There are two significant events that usually occur in April, the warmth of Spring and the Isle of Man Photography Club annual competition.

Sadly, this year there has been no sign of temperatures rising so far, only the wettest April day on record and Storm Kathleen.

Thankfully the Isle of Man Photography Club was on hand to brighten a damp and dismal Wednesday evening.

The annual competition is always well supported with an array of the year’s best images. Such high-quality images calls for an expert judge and this year we were delighted to welcome long-time friend of the club and professional photographer Andrew Barton.     The competition was supported by an entry of 113 print and digital images, with a small but enthusiastic audience being treated, in the judge’s words, to an ‘absolutely superb standard’ of entry.   Andrew is always very giving of his time and his expert analysis and informative commentary ensured every entrant was left with something positive to take away from the competition.

However, this was the annual competition and the awarding of prizes means there was no margin for error, with Andrew commenting in detail on lighting, texture, depth and contrast of the images.   The evening’s judging started with the Open Colour Print Section with two images receiving the maximum score of 20 points.

Ruth Nicholls ‘Minted Pea Salad’ just edged out Sue Blythe’s image of ‘Sidney’s Weigh In’.

Next up came the Open Mono Print Section with one stand-out image of Baker Street London Underground Station, by Nigel Owen scoring a maximum 20 points and taking first prize on the night.

First prize and achieving maximum points in the Nature Print Section was Sue Blythe’s superb image of a ‘Red Kite in Flight’. Sue scored maximum points again in the Creative Print Section with her image ‘Passing the Time’.   The largest entry on the night was in the Digital Colour Section with four images receiving the maximum 20 points; ‘Flower Power’ by Sue Blythe, ‘Snail Reflections’ by Sean Corlett, ‘Full Force’ by Martin Sanderson and Ruth Nicholls ‘Winter Solstice Santan Circle’.

The winning image on the night was Sean’s very strong snail reflection.

Sean was successful again in the Digital Mono Section with his image of ‘Durdle Door’ the only image to receive the maximum 20 points.

The Digital Nature Section saw Sue Blythe receive maximum points for two images ‘Barn Owl at Dusk’ and ‘Whooper Swan Landing on Snow’ with Andrew preferring the Whooper Swan for the top prize.

The final section of the night, the Creative Digital Section, saw Chris Blyth take top prize for his ‘Lightbulb Moment’. Overall winners on the night were Ruth Nicholls ‘Minted Pea Salad’, best colour print , Nigel Owen ‘Baker Street’, best mono print and Sue Blythe’s ‘Whooper Swan’ taking the accolade for the best nature image on the night.

The club, thanks to the committee and enthusiastic membership, have enjoyed a rich and varied timetable of events this year, with an excellent balance of competitions, tutorials and studio photography. Thanks to everybody who has made this such a successful year.     The annual competition signifies the conclusion of the photography year with only the annual general meeting remaining, which will take place on Wednesday, April 24 at 7pm at the St John Ambulance HQ, off Glencrutchery Road, with all members encouraged to attend.  Jonathan Carey