Viewfinders of Romsey Camera Club held its annual Print Panel Trophy competition last week.

This year it was judged by Sue Sibley ARPS (Associate of the Royal Photographic Society) who dispensed helpful praise and constructive criticism on the entrant’s pictures.

Entrants in the Print Panel Trophy competition have to submit three photographs which share a theme and tie together to form what can be best described as a triptych. They can either all be presented on a common mount, or as three separate mounted prints marked for display as left, right or centre. The entries are judged on the quality of the pictures and how well they complement each other, with the quality and consistency of the mounts also taken into consideration.

The cup was won by Margaret Cooper with her set “Securing the Future” (shown above). The pictures depict the courtship and mating of a pair of lions in Africa. Sue commented on the beauty of the photographs and their technical excellence in a difficult environment. She also commented that obtaining the pictures must have taken many hours and a lot of patience!

Silver was taken by Malcolm Richardson with his set of prints “Glassware”. These pictures showed glass jugs and glasses lit from behind with coloured light and with the colour modified and exaggerated in image editing computer software before the prints were made. Sue commented that there “Had been much thought on the setup and treatment of the pictures and their mounts”.

The Bronze award was claimed by Tony Rackham with “ Moth Camouflage”. This intriguing group depicted the colouring that moths use to hide themselves on tree bark. Sue commented on how well the set of pictures tied together as a group and the technical quality of entry.

Additionally, two Seals of Merit were awarded. One went to Stephen Cooper for his interesting set “The Mother and Father of Tanks”, the other to Betty Rackham for her beautiful and subtle entry “Pine Bark Patterns”. After the judging Sue commented on how high the quality of the contributions were and how difficult it had been to select a winner, especially considering the relatively small size of the club.

Viewfinders meet most Tuesdays at 7.30pm in the Michelmersh and Timsbury Jubilee Hall and visitors are always very welcome.