Birds take Gold at Camera Club

Natural history photography is a particular strength at Viewfinders of Romsey Camera Club and Louis Rumis was recently tasked with judging the annual natural history trophies’ competition.  Louis had just been awarded his 'Masters', the highest merit award made by the Club’s national body, the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain.  Opening the evening, club chairman Jack Whitemore congratulated Louis on the award, stating "that it would be almost impossible to find a more qualified expert within Hampshire to have judging our work".  Louis provided members with very entertaining assessments of the images, referring to his own experiences in wildlife photography, but basing his final choice of winner in each group on the degree of difficulty in getting the photograph.

Print awards:Gold: “Sandwich Tern” by George Marsh; Silver: “Common Blue” by Stan Stubbs; Bronze: “Porcelain Fungi Trio” by Terry Jamieson.
In awarding Gold to George Marsh for “Sandwich Tern”, Louis particularly recognised the difficulty of taking birds in flight, and he was stunned by the sharpness of Stan Stubbs' butterfly image, always something judges look for in natural history photographs.  He felt that Terry Jamieson’s fungi image had required serious skill to get the result, as it was taken at a very low angle, in dull low light.

Digitally Projected Image awards: Gold: “Little Big Eyes” by Giles Smith; Silver: “Red Kite” by George Marsh; Bronze: “Azure Hawker” by Stan Stubbs. 
Louis thought Giles Smith’s picture of the shy little owl was outstanding, and he felt he recognised the location for George Marsh’s red kite, always a danger with fellow photographers.  He thought that Stan Stubbs’ dragonfly image showed a fast-flying creature at its best.

Slide awards: Gold: “Barn Owl” by George Marsh; Silver: “Beautiful Demoiselle” by George Marsh; Bronze: “White Berries 2” by Terry Jamieson.
Louis commented that the small entry in this section was a sign of the times, but considered that the three awards were still justified by the high standard.  He felt the framing of the barn owl in the barn window, in George Marsh’s winning slide, showed the bird well in its natural habitat.

In his summing up, Louis said he was very pleased to have been invited to judge such a high standard of club photography, some of which he felt would not be out of place in national exhibitions. 

Margaret Kirby

Image – “Sandwich Tern” by George Marsh, winner of the Print Cup

Digitally Projected Image awards: Gold: “Little Big Eyes” by Giles Smith

This page last updated, 19 February, 2008.