Potters Bar and District Photographic Society announced the winners of 2022.
Following a year-long period of fierce competition, these winners were chosen.
The competition has five rounds, one for printed images and one for projected images.
- General Class winner – prints: Richard Litherland
- Advanced Class winner – prints: Fiona Adamson.
- General Class winner – projected images: Mark Heineman.
- Advanced Class winner – projected images: Fiona Adamson.
There is also a separate competition to be crowned ‘Picture of the Year’ in each category. It will be open to those who have scored 19 or 20, (out of 20), throughout the year.
- General Class winner – prints: Richard Litherland
- Advanced Class winner – prints: Graham Coldrick
- General Class winner – projected images: Mark Heineman.
- Advanced Class winner – projected images: Peter Regan.
Trophies will be awarded at the Society’s Annual General Meeting next year.
Society president Fiona Adamson said: “The judge for the Print of the Year had a particularly difficult time, holding back 27 out of the 56 prints for a second look and awarded 11 commended and 10 highly commended honours as well as first, second and third places.
“Once again, it has been a year of closely fought competitions, interesting speakers and enjoyable social events. I am stepping down as President in 2023 but have enjoyed seeing The Society through the last two years.”
A Society spokesman added: “A new series of competitions will start in January together with a full programme of speakers, visits and other activities. Anyone looking to take up a new hobby is welcome.
“Further details can be found at pottersbarphotosoc.org.uk or on Facebook. A potential member may visit for up to three meetings to see if it is for them.”
Here’s a selection of 2022’s winning images, together with descriptions from the photographers who took them.
RAINY DAY IN CITY by Lesley Alsford
“This was taken on a Society outing to London this summer. Our aim was to photograph during the ‘blue hour’ however the day turned out to be very rainy with little colour in the sky.
“There was a special theme of ‘alleyways’ coming up as a society competition so we concentrated on photographing in the maze of little alleys in The City. I’ve used a long exposure time for this shot with just a little camera movement, which has emphasised the rain.”
AT ONE by David Loebell
“This shot was taken in mid October 2021 at Loch Ard, The Trossachs in Scotland. I was able to spend five days exploring Scotland’s autumn landscapes. Although I was initially met with cold and rainy Scottish weather, I knew I would be able to capture some beautiful scenes if the weather gods were kind to me.
“On the final morning mist was finally forecast and I was at the far end of Loch Ard 30 minutes before sunrise. After a hearty breakfast, I drove back to town and saw this scene. The lone paddler was out for a 10 AM paddle as the sun was rising.
Fortunately, I was able stop the car and only had about a minute to capture this scene. I liked the feel of black and white and feel lucky to have captured the scene.”
ROCKS at SUNRISE by David Lobell
“This shot was taken mid way through July 2021 at Stonehenge. The Milky Way core rose at 1am above the stones from the north side. I was taking photos. Because it was so late at night, I had to wait for the Moon’s setting in order to get a good shot of the night sky.
“By the time I had returned to my campervan it was 02:00 and I knew that sunrise was only 2.5 hours away. I got some sleep, and I set my alarm for thirty minutes before sunrise.
“The view in the photo is what greeted me as the sun rose. I waited for the perfect balance of mist, colour, and light to capture the stones against the mist with graduated sky.
“I was amazed how many of my fellow campervan dwellers also rose early to witness the scene. You can see two figures to the right, which are part of an early morning VIP tour. I felt like a VIP that morning.”
Fiona Adamson, BISON ON THE RIDGE
“This photograph was taken in The Hayden Valley Yellowstone National Park in January 2020. The rest of the herd was looking for grass just beyond the Ridge.
“This particular bison was lagging behind and provided the isolated shot. The sky was grey and overcast and the snow was hugging the valley curves for me providing a lovely landscape vista.”
Peter Regan’s ELEPHANT SHREW
“In September 2019, my wife and I visited five different safari parks in South Africa, one of them being Tuli. The park was closed on September 31st. We were taken to the top of the hills to take in the views. When the sun started to drop, we sat down to enjoy a light snack.
“The guide had a cool box with ice cubes, taking a few of these out of the box he laid them on the rocks where they started to melt. Surprise! These tiny animals emerged. Although they appeared to be mice, they soon became liquid-like and began to drink the ice.
“The creature is one of the fastest small mammals, having been recorded to reach speeds of 28.8 kilometres per hour (17.9 mph). Small, quadrupedal, insectivorous elephant shrews resemble rodents and opossums. Their legs are long for their size and have long tails. They vary in size from about 10 to 30 centimetres.”
Richard Litherland – IMAGINE
“The Beatles statues are at the Pier Head in Liverpool. This photo was taken on a Moto G(50) phone camera. It was October morning, with mist rolling in from Lake Mersey.
“I crouched down to get the tower of the Liver Building, which was clearer as it rose above the mist, behind John Lennon. The sculptor has caught his visionary look, as if he is seeing things we can’t, hence the title, which is of course one of his most famous and much-loved songs.”
Mark Heineman: LOOKING WEIRD
“I took this photograph in July 2021 at the Tate Modern. Pandemic restrictions had eased, and we were able visit public places without masks.
“What attracted me to take this image was the juxtaposition between the man in the mask looking quizzically at the painting and the painting ‘looking back’ at him.
“The title of the photograph, could equally apply to both subjects. When I took it I never imagined it would be a winner, but I thought it told a story and was engaging and humorous.”
THE BAY by Graham Coldrick
“The Bay is the result of the pandemic lockdown, my inability to travel, and time on my hands. This was my interpretation of a place I wanted to be, but it is not based on any particular location. To create a montage, photos of the sky and the bird images were first combined using Photoshop. Then they were recolored to create a dawn effect.
“I returned to the images number of times to make small alterations until eventually I realised it was finished.”