February 2026 1st PDI Competition
February is the start of the Nottingham Outlaws photographic competition year and the first competition is a projected digital image (PDI). Over the course of the year there will be a further four PDI’s, these are interwoven with a separate print competition on a bi-monthly basis.
This month’s competition had more entrants than we had experienced in recent times (many new entrants) and that resulted in over forty entries in total in both the themed category as well as the open. This is indeed refreshing news and it shows the popularity that the club has. This should make for an exciting competition year wanting to take the title of Outlaw of the Year off the current holder Lois Webb.
The judge for the evening was Dave Hollingsworth Stephan from Arnold & District Camera Club.
There were two categories on the evening for Dave to judge, the Open category and the Themed which for February was “Mono”. In total there were forty-three entries in the Mono section and forty-four in the Open. Extra time was called to make sure we had plenty of time to view & for Dave to critique.
As is usual the Open competition attracted many genres of photography from architectural, nature, sport, portrait, long exposure through to images taken on both of the club’s 2025 outings to Berlin & the Gower Peninsula.
The themed competition equally had a wide variety of images and after Dave’s initial Nice! (following the initial run-through) he gave detailed critique which included reminding photographers to check the edges of their images for detail, before scoring the images presented to him.
Theme Mono
The Themed PDI also had a wide variety of images themes and Dave said he would be holding many of them back for a second look. All were of a high standard and seventeen images were held back for final scoring and the winner was Tabby with her image titled “Footprints In The Sand”.
Themed winning image “Footprints In The Sand” by Tabby Shelton
This is what Tabby told me about her winning image.
“The pic was of the Helvetia wreck on the beach at Rhossilli. It was a cold windy day and it was slightly foggy and pouring down with rain. We were high up on the cliff tops and we’re too old to climb down! Words of wisdom? Never give up!”
The images below are the “Held Images” in the themed mono category.
Open category
In the open category fifteen images were held back by Dave for a second look and final judging. The winner with a score of twenty points was Sue Hartley and this was Sue’s initial competition on joining the club, laying down the challenge to the other photographers indeed.
Open Winning Image “Ancestral Disapproval” by Sue Hartley
This is what Sue told me about her winning image.
“I was approached by two ladies who ran a prom dress sales and hire business and needed publicity photographs. One also worked part time at Norwood Park in Southwell and had received permission to hold the shoot there, and the models were to be the ladies’ daughters and their friends. The brief was to show off the dresses but with a fresh approach- they wanted to portray the girls in a fun way. We had limited time and a lot of outfit changes so, not having had chance to scout out the location first, I had to think and work quickly. I used my Canon 5D MkIV and a 24-70L lens and a mixture of natural light and that from my largest Rotolight. The girls had no modelling experience but threw themselves into it, and were brilliant at taking direction. It was hectic but great fun. I liked this image as it tells a story.”
The images below are the “Held Images” in the themed mono category.
The Outlaws would like to thank Dave for providing everyone who entered with a constructive set of comments, using the word “Nice” many times and a general appreciation of their works.