WOKING Photographic Society members showcased their skills with the camera during their latest competition.
The event, a regular highlight of the club’s season, attracted a healthy 51 entries and the prints – which are a reproduction of a photograph – were placed on to mounts and exhibited on the club’s display board for all members to see.
The wonderful images on view covered a wide range of photographic genres, including the natural world, portraiture and landscapes.
They were critiqued by distinguished photographer Lawrence Homewood, who travelled from East Grinstead and awarded certificates for the winning images in both advanced and open classes.
Among the Advanced Class prints was local nature photographer Mike Tibbotts, who got up before dawn to photograph 'Red Kite defending food’.
He said: “Red kites normally use a ‘smash and grab’ approach to obtaining food, often carrion, and can often be seen circling around overhead before diving down and taking food to consume elsewhere.
“They will sometimes stay on the ground feeding if they feel safe enough and provided they don’t get mobbed by crows and magpies.
“This is only the second time I’ve managed to capture them on the ground in the last two years, and it was especially pleasing as the early morning sunlight on a frosty morning illuminated the birds fantastic colouring very well indeed.”
On Charles Bridge was photographed by Anthony Wiltshire. “Charles Bridge is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague,” he said.
“The parapets are lined with baroque statues. Photography is difficult due to large numbers of tourists, hawkers and buskers, so I decided to point the camera upwards over their heads and photograph a small detail.
“To reflect the age of the bridge, built in 1390, I processed the image in sepia tone.”
Justin Cliffe was also close to water, nearer to home. “The photograph Winter on the River Wey was taken close to Papercourt Lock, which was where I’d gone to get some images through the fog that had been forecast,” he said.
“By the time I arrived, much of it had dissipated.
“However, walking over the footbridge I noticed the wonderful shape of the overhanging tree, totally devoid of all its leaves, reflected in the still waters of the river. The narrowboat, moored a short distance away, completed the picture for me.”
Richard Sheldrake was at the other end of the world when he photographed Elephant Seals beach master fight. He said: “South Georgia is three days sailing from the Falkland Islands, and my visit coincided with the start of the elephant seal pupping season, when fighting between adult males was just starting.
“This was a short spat, but taken in the bitter cold of early morning, with mist in the background from a King Penguin colony making it reminiscent of a First World War battlefield.”
Top shots in the Open Class included the picture Frozen Land, by Brigitte Miller.
“I had the opportunity to visit Norway, where this photo had been taken on a bright and sunny morning, right before the clouds moved in," she said.
“The glittering snow was spreading out in front of me, covering paths and rocks, but allowing me this amazing view across the valley. The timing was perfect for this shot.”
Jane Hibbert said of her image Bee and Lavender: “The photograph was taken in Crete. I was trying to photograph birds but they were few and far between so I looked for an alternative subject. The colours of the lavender and bees particularly appealed to me.”
Woking Photographic Society runs a full programme of events for photographers of all abilities looking to improve their craft, with meetings held weekly at the Parkview Centre for the Community, Blackmore Crescent, Sheerwater, every Tuesday from 8PM.
For more details, see www.wokingps.uk, WokingPS Facebook or Wokingps on Instagram.