“Approaching The Control Gate” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
18 Points

“Coaling At Portmadog” by Howard Holden
“Locked On Target” by Emma England
“Aberaeron Dusk” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Hot Spring In Winter” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the 38 Projected Images commenced. Graham gave the same careful and detailed consideration to each image, holding back 12 for further consideration. He again awarded several 18’s and 19’s and retained his 3 final images, again asking the audience for a show of hands for each. Although his 2nd and 3rd placed images were not in the same order there was a majority vote for his winner!

The high scoring images were as follows:-

20 Points
“Travis Ganong” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (1st Place)

19 Points
“That’s Unusual” by David Hoyle (2nd Place)
“Ryedale Water by Andrea Davies (3rd Place)
“Willow and Sadie” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Please Don’t Shout” by Emma England
“Power Struggle” by Bryan Averill
“Atlantic Puffin” by Pete Allcock

18 Points
“Having Fun On The River” by Roy Penlington
“In The French Alps” by Bryan Averill

League Tables

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Tuesday 1st November 2022
Whitchurch v Nantwich Interclub Competition
Judge: Andy Polakowski APAGB DPAGB, AWPF, EFIAP/b, GPU-Cr2, BPE4* HonNWPA

A very wet Tuesday evening saw a good number of Nantwich members undertake the journey to Whitchurch for the annual interclub competition. This was the first to be held face to face since 2019. Judge Andy Polakowski said that he had expected to find only a handful of people in the audience so he was extremely pleased with the turnout, having himself travelled from Mold. He explained that he had experienced a slight technical hitch in that he had seen and scored the entries beforehand but had not realised that they were for 2 separate competitions. The competition would normally have been for 15 Projected Images and 15 Prints from each club but as the pandemic had resulted in prints not being produced it had been decided to make it 10 Colour Projected Images and 10 Mono Projected Images from each Club.

Judging began with the Colour Projected images. As Andy had already allocated his scores he gave them for each image as it came up without holding them back. He gave constructive critique of each image with humour and goodwill, suggesting where an image may be improved in his opinion, and how to achieve this improvement.

The resulting totals were Nantwich 180 and Whitchurch 170

The top scoring images for this section were as follows:-
20 Points
“Catch of the Day” by Emma England (Nantwich Camera Club)
“Communing With Nature” by Paul Hayward (WPS)

19 Points
“Four-Spotted Chaser” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich Camera Club)
“Balcony Shadows” by Mandy Coyne (WPS)
“Rich Robertshaw – Downhill Biker” by Bryan Averill (Nantwich Camera Club)
“Golden Retriever” by Andrew Charlesworth (Nantwich Camera Club)

18 Points
“Short-Eared Owl- Dee Estuary” Pete Allcock (Nantwich Camera Club)
“Slalom Turn 18” by Andrew Charlesworth (Nantwich Camera Club)
Results Colour PDI

After a short break for tea the judging of the mono images commenced. Andy pointed out that several of the “Mono” images appeared to have colour in them! However, he gave the same due consideration and critique to each and awarded points accordingly.
Final totals for the Mono section were Whitchurch 173 and Nantwich 172, giving the overall win to Nantwich.
Top scoring Mono images were as follows:-
20 Points
“The Young Actor” by Judy Naden (WPS)

19 Points
“Winter Sentinels” by Andrew Charlesworth (Nantwich Camera Club)
“Light On The Past” by Ruth Elner (WPS)
“Highland Cutie” by Emma England Nantwich Camera Club
“Derek” by David Hoyle (Nantwich Camera Club)

18 Points
“Unobserved Tender Moment” by Sandy Robertson (WPS)
“Dahlia In Bloom” by Judy Naden (WPS)
“True Grit” by Sandy Robertson (WPS)
“Big Paws” by John Kay (Nantwich Camera Club)
“Downhill Skier – Mattia Casse by Andrew Charlesworth (Nantwich Camera Club)

Results Mono PDI

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Tuesday 4th October 2022
1st Club Competition
Judge: David Butler MFIAP MPSA ARPS BPE5* HON LCPU

Tuesday evening was the much anticipated 1st Club competition to be held face to face since the beginning of March 2020. The resumption of face to face meetings meant that it was possible to have a Print Competition in addition to the Projected Image Competition that had taken place via Zoom for the last 2 seasons. 14 Members entered prints and 17 entered Projected Images.

Our judge for the evening, David Butler explained that, when judging, he looks for both technical competence and pictorial composition, and then emotional connection. He quoted the famous Ansel Adams Statement “There are two people in every photograph: the photographer and the viewer”. He had previously seen digital images of the prints to give him a flavour of the entries but only judged the actual print on the night (although the digital version is projected to enable all of the audience to see clearly). He gave clear on constructive critique on each image, suggesting what he felt could have been done to improve each image. He retained 5 images for further consideration and said he would have liked to award 20 marks to each, but that we had requested only 1 was awarded 20. After due consideration points were awarded to these as follows:-

20 Points
“The Skerries Lighthouse” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Velo Retro” by Wray Douglas
“Making A Splash” by Emma England
“Snowboader” by Bryan Averill
“Rounding The Control Gate” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

18 Points
“Winter Morning Lyn Gwynant” by Brian Sankey

After a short break for refreshments the judging of the Projected Images commenced. The same careful consideration and critique was given, and 8 images retained. David again found it difficult to single out just 1 to award 20. He subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Mull Otter With Playful Cubs” by Pete Allcock

19 Points
“Bossy Blackbird” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Feed Me” by Emma England
“Rich Robertshaw – Downhill Biker” by Bryan Averill
“Long tailed Tit” by Alma Sankey

18 Points
“The Boathouse” by Andrea Davies
“Leaves” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“BSB Rider Shane Byrne” by Roy Penlington

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Thursday 7th April 2022
Inter-Club Competition Crewe v Nantwich
Judge:- Darrell Oakden DPAGB BPE4* EFIAP

On Thursday evening Nantwich Members joined Crewe Photographic Society on Zoom for the judging of our annual competition. Judge, Darrell Oakden of Alsager Camera Club, explained that as it was an Inter-Club Competition the images were all good, but that he needed to find a way of ranking them for the purposes of the competition. He stated that, in his opinion, if he needed to look at the title of an image then the image had failed to convey the author’s intention and that he was looking for narrative and impact.

There were 48 image, 24 from each Club. Darrell went through them giving clear and constructive critique on each image and holding back 17 for further consideration. Of the 17 retained images 11 were from Crewe and only 6 from Nantwich.

Scores for the final 17 were as follows:-

Club	Author	Title	Score
Nantwich CC	Wendy Williams CPAGB	Mill at Dusk	20
Crewe PS	Paul Hill	Bamburgh Castle at Dawn	19
Crewe PS	Stephen Coyne	Study in Concentration	19
Crewe PS	Ian Whiston	Cheetahs Scent Marking	19
Nantwich CC	Emma England	Highland Cutie	19
Nantwich CC	Paul Topham	Magnum Opus 2	19
Nantwich CC	Richard Soper	Salty The Sea Dog	19
Crewe PS	Ian Whiston	Lion Cub Climbing on Mum	18
Crewe PS	Paul Hill	Eurasian Curlew	18
Crewe PS	Joanne Beattie	Yay There’s Hay	18
Crewe PS	Martin McGing	Harvest Mouse	18
Crewe PS	Ian Whiston	Bee Eater with Catch	18
Crewe PS	Ian Whiston	Lion Cub Pursuing Tommie Lamb	18
Crewe PS	Keith Mulliner	Elle with Umbrella	18
Crewe PS	Paul Hill	Waiting	18
Nantwich CC	Pete Allcock	Brown Hare	18
Nantwich CC	Denise Compton	Lake Vyrnwy Kayaks	18

The overall result was a good win for Crewe with 414 points. Nantwich had 402.

The images with scores are available to view on the Crewe Photographic Society Website for anyone who could not attend the meeting.

Link here.

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Tuesday 5th April 2022
6th Club Competition
Judge:- Roger Evans MPAGB, FBPE, EFIAP

On Tuesday evening the Club held the final competition of the season, again via Zoom. There were 40 Entries from 20 members. After the last competition Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB had a 5 point lead, but it was very close between the next 4 members with only 3 points separating them. All depends on these results!

After a quick run through of the images the judge for the evening, Roger Evans, went through them all explaining what he liked and disliked about each image and offering constructive critique where he felt it may help the author to improve the image. He retained 11 for further consideration. These were awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Slalom Turn” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
19 Points
“Short Eared Owl – Dee Estuary” by Pete Allcock
“Four-Spotted Chaser” by Wray Douglas
“Golden Retriever” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
18 Points
“Incoming” by Emma England
“Trees Across Lake Buttermere” by Jason Prince
“Millstone Grit” by Wray Douglas
“Delicate Bloom” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Trackday Ducati” by David Luker
“Derek” by David Hoyle
“Curious Corvid” by Emma England

As a result the final top 3 places on the league table were as follows:-
1 Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB 188
2 Wray Douglas 180
3 Emma England 179

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Tuesday 22nd March 2022
Inter-Club Competition Nantwich v Alsager
Judge:- Andy Polakowski APAGB, AFIAP, AWPF, BPE3

Alsager, via Zoom. About 30 people logged in to watch the judging with a good number from each Club. There were 24 Images from each club. The Judge, Andy Polakowski, explained that his method for judging involved looking through the images several times to get a feel for the overall standard, he then he picked out those that he considered to be average and these were awarded 16 points. He then looked at the ones he considered to be above average and picked out the ones that he thought were a little above average and these were given 17 points. The remainder were his top scoring images. Any he considered to need improvement were given the lower scores. He gave constructive critique on each image and held back those he considered worthy of further consideration.
He retained 12 images and subsequently awarded points as follows:-

20 Points
“Catch of the Day” by Emma England (Nantwich) Print of the Night
“Alone on the Moor” by Darrell Oakden (Alsager)

19 Points
“Downhill Skier Christian Walder” Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Mating Blue Damselflies” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
“Trees in the Mist” by Darrell Oakden (Alsager)
“Lapwing Pulling Worm” by Andrew Donkin (Alsager)

18 Points
“Gnarled Oak” by by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
“Magnum Opus2” by Paul Topham (Nantwich)
“Wild Barn Owl With Mouse” by Jason Rowley (Alsager)
“Deep In The Enchanted Forest” by Peter Farrer (Alsager)
“Sea Eagle” by Jon Blackburn (Alsager)
“Dipper With Fish” by Jason Rowley (Alsager)

Results

The overall score was Alsager 401 and Nantwich 392 giving the win to Alsager.

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Tuesday 8th March 2022
5th Club Competition (Mono)
Judge:- Colin Douglas ARPS AFIAP DPAGB BPE4*

On Tuesday evening the Club held the annual Mono Competition, again via Zoom. Judge Colin Douglas said he had very much enjoyed looking at all our images. He proceeded by pointing out what he liked and disliked about each image, and also, on a small number, where he might have cropped them to produce what was, in his opinion, a stronger image. He subsequently held back 18 of the 39 entries for further consideration.

To 6 of the held images he awarded 17 points and the remainder scored as follows-:

20 Points
“Approaching Bass Rock” by Alma Sankey

19 Points
“Merddyn Emrys and Crew” By Alison Wood
“Eyes Right” by Alison Wood
“Lockdown M & S” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Cathedral Cloisters” by Emma England
“Highland Cute” By Emma England

18 Points
“Your Move” by Richard Soper
“Joker” by David Hoyle
“Big Paws” by John Kay
“Where the Milky Waters Flow” by Wendy Williams CPAGB
“Barbary Macaque Portrait” by Rob Gough
“Redundant Millstones” by Wray Douglas

As it was International Women’s Day 2022 it was quite appropriate, but purely coincidental, that half of the top scoring images were by ladies.

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Tuesday 1st February 2022
4th Club Competition
Judge:- Sheila Giles DPAGB AV-AFIAP

On Tuesday evening our 4th Club Competition took place, again over Zoom, and the judge for the evening was Sheila Giles. There were 42 images entered by 21 members. Sheila explained that she had viewed the images several times beforehand, and that she separates them into groups of Bronze, Silver and Gold. She then allocates marks to the bronze and silver, but the ones in the gold section are only scored on the night.

She went through the images giving clear and encouraging critique on each, explaining the parts of the image that she liked and which parts she thought could have been improved and how. She also included various facts about the subjects of the nature images.

She held back 9 images for further consideration subsequently awarding points as follows:-
20 Points
“Salty The Sea Dog” by Richard Soper

19 Points
“Goldfinch on Teasel Head” by Wray Douglas
“Ashness Bridge” by Andrea Davies
“Bald Eagle” by Brian Sankey

18 Points
“Hawk Eyes” by Richard Soper
“Mallard in Flight” by Rob Gough
“Great Tit” by David Luker
“Track Day Practice” by David Hoyle
“Leaves on the Line” by Alison Wood

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Tuesday 14th December 2021
3rd Club Competition Set Subject – Still Life
Judge:- Adrian Lines MPAGB FBPE ARPS

Tuesday evening saw the annual Set Subject competition. This year the theme was Still Life. Judge Adrian Lines explained that he felt quite a number of the images were not, in his opinion, “Still Life” but that he would not be deducting points for not fitting the brief and would be judging on image quality, narrative and composition with extra marks being awarded to the ones that did fit the brief.
The number of entries was slightly down with 38 images from 19 members.

Adrian gave good critique on each images stating whether or not he felt it met the brief. He was keen to point out that lighting and composition play a major part in Still Life images, suggesting that a visit to an Art Gallery may have been a good idea as these usually abound in that type of image.

He retained 7 images for further consideration, subsequently awarding marks to these as follows:-

20 Points
“Fork Candles!” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Baking session” by Alison Wood
“Evolution” by Richard Soper
“The Mystery Writer” by Rob Gough

18 Points
“Bored Games” by David Hoyle
“Lemon Drops” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Gone Fishing” by Emma England

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Tuesday 9th November 2021
2nd Club Competition
Judge: Lee Sutton MPSA, BPE5*, DPAGB, EFIAP, LRPS, ADPS, GPU Cr3, GPU Zeus

Tuesday evening was the 2nd Club Competition of the 2021-22 season. It was held on Zoom as we are not yet having physical meetings. The Judge for the evening was Lee Sutton who gave us a talk about his Photographic Journey in January this year. There were 46 entries from 23 members. Lee remarked on the variety of images and the difficulties of judging both nature and general images in one competition.

He gave critique on each image and suggested ways in which they could, in his opinion, be improved. He said a mark of 15 or 16 indicated a good image and a lower mark showed that it could be improved in some way. He retained 6 images for further consideration awarding 2 of these 17 marks. His highest scoring images were as follows:-

20 Points
“Downhill Rider Harry Attwood” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Black Headed Gull Lift Off” by Pete Allcock

18 Points
“Gnarled Oak” by Wray Douglas
“Catch of The Day” by Emma England

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Tuesday 2nd November 2021
Inter-Club Competition Nantwich v Whitchurch
Judge:- Linda Bell LRPS DPAGB AWPF AFIAP GPU2.

Tuesday evening saw our members sign in to Zoom for our annual competition against Whitchurch Photographic Society. Many of their members were watching the meeting from the Club room with just a few watching from home. As the meeting was taking place on Zoom the traditional format of 15 Projected Images and 15 Prints was not possible so there were 15 Colour images and 15 Mono images from each Club.

Linda said that she had really enjoyed looking at the images and was impressed by the variety of subjects. She explained that the critique she gave was purely her opinion and she appreciated that opinions differ and that all the images were of a good quality.
Judging commenced with the colour images. She gave constructive critique on each image, retaining 6 images for further consideration. Points were awarded to these as follows:-

20 Points
“Griffon Vulture” By Bryan Averill (Nantwich)
“Flower Girl” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
19 Points
“Brown Hare” by Pete Allcock (Nantwich)
“Astrantia” by Paul Topham (Nantwich)
18 Points
“Downhill Skier Christian Walder” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Texture Tapestry” by Ruth Elner (Whitchurch)
The overall score of the colour images was Nantwich 250 and Whitchurch 236.

Colour Images Results

After a short break the judging of the Mono images commenced. The same careful critique was given for each of these images and 7 were retained for further consideration. The resulting scores were as follows:-

20 Points
“My Fair Lady” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
19 Points
“Alexis Piturault” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Bald Eagle” by Alma Sankey (Nantwich)
“The Copse In Winter” by Rob Gough (Nantwich)
18 Points
“Lake Vyrnwy Kayaks” by Denise Compton (Nantwich)
“Tea Time” by Dave Munn (Whitchurch)
“Solitude” by Marc Brimble (Whitchurch)
The overall score of the Mono images was Nantwich 253 and Whitchurch 249The overall total was a resounding win for Nantwich with a score of 503 and Whitchurch 485.

Mono Images Results

We look forward to, hopefully, being able to visit Whitchurch for the competition next year.

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Tuesday 5th October 2021
1st Club Competition
Judge: Pat Couder CPAGB, BPE1*, QPSA

Tuesday evening was the 1st Club Competition of the 2021-22 season. It was held on Zoom as we are not yet having physical meetings. This enabled Pat Couder from the south of England to judge for us. She said that she had looked at our images beforehand and formed her opinions but was open to changing them should she feel she had misjudged any, but on seeing them again she decided that she hadn’t. She gave good constructive critique on each image, pointing out good points and explaining how she felt they could be improved in a friendly and encouraging manner.

She awarded marks ranging from 13 to 17 for most of the images and retained 9 for further consideration. Points were subsequently awarded to these as follows:-

20 Points
“Downhill Skier Christian Walder” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Do YOU Mind” by Paul Topham
“Rugged Landscape” by Bryan Averill
“Mating Blue Damselflies” by Wray Douglas
“Mount Fitz Roy Reflected” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

18 Points
“Worm’s Eye View” by David Hoyle
“Norfolk Hawker” by Emma England
“High and Dry” by Denise Compton
“Deadwood” by Wray Douglas

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8th & 9th May 2021
L & CPU Annual Individuals Competition

The weekend of 8th and 9th may 2021 saw the “in camera” judging of the Annual Individuals Competition. The Competition is open to all members of Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union Clubs. Due to the continuing restrictions because of the pandemic all entries were digital this year. Each member could enter up to 12 images in the “Open” section and 6 in the “Nature” category. Only entrants with a full entry in a section are ranked.

Only 4 of our members entered the competition this year but the results were very encouraging. In the “Open” section 9 of the images were included in the top scoring images each being awarded 12 points. (Images are scored by three judges each awarding 2-5 points)

Of these 9, 3 were retained for the Folio which is circulated around all the Clubs in the Union.
Top scoring images were as follows:-

Author	Title
Bryan Averill	Aiguille Du Midi
Bryan Averill	Colour Coordinate
Bryan Averill	Distracted
Bryan Averill	Grim Leaper
Paul Topham	Astrantia Major
Wendy Williams	Ice maiden
Wendy Williams	Isolation
Wendy Williams	Mill at Dusk
Wendy Williams	WeRaceAsOne

“Mill At Dusk” by Wendy Williams, “Astrantia Major” by Paul Topham and “Colour Coordinated” by Bryan Averill were retained for the Folio.
2 members entered the “Nature” section but only 1 made a full entry. “Griffon Vulture” by Bryan Averill scored 12 points and was retained for the “Nature” Folio.

The 2 higher scoring Club Members were Bryan Averill at Joint 44th out of 188 entrants with 130 points and Wendy Williams at Joint 53rd with 128 points.

Individual scores

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Tuesday 6 April 2021
Nantwich v Crewe Inter-Club Competition
Judge:- Nick Hilton ERFIAP, DPAGB, BPE5*

Tuesday evening saw about 38 people log into the Zoom meeting for our Annual inter-club competition against Crewe Photographic Society. The Competition did not take place last year due to the pandemic.

There were 24 entries from each club covering a wide range of subjects. Nick explained that the images he felt warranted a second look would gain the higher marks and he mainly looks at the lighting, composition and subject matter when judging.

He went through the images giving positive constructive critique on each, and suggesting how some might, in his opinion, be improved. He awarded marks ranging from 13 to 17, retaining 10 images for further consideration. Coincidently these were 5 images from each club. He went on to award scores as follows:-

Nantwich CC	Wray Douglas	Green-crowned Brilliant	20
Nantwich CC	Martin Brown	Gaffa Tape and Cable Ties	20
Nantwich CC	David Luker	One on One	20
Crewe PS	Paul Hill	Turnstone feeding on Cockle	20
Nantwich CC	Andrew Charlesworth	Common Blue Damselfly	19
Crewe PS	Ian Whiston	Fishing Heron	19
Crewe PS	Peter Robinson	Macaques grooming	19
Crewe PS	Peter Robinson	Flying stunt bike	18
Nantwich CC	David Hoyle	Verbena	18
Crewe PS	Stephen Coyne	Wahiba scene	18

When 3 of the 4 images awarded 20 points were Nantwich images hopes were raised that we might have just done enough to win, but it wasn’t to be. The final score was:-

Crewe 385 points
Nantwich 379

Results

Well done Crewe and we look forward to trying again next year!

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Tuesday 30 March 2021
6th Club Competition
Judge: Rev Dr Richard Hainsworth

Tuesday evening saw about 28 people log on, despite the warmth and sunshine outside, to watch the judging of the 6th and final Club competition of the season. Things were very close at the top of the League table so who would come out on top? Would it be Andrew Charlesworth, who has won many times but didn’t enter last year, or could Paul Topham, who was 1st in the Projected Images last year, pip him at the post. With only 5 points between them it all rested on the outcome of this competition!

Richard, our judge for the evening explained that he had been able to view all the images beforehand on his computer and had given them provisional marks accordingly. However, on seeing them over Zoom, some looked better than they had on his computer and some not quite as good. As a result he said that some may obtain a higher score than originally but none would get lower as he would judge the best rendition.

There were a total of 50 entries from 25 Members including 2 from one of our new members. After a quick run though Richard gave positive critique on each image, and where he thought the image could have been improved he explained how that could be attained.

He awarded a wide range of scores saying that he had been told he could award as low as 11 but he felt all the images warranted higher than that. He retained 8 images for further consideration. These included 2 by Paul Topham and only 1 by Andrew Charlesworth – would Paul do it?

Final points for the top Scoring Images were as follows:-

20 Points
“Stationery Lovers” by Paul Topham

19 Points
“Safely Over” by Bryan Averill
“Buttermere Sunrise” by Denise Compton
“Common Blue Damselfly” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“On A Rampage” by Martin Brown

18 Points
“Staple Cityscape” by Paul Topham
“Pointed” by David Hoyle
“Cooper T43” by Wray Douglas

When these results were finalised it was revealed that Paul had topped the League by just one point. Well done everyone for finding quality entries for each competition despite the difficult circumstances in which we have all found ourselves.

Final League positions 2020/21

1	Paul Topham	20	20	19	19	19	19	19	18	16	16	185
2	Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB	20	20	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	184
3	Wendy Williams	20	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	173

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Thursday 25th March 2021
Inter-Club Competition Alsager v Nantwich
Judge:-Graham Currey

On Thursday evening Alsager hosted our annual Inter-Club Competition, this year via Zoom. There were about 30 people online to watch Graham Currey judge the 48 entries, 24 from each Club. After a quick run through of the images Graham explained that he had seen them in advance. He had gone through them fairly quickly about 4 times and after each viewing made a mental note of those that had made an impact. He said that in his opinion they were an excellent set of images and quite a few had stuck in his mind as outstanding. He then proceeded to go though the images giving very positive critique on each, and explaining why he had given the mark that he had to each, retaining 20 images for further consideration.

After a short break he viewed the retained images again and went through awarding points to the remainder of the images. The top scoring images were subsequently as follows:-

Charging Stag	Jason Rowley	Alsager	20
Early Morning Mist	Denise Compton	Nantwich	20
Magnum Opus 4	Paul Topham	Nantwich	20
Kestrel	Andrew Donkin	Alsager	19.5
Edward Scissorhands / Sweeny Todd	Geoff Reader	Alsager	19.5
Man Down	Paul Topham	Nantwich	19.5
Misty Sunrise	Darrell Oakden	Alsager	19
Aiguille du Midi	Bryan Averill	Nantwich	19
Green-crowned Brilliant	Wray Douglas	Nantwich	19
Concrete Curves	John Kay	Nantwich	19
Penny for your Thoughts	Geoff Reader	Alsager	18
Banded Demoiselle	Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB	Nantwich	18
Open Wide	Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB	Nantwich	18
Watch That Pole	Bryan Averill	Nantwich	18

Graham declared “Charging Stag” by Jason Rowley of Alsager  the Print of the Night.

The overall score was Nantwich 422.5 and Alsager 409, making Nantwich the winners.

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Tuesday 2nd March 2021
5th Club Competition (Mono)
Judge: Rob Hockney DPAGB, BPE5*

There were over 30 members watching the Zoom Meeting for the 5th Club Competition judged by Rob Hockney. The evening commenced with Rob explaining what he was looking for when judging images, giving 6 points for authors to bear in mind.

1. The “Wow” factor
2. Memorability – would he still be thinking about it after the competition
3. Emotional engagement – did it provoke an emotional response from the viewer
4. Narrative – does it tell a story rather than being just a record shot
5. Pictorialism – is it pleasing to look at
6. Originality – is it presented differently to the usual image

There were 46 entries from 23 members, all mono, this being our Annual Mono Competition. Rob gave clear constructive critique on each image, explaining his reasons for each score and retaining 14 for further consideration. Of the 14 retained images he subsequently awarded 5 of them 17 points.
The top scoring images were as follows:-

20 Points
“A Hint of a Smile” by Wendy Williams

19 Points
“Man Down” by Paul Topham

18 Points
“Trulli Trio” by John Kay
“Lonely as a Cloud” by Alison Wood
“Alexis Pinturault” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Lake Vyrnwy Kayaks” by Denise Compton
“Alfie” by Rob Gough
“Gaudi Warriors” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Old Radial Lighting” by David Hoyle

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Tuesday 26th January 2021
4th Club Competition
Judge: Prof. Terry Hewitt

There were over 30 members watching the Zoom Meeting for the 4th Club Competition judged by Professor Terry Hewitt. The evening began with a 1 minute silence in remembrance of all who had lost their lives to Covid-19, the figure having reached over 100k today.

Terry commenced by explaining that he had viewed and ranked all the images using Lightroom on his computer and had prepared a sheet with his marks and comments. He emphasised that he did not look at the EXIF data or attempt to edit them in any way, it was just for ease of viewing. He also said that he was marking them in comparison to other images in this competition only.

There were 50 entries from 25 members. They were all viewed initially as a slide show, then Terry commenced his critique of each, often suggesting that a suitable crop would have enhanced the image and illustrating this with yellow lines drawn on the screen (Virtually of course!) He was also quite keen on White borders for many images, although other judges seem to discourage this. He explained afterwards when questioned about this that he felt, particularly because of the ratio of Zoom, that it helped to define the edges of the image.

He pointed out the good points and things that he liked about each image. There was a short break about 8.30 when he was just over halfway through and judging recommenced as soon as everyone had returned to their screen. His marks ranged from 14 points up to 20 for the winner. He retained 7 images for further consideration subsequently awarding marks as follows:-

20 Points
“Orchids – Socially Distanced!” by Martin Watson

!9 Points
“Griffon Vulture” by Bryan Averill
“Time Traveller” by Paul Topham
“Staple City” by Paul Topham

18 Points
“Stefen Babinsky” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Alien Landscape” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“I Hate Football!” by Neil Bradley

Well done to everyone who entered.

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Tuesday 08 December 2020
3rd Club Competition
Judge: Tillman Kleinhans ARPS, EFIAP/b, DPAGB, BPE2*

About 30 members once again joined the Zoom meeting for the judging of our one set subject competition of the season. Originally it was to be “Nantwich Events” but since there weren’t any due to the current circumstances it was decided to change it to “Up Close” as this was something that could be done within the confines of the home!

There were 50 entries from 25 Members, with a good variation of interpretations. Tillman Kleinhans, our judge for the evening, explained that he would be judging on technical merit, the suitability of the subject in regard to the brief, and finally his personal preference.
He went through the images pointing out what he liked about them and suggesting ways in which he thought they could be improved and awarding marks ranging from 11 to 17 points. He retained 7 for further consideration and having awarded 4 of these images 18 Points he explained that the only way he could select a winner from the last 3 was by choosing the one that he liked best and wished that he’d taken himself.

The top scoring images were as follows:-

20 Points
“Unlocked” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Inside the Cockpit” by Martin Brown
“Cat’s Eyes” By David Luker

18 Points
“Ammonite Fossil Chambers” by David Luker
“Eagle Profile” By Bryan Averill
“Smile” by Denise Compton
“We Race As One” by Wendy Williams

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Saturday 21 November 2020
L & CPU Knockout Competition
Judge: Mike Sharples ARPS, MPAGB, EFIAP, BPE5*

On Saturday evening, at 7pm, over 150 members of the L & CPU met online via Zoom for the L & CPU Knockout Competition. Clubs had been invited to submit 8 images (in order of preference) and the number used in the actual Competition from each Club would depend on the number of Clubs that entered. As there were entries from 41 Clubs only the first 4 from each Club were actually used. This meant from the 328 submitted only 164 were used. There was discussion going on via chat as at least 1 Club was unaware of this rule and thought it unfair that they hadn’t been told!

However, Mike quickly eliminated about half of the images in the 1st round, and quite a few more in the 2nd round. 2 of our images were dismissed in Round 1 but no further ones in Round 2.

After a short break at just after 8pm, the 3rd round saw another of our images dismissed, and our remaining entry went out in the 4th round. Adrian Lines, who has kindly organised these Zoom Competitions with the help of his wife Jane, then displayed the remaining images on Lightbox and Mike went through them awarding 5 points to each until he came to his winner, which was awarded 6 points. The remainder were then given 5 points and the final result quickly displayed. Chorley won with 20 Points and also had the highest scoring image of the evening. We were joint 14th with 9 points. As 4 Clubs were eliminated in Round 1, and a further 8 in Round 2 we didn’t do too badly!

Our Entries scored as follows:-

“Magnum Opus 4” by Paul Topham – 4
“Over the Brow” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB – 3 points
“Flower Pots” by Alison Wood – 1 point
“One on One” by David Luker -1 point

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Tuesday 3rd November 2020
2nd Club Competition
Judge: Christine Widdall MPAGB, EFIAP, FBPE

Our 2nd Club Competition, once again held on Zoom, was much awaited especially by the longer standing Club Members as it was to be judged by Christine Widdall. Christine is well known by members of Clubs belonging to the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union (L & CPU) as well as nationally and Internationally. She is a well liked and respected judge, ex-President of the L & CPU and has held various other roles within the L & CPU, as well as a photographer and lecturer.

The evening began with her asking if anyone had not seen her judge before. As several members said that they had not she explained that she awards a wide spread of marks, between 10 and 20. Consequently anything she scores above 15 she considers to be better than the general standard of the images in the competition, and for those below, not quite up to the standard. She said she has a reputation for being cruel but fair!

The judging began with a run through of the 48 entries, watched by approximately 30 viewers. Christine went though each image carefully pointing out the good points and things that she liked about each image before going on to point out the little things that she thought could be done to improve each one. She said that the general standard was quite good, hence her lowest mark was 13 points, not 10.

She held back 8 images for further consideration and after a short break the meeting recommenced for the scoring of the retained images. These were scored as follows:-

20 points
“Magnum Opas 4” by Paul Topham
19 Points
“Verbina” by David Hoyle
“Loch Arkaig” by Brian Sankey
“Astrantia Major” by Paul Topham
18 Points
“One on One” by David Luker
“Catch” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Slalom Skier, Jared Goldberg” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Violet Sabrewing” by Wray Douglas

After the judging the Zoom Meeting remained open for a Question and Answer session with Christine. She advised members to look at entering salons and external competitions and offering images for sale, but warned that you need to be aware of your market and tailor the images accordingly.

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Tuesday 27th October 2020
Inter-Club Competition Whitchurch v Nantwich
Judge:-Peter Cheetham

Tuesday evening saw us take part in our first Inter-Club Competition to be held on Zoom. Our Competitors were Whitchurch Photographic Society and it was their turn to host the competition. There were approximately 40 people online to listen to Peter judge our images.

The competition could not follow its usual format of 15 prints and 15 Digital Images from each Club, due to the Coronovirus restrictions, so there were 15 Colour and 15 Mono images instead.

The Colour images were shown first. Peter said that he had an extremely difficult task ahead as all the images were of excellent quality and that he would really have to “knit-pick” to be able to justify his scores. He scored from 13 to 20, apologising profusely for each of the lower scores, but explaining clearly his reasoning for the lower mark. He said that he considered 15 a good score, and retained 12 images from which he selected a further 4 images to score 16 points.

The remainder scored as follows:-

20 Points
“Mare and Foal in morning Light” by Sandy Roberson (Whitchurch)
19 Points
“Flower Pots” by Alison Wood (Nantwich)
“Watch That Pole” by Bryan Averill (Nantwich)
18 Points
“Storks Mating” by Marc Brimble (Whitchurch)
“Green-Crowned Brilliant” by Wray Douglas (Nantwich)
17 Points
“Here’s Lookin’ at You” by Rob Gough (Nantwich)
“Over The Brow” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“August Thorn” by David Luker (Nantwich)

The scores for this section were Nantwich 241and Whitchurch 228.

Colour Images Results

After a short break the meeting recommenced with the Mono section. Peter was again very impressed with the standard and said it was equally difficult or perhaps even harder to separate these images. However he went on to give clear constructive critique with a jovial and sometimes apologetic manner. In this section he retained 11 images for further consideration awarding scores as follows:-

20 Points
“The Dream” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
19 Points
“Leaves and Marbles” by Paul Topham (Nantwich)
“Wolf” by Alison Wood (Nantwich)
18 Points
“Ice Maiden” by Wendy Williams (Nantwich)
“Gateway To The Lake” by David Hoyle (Nantwich)
“Museum Ghosts” by Marc Brimble (Whitchurch)
17 Points
“Under The Weeping Willow” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
“Bat Girl” by Denise Compton (Nantwich)

The total scores for this section were Nantwich 240 Whitchurch 222

Mono Images Results

The overall score was a win for Nantwich with 481 to Whitchurch’s 450.
Well done to all and we look forward to the return “battle” next year at Nantwich, hopefully!

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Tuesday 13 October 2020
1st Club Competition
Judge: Jill Bunting CPAGB

Tuesday evening saw the judging of the first Club Competition of the 2020-21 season. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions we are unable to hold our usual meetings so we all met online! There were 23 entrants each submitting 2 digital images. Jill Bunting CPAGB, our judge for the evening, had seen the images beforehand and decided on her scores for each. She began by saying all of the images were of a very high standard and she had found it very difficult to decide on a winner, especially from the final 8 that she held back for further consideration. A total of 31 people attended the Zoom meeting to hear her helpful and constructive critique on each image.

The top scoring images were as follows:-

20 Points
“Over The Brow” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB

19 Points
“Flower Pots” by Alison Wood
“Robin” by David Foster
“Leaves of Gold” by Paul Topham

18 Points
“Bathing Blackbird” by Wendy Williams
“Male Leopard” by Wray Douglas
“Snow Leopard” by Rob Gough
“Mors Inimicis” by Martin Brown

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End of 2019-20 Season Results

Lockdown restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic brought our 2019-20 season to a premature end resulting in the final competition of the season not taking place. Despite this the highest 9 scores were used to calculate the Print League tables and the highest 8 scores for the Projected Images. Results are as follows:-

Print League	Projected Image League	Clubman League
1st Wray Douglas	1st Paul Topham	1st Alma Sanke
2nd Martin Brown	2nd Denise Compton	2nd Bryan Averill
3rd Alma Sankey	3rd Ray Duckworth	3rd Wendy Williams

End of 2019-2020 League Tables

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7th, 8th March 2020
Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union Annual Club Competition

The Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union Annual Club Competition 2020 was held over the weekend of 7th and 8th March 2020 at Culcheth High School, Community Campus, Warrington Road, Culcheth, Warrington,WA3 5HH.
Nantwich decided to enter this for the first time this year since the revamping of the competition some years ago. Clubs select the entries from their members for the competition. We did well with our prints, and not so well with the digital entries, which seems to back up the opinion of the judges who often remark that the print entries are stronger than the Digital Section.
We were joint 10th in the Colour Print Section, 4th in the Mono Print Section and joint 7th in the Nature Print Section out of an entry of 22 Clubs.
In the Digital Section we were 15th in the Open Section out of an entry of 37 and Joint 27th in the Nature Section out of an entry of 35.

Individuals are encouraged to attend the judging of this Competition.

Entries and results for this Competition can be seen by clicking on the links below:

Club PDI Results

Individual PDI Results

Club Print Results

Individual Print Results

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TUESDAY 03 MARCH 2020
5th CLUB COMPETITION – MONOCHROME PRINTS AND PROJECTED IMAGES
JUDGED BY TONY PIOLI FRPS, FBPE

Fortunately the weather improved significantly and Tony was able to join us without too much difficulty with his journey from Buxton. He judged 45 Prints and 38 Projected Images. The Monochrome Competition Provides a useful selection of images suitable for consideration for the Alan Challinor Trophy Competition, held later in the year, between 5 local clubs. This is a purely monochrome competition and is keenly contested.

The Prints were up first and there was an interesting and varied selection of subjects. As usual, his decisive judging was thorough and to the point. His tips on composition were interesting and informative and hopefully helpful to members, especially those less-experienced. Tony held back about 11 prints for reconsideration and then made his selection of winner from those. The PIs were judged after the tea break completing a full evening’s programme. Tony thought the PIs were of a lower standard than the prints but managed to hold a number back for further consideration.

PRINTS

20 MARKS
‘Distracted’ by Bryan Averill

19 MARKS
‘Gateway to the Lake(s)’ by David Hoyle
‘Ice Maiden’ by Wendy Williams
‘Enjoying the Challenge’ by Bryan Averill
‘Windows on the Soul’ by Alison Wood
‘’The Unwelcome Visitor’ by John Kay
‘Winter Goods Train’ by Martin Brown

18 MARKS
‘Jenny the Squirrel’ by Aneta Talbot
‘Steve’ by Alison Wood
‘Misty Reflection’ by John Dodd

PROJECTED IMAGES

20 MARKS
‘Whisky’ by Paul Topham

19 MARKS
‘Typhoon Warning’ by Martin Brown
‘I’m Watching You’ by John Dodd
‘The Tulip Staircase’ by Rob Gough
‘’Sisteron’ by Nick Hutt

18 MARKS
‘Saltburn Pier’ by Bryan Averill
‘Gannet’ by Alma Sankey
‘Made in the USA’ by Aneta Talbot

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Tuesday 28 January 2020
4th Club Competition
Judge:- Graham Currey

Judge Graham Currey began the evening by explaining that he doesn’t enter Club Competitions himself as he believes it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of a image as long as the author likes it. He was put off by the comments made regarding one of his images by a judge that he said would remain nameless, and that lead him to the decision to become a judge himself. He said that it is a very difficult job but that his intentions were to encourage and provide guidance to people, hence he scores generously.
The evening commenced with the judging of the 32 prints. Graham gave positive and clear critique of each image delivered in an entertaining and sometimes amusing manner. He retained 14 of the 32 images for further consideration, subsequently awarding 7 of these 17 points. He awarded points to 4 more images and displayed the last remaining 3, checking once again that he could only award one of then 20 points. Once this was re-confirmed he chose “Patricia Lake” by Wray Douglas as his winner, “White Rose”, again by Wray Douglas, as second and “Autumn Waterfall” by Wendy Williams in third place.
20 Points
“Patricia Lake” by Wray Douglas
19 Points
“White Rose” by Wray Douglas
“Autumn Waterfall” by Wendy Williams
“Araneus Diadematus” by David Luker
18 Points
“Sea Sculpture” by Alma Sankey
“Peace Lily” by David Hoyle
“Colour Coordinated” by Bryan Averill

After the break the judging of the 36 Projected Images. The same positive constructive critique was given on each of these images. Graham retained 8 of these for further consideration awarding points as follows:-

20 Points
“Morning Light” by Ray Duckworth
19 Points
“After the Rain” by Alma Sankey
“Are You My Mummy” by David Hoyle
“Happy Faces” by Martin Watson
18 Points
“Male Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs” by Pete Allcock
“Leaves” by Paul Topham
“Apple” by Paul Topham
“Aiguille Du Midi” by Bryan Averill
A most enjoyable and entertaining evening concluded with a show of appreciation for Graham.

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Tuesday 10th December 2019
3rd Club Competition (Set Subject – Bent, Broken or Busted)
Judge:- Nick Hilton EFIAP, DPAGB, BPE5*

Nick began the evening by saying that he was impressed by the range of interpretations of the set subject, “Bent, Broken or Busted”. He went on to explain that he would be looking for 3 things. The first was technical competence, followed by how well the subject matter fitted the brief and lastly, had the image enough impact to warrant a second look.
The evening began with the 30 print entries which Nick went through giving constructive critique on each. He also suggested that some might have been improved by a different choice of paper. His scores ranged from 13 through to 20. Only 5 were held back for further consideration scoring as follows:-

20 Points
“Gaffer Tape and cable Ties” by Martin Brown
19 Points
“Remains of the Vita Nova” by Wray Douglas
“Abandoned” by Wray Douglas
18 Points
“For Sale – One Careful Owner” by Rob Gough
“West Pier, Brighton” by Wendy Williams
There was also one image scoring 17 points – “Bolton Abbey Ruins” by David Foster

After the break Nick went on to judge the 39 Projected Images, giving the same consideration and critique to each. He awarded scores again from 13 to 20, with the Projected images seemingly being of a slightly lower standard with a higher number of images scoring 14 points. He retained 7 for further consideration awarding points as follows:-

20 Points
“Old Jalopy” by Wendy Williams
19 Points
“Bowing to the Queen” by Aneta Talbot
“Caught in the Middle” by Aneta Talbot
“Beyond Repair” by Denise Compton
18 Points
“Broken Grass” by Paul Topham
“Definitely Bent” by Nick Hutt
17 Points
“Fetch the Glue” by Paul Topham
He had also previously awarded 17 points to “Broken Glass” by Wendy Williams
Congratulations to all entrants for the assortment of interpretations of the theme.

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Thursday 21st November 2019
Alan Challinor Trophy
Judge:- Christine Widdall FBPE MPAGB EFIAP APAGB HonLCPU

This competition has been running for many years and is recognised as a prestigious event in the competition calendar. The clubs that took part this year were Alsager CC, Crewe PS, Mid-Cheshire CC, Nantwich CC and Whitchurch PS. All entries are ‘mono’ prints and the competition usually attracts high quality entries. A DPI of each print is projected at the same time as judging is taking place in order to ensure the audience can see the images. Each club submits 12 images – a total entry therefore of 60 images – which are presented to the judge in random order.
The judge this year was Christine Widdall – a well known and respected judge from the L&CPU.
Christine arrived a little flustered as she had been held up by both diversions and accidents on her journey. After a quick cuppa to help revive her she glanced at the first few images out of the box, then decided to commence the judging. She said she felt she would be holding quite a number back for further consideration as they were all of high quality and a pleasure to judge. She gave clear, concise and constructive critique on each image in a pleasant and entertaining manner. She retained 17 prints for further consideration. Of these 5 were from Nantwich, 4 from each of Alsager and Mid-Cheshire, 3 from Whitchurch and the remaining 1 from Crewe. She asked if she could award as many 20s as she liked if she still chose her “Print of the Night” and this was confirmed. Subsequently she chose “Winter Sentinels” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB as her “Print of the Night”, and awarded the remaining images points as follows:-

Title	Author	Club	Score
Winter Sentinels	Andrew Charlesworth	Nantwich	20
Lytham Jetty	Andrew Donkin	Alsager	20
Fishing Heron	Ian Whiston	Mid-Cheshire	20
No Bones Broken	Ray Hill	Mid-Cheshire	20
Gripping Moment	Mike Gibbens	Whitchurch	20
I still only have eyes for you	Sandy Robinson	Whitchurch	20
Grieving	Geoff Reader	Alsager	19
On Retrieve	Andrew Charlesworth	Nantwich	19
Racing Ferraris	Wray Douglas	Nantwich	19
Touching	Paul Hayward	Whitchurch	19
Fugitive	Geoff Reader	Alsager	18
Innocence Personified	NavinRathnakumar	Alsager	18
Copper with a Cuppa	Meg Cumming	Crewe	18
Broken Down in the West	Tom Sheckleston	Mid-Cheshire	18
Liverpool Reflections	Tom Sheckleston	Mid-Cheshire	18
Little Friend	Alison Wood	Nantwich	18
Five Go Off Piste	Bryan Averill	Nantwich	18

The remainder of the Nantwich Images scored as follows:-

Light and Shade	Alison Wood	17
Diadem Spider	David Luker	17
Storm Clouds Over The River Arno	Rob Gough	17
Study-Glass Bottles	Wray Douglas	16
Paddle Power	Bryan Averill	16
Little Ross Island Lighthouse	Andrew Charlesworth	16
The Look	Wendy Williams	16

The final result was that Nantwich were declared the winners for the 14th time since the competition began in 1987 and retained the Cup for another year. Nantwich scored 209 points, Alsager were in 2nd place with 204 points, Mid-Cheshire 3rd with 202 points, Whitchurch 4th with 201 points and Crewe in 5th place with 201.
The evening ended with John Dodd, President of Nantwich Camera Club and one of the founders of the Alan Challinor competition, accepting the trophy on behalf of the Club and Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB being presented with his trophy for “Print of the Night”. Christine was thanked for her excellent performance and invited to judge the event again next year!

Full Result Sheets

Our entry can be viewed below.

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Saturday 16th November 2019
L & CPU Annual Knockout Competition
Judge:- Malcolm Kus ARPS, DPAGB,EFIAP/b

This year, in order to assess the standard of our images against those of other clubs in our area, we decided to enter the Annual Knockout Competition for Projected Images held at Elm Bank Conference Centre, Eccles. We submitted 8 images in total and these had to be numbered in order of preference as the number actually used depended on the number of Clubs that entered. As a total of 30 Clubs entered, on the night the first 5 were used, giving 150 to put before the judge. The images are judged in rounds with all images being seen in the first round, but some receive a point and are eliminated from the next round. The remaining images are viewed again with a further number being awarded 2 points and thus being eliminated. There are usually 5 rounds with 1 winning image.
The audience was made up of 48 members from 19 Clubs. The judge, Malcolm Kus from Northern Counties Photographic Federation injected humour along with his critique and comments on each image and this was well received and enjoyed by all.
After a software glitch caused the results to be checked after the event they were eventually published in the L & CPU Publication “Focal Points” on Tuesday Evening.
(Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/1f9df930e332/lcpu-focal-points-magazine)

Nantwich were joint 2nd with 17 Points. Our images scored as follows:-

4 Points
“Magnum Opus 3” by Paul Topham
“Wet Race” by Peter Woolmer

3 Points
“Catch” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB
“Raptor” by Martin Brown
“Early Morning Mist” by Denise Compton
Hopefully some of our members will be able to go along next year.

Results Sheet

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Tuesday 5th November 2019
2nd Club Competiton
Judge:- Diana Magor EFIAPb, MPSA, CPAGB, LRPS, BPE3*

There was a good turnout for the 2nd Club Competition of the season despite it being Bonfire Night! Diana began by explaining that she had seen digital files of both the Prints and Projected Images beforehand and had given provisional scores which she may or may not change on seeing the actual images! She went on to say that she divides the images into 3 groups, those that she doesn’t really like, those that she feels are okay, and the ones that she likes. She then allocates scores accordingly, subject to seeing the original. As she put up the 1st print she said that she had chosen her winning image initially, but had already changed her mind having seen the actual prints. She gave quite a wide range of scores and gave frank, clear, detailed constructive critique on each image. She retained 8 images for further consideration. When it came to choosing between the final 2 images she asked if we definitely wanted only 1 to have 20 points. When this was confirmed she awarded 20 points to “Raptor” by new member Martin Brown and 19 points to “It’s Only A Friendly” by Wendy Williams. Well done, Martin.

The top scores were as follows:-

20 Points
“Raptor” by Martin Brown
19 Points
“It’s Only A Friendly” by Wendy Williams
“St.Cwyfan’s Church” by Wray Douglas
“Green-Crowned Brilliant” by Wray Douglas
18 Points
“Still Waters run Deep” by Alma Sankey
17 Points
“Cheshire Old Boy” by Aneta Talbot
“Black Rock Cottage” by John Dodd
“The Falconer’s Daughter” by Alison Wood
“Late Arrival” by Alma Sankey

After the break Diana gave the same careful consideration to the Projected Images, making useful suggestions as to how she felt some could have been improved, in particular the use of one’s partner or companion to cast a shadow over an over-bright background when shooting in places where you could not easily control the light.
She again allocated scores from 12 through to 20 awarding her top scoring images as follows:-

20 Points
“Early Morning Mist” by Denise Compton
19 Points
“Passing Storm Over St Mary’s” by Denise Compton
“Whitethroat – Sylvia communis” by Pete Allcock
“Magnum Opus 3” by Paul Topham
18 Points
“Swallow” by David Foster
17 Points
“Two Jack Lake” by Ray Duckworth
“Smile Please” by Alma Sankey
“Enough Surfing For Today” by Bryan Averill

Well done everyone.

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Tuesday 29th October 2019
Interclub Competition Nantwich v Whitchurch
Judge:- Rob Hockney CPAGB, BPE3*

Not the usual turnout for our Club this evening, but taking into consideration that it was half term week and also the Annual Competition at Chester, the numbers were fair from both Clubs. Rob started the evening by saying that he had just taken the opportunity to look through the 30 prints, 15 from each Club, and that he thought every entry was a winner and good enough for entry into L & CPU Competitions. He said he would find it difficult, but a pleasure, to judge images of such a high standard and that there would be no low scores. He went on to give good clear constructive critique on each of the images, delivered in a friendly and pleasant manner. He held back 11 images, 7 from Whitchurch and the remaining 4 from Nantwich. After further consideration he awarded final marks as follows:-

20 Points
“The Look” by Wendy Williams (Nantwich)
19 Points
“Song Bird” by Dave Munn (Whitchurch)
“Swans Taking Off From The Snow And Ice” by Chris Goody (Whitchurch)
18 Points
“By The Old Gramophone” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
“Old Boat And Boathouse” by Alma Sankey (Nantwich)
“Gripping Moment” by Mike Gibbens (Whitchurch)
“Banded Demoiselle” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
“Nude, Chair And Bed” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
“In The Wet” by David Luker (Nantwich)
“The Gateway To The Great Ridge” by Dave Munn (Whitchurch)
“Isle Of Harris Abstract” by Marc Brimble (Whitchurch)

As a result of this, after the Print judging Whitchurch were in the lead by 5 points with 259 to Nantwich’s 254.

After the break the judging of the 30 Projected Images commenced. Rob gave the same careful crititque interjected with friendly banter from the audience. He remarked that he thought the standard was, overall, slightly lower in the Projected Images Competition and that the scores would reflect this accordingly. He retained 7 images for further consideration, 4 from Nantwich and 3 from Whitchurch. It seemed the final result could go either way! When he came to his final 3 he suggested that as he had ample time that the audience should participate. He confirmed that he had long since chosen his winner, but was interested in our opinion so he asked for a show of hands for each remaining image. He then awarded scores as follows:-

20 Points
“Catch” by Andrew Charlesworth CPAGB (Nantwich)
19 Points
“Sisters Of The Zodiac” by Paul Hayward (Whitchurch)
“Magnum Opus 2” by Paul Topham (Nantwich)
18 Points
“White Tailed Eagle” by Chris Goody (Whitchurch)
“Red Squirrel, Feeding” by Chris Goody (Whitchurch)
“Wirral Walkers” by Bryan Averill (Nantwich)
“Wet Race” by Pete Woolmer (Nantwich)

Nantwich had won the Projected image competition with 248 to Whitchurch’s 244, but Whitchurch were the overall winners by just 1 point.
Rob concluded the evening by re-iterating that he had thoroughly enjoyed judging our Competition and would be more than happy to return in the future.

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Tuesday 29th October 2019
Inter Club Competition at Chester PS

The Chester Photographic Society annual Inter-Club Print Battle was held at the Grosvenor Museum, and was attended by a full-house (The perennially popular competition between clubs across Cheshire, the Wirral and North Wales). This year twelve clubs were represented; notable absences being Heswall, Wallasey and Warrington. Nantwich Camera Club was represented in person by Wray Douglas and Rex Kingsley. Entries comprised of 4 colour prints per club, plus 2 mono prints.

Judging was by Paul Williamson LRPS, who ran through all the images before the 1st round in each of the sections (colour and mono respectively).

In the colour section, it was not until the 3rd round that any Nantwich prints were eliminated: Andrew Charlesworth’s “Downhill Rider” and Alma Sankey’s “Winter Feed” each were awarded 3 points.
In the following round, Rob Gough’s “Aerial Dispute” was knocked out, receiving 4 points.
A 5th round took place, with 4 surviving prints eliminated, leaving only Wray Douglas’s “Violet-Crowned Woodnymph” as the overall colour winner, receiving 6 points.
At this stage Nantwich, with 16 points, had a 1 point lead over Mid-Cheshire.

After a coffee and biscuit break, the mono competition commenced in similar vein.
Only 5 prints out of 24 made it through to round 4, and as each were in turn eliminated, there remained only “Manhattan Skyline” by Wray Douglas, and “Emerging from the Clouds” by Bryan Averill – the judge took some time between these two before awarding Bryan’s print 1st place (5 points) with Wray’s gaining 4 points.

In total Nantwich accrued 25 points, and were comprehensive winners, with 2nd place falling to Mold with 18 points – Deeside and Mid-Cheshire shared 3rd place with a score of 17 each.
An awards ceremony followed, with Wray receiving his medal for the colour section, and on Bryan’s behalf, a medal for the mono’s.
A trophy in the form of a bronze camera statuette was also received on behalf of Nantwich as the winning club.

Nantwich CC’s entries and scores were:

Andrew Charlesworth “Downhill Rider, Shaun Richards” – 3 points
Wray Douglas “Violet Crowned Woodnymph” – 6 points
Alma Sankey “Winter Feed” – 3 points
Rob Gough “Aerial Dispute” – 4 points
Bryan Averill “Emerging from the Clouds” – 5 points
Wray Douglas “Manhattan Skyline” – 4 points

Total: 25 points

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Tuesday 1st October 2019
1st Club Competition
Judge:- Mike Sharples ARPS, MPAGB, EFIAP, BPE5*

20 Points
“Puffin Perch” by Alma Sankey
19 Points
“Ovavango Lioness” by Wray Douglas
“In The High Alps” by Bryan Averill
“It’s My Ball” by Wendy Williams
18 Points
“Kicking Horse River” by Wray Douglas
“Gannets Sula Bassana” by Brian Sankey
17 Points
“On The Edge” by Martin Brown
“Young Moorhen” by Rob Gough
“Swiss Air Force Hornet” by David Foster

After the break the judging of the 38 Projected Images followed the same format. Mike retained 18 of the images, eventually awarding 16 points to 7 of them and the remainder as follows:-

20 Points
“Tryfan” by Ray Duckworth
19 Points
“Woodland Retreat” by Denise Compton
“Hebe” by Martin Watson
18 Points
“Brandy” by Paul Topham
“Caitlin” by Ray Duckworth
“Looking Out Of The Train Window” by Suzanne Mercer
“Bass Rock Lighthouse” by Brian Sankey”
“Imagination” by Paul Topham
17 Points
“Tern With Fish” by Wendy Williams
“Kestrel In Flight” by Pete Allcock
“Xcaliber Jet” by David Hoyle

It was good to see our newer members entering the competitions, as well as the usual entrants. Well done everyone.

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Archived Competitions

To see the results of other Club Competitions and inter-club Competitions from previous years click on the relevant links below.

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