September 2026 – 4th Print Competition.
The fourth print competition of the year was held on Thursday 24th September at St James church Hall the home of the Nottingham Outlaws. The print competition started back in March 2026 and is run on a bi-monthly basis.
Going into this leg of the print competition Sue Hartley (316pts) was leading Ray Andrews (312pts), followed by Lois Webb (310pts). Tonight’s penultimate competition could give one of the leading group the edge over their close rivals.
The judge for this round of the competition was Phil Newman of Bolsover Camera Club who has visited the Outlaws on several previous occasions.
Phil started off the evening complementing the Outlaws on the quality of their images & printing, this comment was re-iterated several times as he critiqued the images one by one.
There were two categories for Phil to judge, the Open category and the Themed category which this evening was “Historical”. In total there were 25entries in the Open and 26 in the Theme.
Open category
The Open competition had a wealth of variety of subject matter too, from landscapes to travel portraits, sporting scenes, nature, glamour and architecture. Tough work indeed for Phil to work his way through, but he did just that offering detailed critique on each and every image as he viewed them.
In all Ten images were held back for final judging and the winner was declared, Ray Andrews with his image titled, “The Matriarch”.
The winning image by Ray Andrews “The Matriarch”
The Open Winner, Ray Andrews comments;
Ray gave me the following comment; The Matriarch was taken on a tour of Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh earlier this year in a small village on the road between Karuli, where we stayed in a former Royal Palace and Agra, site of the world-renowned Taj Mahal. We had a five-hour road trip, this was taken during a short break in which I photographed a woman peeling potatoes, two women making baskets and another having her daily wash using a ten litre paint tub. The striking saree set against the contrasting wall absolutely shouted, “take me” and the Indian ease with being photographed resulted in this vibrant shot.
Congratulations Ray, travelling with your camera in hand in northern India obviously pays dividends.
Images held in the Open category are displayed in the gallery below.
Theme Historical;
The themed competition had many stunning images some depicting church interiors, cathedrals (religious architecture seems to be enjoying a revival) and religious portraits. The images were rich in both subject matter, composition & final production, so much so that Phil held eleven of them back for a second viewing.
Phil carefully worked his way through the eleven, offering comment & detailed critique before awarding Sue Hartley the winning image for her work titled “A Pilgrims Progress”. Sue was on top form as she also scored twenty points for “Jack The Ripper” & nineteen points for “Winter In The Workhouse”, a remarkable achievement indeed.
The winning image “A Pilgrims Progress” by Sue Hartley
The Historical Winner; Sue Hartley’s Comments;
I photographed the guy at a market stall at a Sealed Knot reenactment of the Battle of Edgehill a while ago. I liked the character but wasn’t sure what to do with him that would look authentic. I eventually remembered the landscape image taken in Harris with the long empty road, and the idea of a pilgrim’s progress came to me.
Following this round of the competition Sue Hartley has extended her lead (431pts) from Lois Webb in second place (415pts) and in third place Ray Andrews (414pts). With one final round to go there is still all to play for.
The Outlaws would like to thank Phil for providing everyone who entered with beneficial comments. It was also appreciated how Phil shared moments & experiences with the audience by adding a little light hearted comedy where he could.