Firstly I would like to thank all those who sent photographs into the 2020 Virtual Photograph Competition. There were 84 photographs entered and it was lovely to see such a range of subjects and appreciate the care that has gone into creating these images. I hope you enjoyed their creation as much as I did in judging them.
Photography, like all art, is a form of communication. This can be a simple record of what can be seen or could be more and convey emotion, atmosphere and feeling to a scene. It was the later that scored the points. While a simple shot of a sheep is a perfect record, I needed more reason to select a photograph, and that is what elevated the winning pictures to be chosen.
In judging these photographs the first thing I considered was what was special about the photograph. I looked for was what I think of as ‘the grab’. What reaction did the photograph have on me when I looked at it? Did I go ‘wow’, or chuckle? Did I want to look more deeply into the photograph and see hidden detail? This gave me a selection of pictures. From this I needed to feel that the photograph related to the category. There should be a clear reflection of the class title in the content.
There was one slight ambiguity which I should explain. The category ‘black and white’ can be interpreted in both the medium ie monochrome, black and white photographs or the subject, ie black and white sheep. Thus I did have a few entries in the black and white section that were in fact colour photographs of black and white animals and things. I resolved to judge in the category in which they were placed straightforwardly, however black and white was interpreted.
Once again I would like to thank everyone who entered photographs and also to express my thanks for the privilege of judging them.
Bob Bramley
