Written by Last night saw the third meeting of our new season, and this week we welcomed back an annual favourite – the MCPF Travelling Portfolio.
For anyone unfamiliar with it, the portfolio brings together some of the successful images from the Midland Counties Photographic Federation’s inter-club competition, featuring work submitted by photographic clubs from across the Midlands. It is always a fascinating opportunity to see how our own work compares with photography being produced elsewhere in the region – and, perhaps more importantly, to simply enjoy a large collection of excellent photographs.
The evening was split into two very different halves.
Prints Up Close
We began with the print section, with the images displayed around the hall rather than being presented one at a time. This gave everyone plenty of opportunity to wander around at their own pace, take a proper look at each photograph and, inevitably, discuss them with whoever happened to be standing nearby.
And there was certainly plenty to discuss.
There were some truly impressive prints on display, covering a huge range of subjects, styles and approaches. Being able to examine a physical print closely is a very different experience from seeing an image projected onto a screen, and members were able to appreciate not only the photography itself but also the printing, presentation and finer details that can sometimes be missed when an image is viewed for only a few seconds.
Just before the tea break, everyone reconvened and several members were asked to choose their favourite image from the collection and explain what had attracted them to it.
As you might expect, there was no single answer. Different people were drawn to completely different images for completely different reasons – composition, subject matter, lighting, emotion, technical execution or sometimes simply because an image had that difficult-to-define quality that made them keep going back for another look.
It provided a great reminder that photography is wonderfully subjective.
From Prints to Projection
Following the tea break it was time to turn off the lights and move on to the PDI section.
For the next 45 minutes we were treated to a sequence of photographs accompanied by a selection of carefully chosen audio tracks. Once again, the standard was extremely high, with some absolutely stunning images appearing on the screen.
The combination of photography and music made for a very different second half to the evening, but one that was every bit as enjoyable as the print section.
Our Most Successful Year Yet
Dunchurch Photographic Society has been entering the MCPF competition for many years, but this year proved to be something rather special.
Without a doubt, it was our most successful year in the competition to date, with a fantastic number of images from DPS members being accepted into both the print and projected sections.
Congratulations go to Simon Coates, Mark Ellis, Ian Flint, Josefine Hammerby, Mohini (MJay) Mistry and Mike Smith, all of whom had prints accepted into the portfolio.
Our success continued in the PDI section, where images from Ian Andrew, Simon Coates, Mark Ellis, Ian Maxwell, Mike Smith, Andrew Swan, Karen Tillett and Graeme Webb were accepted.
That is a tremendous showing from the club and something everyone involved should be very proud of. Congratulations to all of those whose work was selected.
What Makes a Great Photograph?
Perhaps the best thing about evenings such as this isn’t simply seeing excellent photography – it is the conversations that those photographs generate.
Throughout the evening there was plenty of discussion around the hall. Why did one image work so well? Why were some people drawn to one photograph while somebody else walked straight past it? Was it the subject, the light, the composition, the moment, the processing – or some combination of all of them?
There may never be a definitive answer to the question “What makes a great photograph?”, but debating it is half the fun.
All in all, it was a cracking evening: some superb photography, plenty of conversation and, this year in particular, a very good reason for Dunchurch Photographic Society to feel rather pleased with itself.
And with only three meetings of our 50th anniversary season completed, there is still an awful lot more to come.