Good natured, yet hotly contested, is probably the best way to describe the latest friendly ‘battle’ between three of the top photography clubs from the north west region.

Such annual competitions have proven to be the best way to gauge progress against comparable standards being set by other members of the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union, to which the Isle of Man Photographic Society is affiliated.

This annual event is held between the Isle of Man Society, the Rochdale and District Camera Club and the Oldham Photographic Society.

Independent judge for the ‘battle’ of projected digital images, which is now in its 12th year, was introduced as Jane Lines LRPS, MPAGB and BPE5*, an acclaimed judge and lecturer for the Lancashire and Cheshire Federation and a judge and awards assessor for the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain.

The recording of the 'battle' had been made in January, but the Society’s packed programme had meant that there had been a delay of almost two months before the results of the contest had been played in the Isle of Man.

In case it comes as a surprise to readers, photography generates a wide range of personal opinions, so Jane would not have been surprised, had she been present, that not everyone in the audience agreed with her assessments on the entries.

Every photographer takes a degree of pride in their entries, so it can be quite sobering to hear what others, especially highly qualified and experienced external judges, think of their images.

Jane praised the overall quality of the 75 images (25 from each club) and admitted to having to resort to a degree of fault-finding, resulting in imperfections being heavily penalised, to separate the images and award points.

In the end, she ‘held back’ for more detailed scrutiny on no fewer than 27 entries.

She also displayed a high degree of technical knowledge in her comments and eventual assessments on a wide range of images from landscapes to seascapes and from animals and birds to various sports, both mono and colour.

The top scoring images for the Isle of Man were '3 Bobbins' by Andrew Cairns; 'Heavenly Encounter' by Barry Murphy; 'The Serpent' by Lara Howe and with the maximum 20 points 'Minted Pea Salad' by Ruth Nicholls.

Total marks given were 1, Oldham Photographic Society with 464; 2, Isle of Man Photographic Society with 420; 3, Rochdale and District Camera Club with 389.

The Society’s next meeting will be held at 7pm on March 19 and will feature the mobile phone competition, consistent with our inclusive aims and strong desire to embrace modern technology trends.

More information at the club’s website iomps.com

ANTONY HAMILTON