Comment
Would somebody please hang
that judge”
that judge”
Photographic competitions were something that I knew nothing about until about 5 years ago. Then when I joined CPS I started to compete and found it a worthwhile exercise.
The only thing about club competitions that drives me mad is the judge. Judges are a funny lot. Most of them seem to have supersize egos and allow their own personal likes and dislikes to colour their judgement.
Really stupid remarks like “That would have been a nice picture if that tree wasn’t there.” Just a minute Dumbo, it is a picture of a tree! Or: “Good sharp image, but I’d have gone in closer.” Well, good for you if you want to go in closer but I don’t want to take pictures that are a duplicate of yours, that’s how I saw it. Is it sharp? Is it correctly exposed? Is it technically well executed? These seem to be aspects of photography that a lot of judges ignore.
“I don’t like Dog portraits.” is another one. Well Mr judge so you don’t like dogs squirrels, tigers or ducks. Oh, I see you like hamsters, that is really good to know. I will always take pictures of hamsters in future in the hope that you might like my picture.
I would never want to be a judge, I’m not the kind of person that likes putting other people down. We all put a bit of ourselves into the pictures that we take. I know that my images are not to everyone’s taste and I am quite prepared for criticism but I do expect a bit more of a professional attitude than we get from the average club competition judge.
In spite of all this I intend to keep on keeping on. Photography is a wonderful hobby and we all have a lot to learn before we stand in the shoes of Ansel Adams.
The only thing about club competitions that drives me mad is the judge. Judges are a funny lot. Most of them seem to have supersize egos and allow their own personal likes and dislikes to colour their judgement.
Really stupid remarks like “That would have been a nice picture if that tree wasn’t there.” Just a minute Dumbo, it is a picture of a tree! Or: “Good sharp image, but I’d have gone in closer.” Well, good for you if you want to go in closer but I don’t want to take pictures that are a duplicate of yours, that’s how I saw it. Is it sharp? Is it correctly exposed? Is it technically well executed? These seem to be aspects of photography that a lot of judges ignore.
“I don’t like Dog portraits.” is another one. Well Mr judge so you don’t like dogs squirrels, tigers or ducks. Oh, I see you like hamsters, that is really good to know. I will always take pictures of hamsters in future in the hope that you might like my picture.
I would never want to be a judge, I’m not the kind of person that likes putting other people down. We all put a bit of ourselves into the pictures that we take. I know that my images are not to everyone’s taste and I am quite prepared for criticism but I do expect a bit more of a professional attitude than we get from the average club competition judge.
In spite of all this I intend to keep on keeping on. Photography is a wonderful hobby and we all have a lot to learn before we stand in the shoes of Ansel Adams.
The Archives.
I did two stints as a photo-journalist and took pictures of a lot of people, places and events. This was back in the 70s and 80s long before digital cameras had been invented. In thise days I used a Pentax 35mm SLR and a 6 x 6 Mamiya TLR.
Recently I have unearthed hundreds of negs and prints from that era and have started the rather boring task of digitising them
This is a shot that I took of the Queen mother for the Church of England Newspaper in 1987. She had come to open a new hall at St John’s college in Durham. Security was tight and a lot of people were trying to get a good picture of her.
I arranged with the college principal, Dr. Ruth Etchells (left) to pause for a moment as they walked out of the hall. I waited in the pouring rain for about five minutes and Dr. Etchells did manage to pause the Queen mother briefly while I took my picture.
They them moved on and as they walked past me Her majesty looked at me and said “I say, you’re getting terribly wet!”
I think this is the only royal picture that I have ever taken and I must say I much preferred show biz people who would happily pose for you, or even politicians who are hungry for publicity.
I am really enjoying going through all the stuff that has been in the attic for years.
I arranged with the college principal, Dr. Ruth Etchells (left) to pause for a moment as they walked out of the hall. I waited in the pouring rain for about five minutes and Dr. Etchells did manage to pause the Queen mother briefly while I took my picture.
They them moved on and as they walked past me Her majesty looked at me and said “I say, you’re getting terribly wet!”
I think this is the only royal picture that I have ever taken and I must say I much preferred show biz people who would happily pose for you, or even politicians who are hungry for publicity.
I am really enjoying going through all the stuff that has been in the attic for years.
Guy Laurence 2010.