“A near run thing…”
Last week’s print battle with Melbourne was an astonishingly close fought contest with the high standard of entries from both teams keeping competition tense to the finish line… Indeed, the outcome couldn’t have been closer with The Outlaws narrowly edging victory by 313 point to Melbourne’s 312.
The Outlaws produced 2 of the top 3 shots of the night with Chris Newham’s Guillemot with Sand Eel scoring a perfect 20 and earning judge Bill Allsopp’s vote for best shot of the 40 on show…. Well done Chris!
Top marks also went to Les Marriott’s Usual Suspects, a popular club favourite which proved a winner with the judge as well as our friends at Melbourne, many of whom were stunned, on closer inspection, to find that all the girls in Les’s beautifully cheeky image are the same model.
Rick Martindale’s wonderful Welsh landscape and Ann Bone’s trio of Eternity, Sophie and a beautifully timed owl in flight all made the final cut, bringing to life the strength in depth of the Outlaw’s ever-improving portfolio.
Melbourne’s photographers also submitted an excellent range of images, including some notable landscape work and it was generally agreed that the final result could easily have gone either way. If you want to get a feel for some of the quality coming out of Melbourne, then take a look at the club site http://www.melbournephotographicsociety.org.uk
Thanks to judge, Bill Allsopp who oversaw a fair, well fought competition, despite keeping tensions high on both sides of Melbourne’s wonderful memorial hall with some jaw dropping moments of technical commentary.
Special thanks to Ben for organising The Outlaws images and recording the judges’ scores throughout and to Ian, John, George and Scott for making the trip through to Melbourne to represent the club.
Finally, our gratitude goes to our hosts for a wonderful evening of competition, hospitality and fun – not least the excellent buffet which the Melbourne members laid on for their guests. We look forward to returning the hospitality with what promises to be a thrilling 3rd meeting in 2011.