Coming up….

Our next competition on 23rd January which will be our Shoot a Theme competition with the theme of Motion Blur.

Coming up….

Our next competition on 23rd January which will be our Shoot a Theme competition with the theme of Motion Blur.

You can view a full list of competition winners and placings, as well as our latest competition rules in the Members Area. If you have forgotten your password please contact Jay or a member of the committee!

28/11/2023

Iris Overton Cup

 

What a wonderful evening we had on Tuesday night for the Iris Overton Cup – some great photos, great judging and feedback, and some very difficult decisions to be made.

Thank you to John Tilsley for making the evening entertaining with constructive critique and encouragement on all images.

Congratulations to the winners and those whose photos were highly commended.

For the digital prints:

1st Sarah Simpson Crocus
2nd Chris Edgecombe Portland Bill
3rd Chris Edgecombe Misty Morning Dog Walk
HC Pam Watts The Cats Coming Home on My Scooter
HC Terry Connolly The Mountaineers Retreat
HC Steve Davenport The Cygnets

For the prints:

1st Pam Watts The Eye of the Trunk
2nd Chris Edgecombe Horton Tower
3rd Sarah Simpson Acer
HC Pam Watts Is this How I Do It Grandpa?

 

 

24/10/2023

SBA Shield Competition

 

Another great night on Tuesday, with a hall full of members from the 5 participating camera clubs!

The quality of the images was exceptional as always, with Wincanton leading the first half with a strong DPI submission.

The prints were shown in the second half, but Wincanton couldn’t hold off Shaftebury, who pipped them to the post my just one point!

The judge, Norman Marsh, provided some very valuable and noteworthy feedback.

Congratulations to Shaftesbury for taking the top spot, worthy winners of this years shield.

Thank you to everyone who came, helping to make this a very enjoyable evening.

  1. Shaftesbury – 169 points
  2. Wincanton – 168 points
  3. South Petherton – 167 points
  4. Yeovil CC
  5. SBA – 157 points

Picture gallery to follow!

 

08/11/2022

The Shaston Challenge

 

On Thursday, some of our members travelled to Shaftesbury club to watch our club images compete in an inter club competition.

We did very well and came second to Blandford.

There were some stunning images shown and it was a very enjoyable evening full of fun, laughter and (like our own club) banter!

Thank you Shaftesbury for your hospitality and a great evening.

Results:

Blandford Forum                101.5

SBACC                                     97

Shaftesbury                           92.5

Kinson                                    90.5

 

 

 

 

08/11/2022

Macro and Close Up Competition

 

This week we held our Macro and Close Up competition, ably judged by Laura Pearce.

 

Thanks to all those who submitted images and thanks Laura for doing a grand job.

Results were:

Digital Images

1  Dandelion – Steve Davenport
2  Cricket – Chris Edgecombe
3  Sunset – Steve Davenport

HC

Vatican Statues – Pete Bull
Costa Rican Butterfly – Pete Bull
Carder Bee – Chas Williams

Prints

1  Dried Hosta Leaf – Sarah Simpson
2  Papover Giganteum – Wendy Jackson
3  Mrs Kendall-Clark and Fly – Pam Watts

Queen Wasp – Peter Still

Thistles – Elizabeth Jubb

 

08/11/2022

Shoot a Theme Competition

 

Last Tuesday evening was our club’s “Shoot a Theme Competition” where the theme was “Street Photography That Puts a Smile on Your Face”, chosen by last year’s winner, Mark Tatchell.

We had an enjoyable evening and the wide interpretation of the subject was interesting, providing for a lot of fun and some laughter. Judged internally by those members who attended, the results are as follows:

1st    Me, Dad and Our Brolly – Ally Morton

2nd  This Exhibition Has Sent Me to Sleep – Mark Tatchell

3rd   Surprise, Surprise – Mike Hermann

4th   Specsavers to the Rescue – Elizabeth Jubb

 

 

 

08/11/2022

The Iris Overton Cup Competition for Black and White Images

 

A great turn out of members attended our Overton Cup Competition on Tuesday and there was a record number or digi entries too.

There were also 9 prints which was great to see.

We also welcomed some new members to the meeting.

The entries were all of a very high standard which made our judge, Penny Piddock’s job very hard indeed!  Thank you for doing such a sterling job Penny.

The results were as follows:

 

    DIGIS
  1. Early Morning Walkies – Garrod Gray (photo of trophy presentation to follow)
  2. Misty Morning on Ham Hil – Mark Taylor
  3. Kite Surfer – Steve Davenport

 

HC

Waiting for Cod – Mark Tatchell
Lemurs – Steve Davenport
Juvenile Robin – Chas Williams

PRINTS

1.  Dwarf Iris – Sarah Simpson

2.  Boat Repairs While You Wait – Ally Morton

3. Church Lane – Malcolm Balmer

HC

Reflection on the Somerset Levels – Mike Hermann

Where To Next – Elizabeth Jubb

 

 

 

IMG_4817

25/10/2022

SBA Shield Competition

 

What a great night Tuesday was with a hall full of members from the 5 participating camera clubs and the photos were amazing!

20 out of the 50 photos scored 19 or 20 points, which is a great accolade to the quality of the images.

The judge, Malcolm MacNaughton, provided some very valuable and noteworthy feedback.

Congratulations to Wincanton for taking the top spot, worthy winners of the shield.

Thank you to everyone who came, helping to make this a very enjoyable evening.

 

  1.  Wincanton – 185 points
  2. South Petherton – 183 points
  3. Yeovil CC  and SBA – 179 points
  4. Shaftesbury – 176 points

 

 

Credit, Elizabeth Jubb

10/05/2022

Annual Open

We had a bumper crop of images entered into the competition this year, all to a very high standard.
This made Eddy Lane, our judge’s job quite difficult.

However, critiqueing every image on the way, Eddy wittled the images down to 9.

Well done indeed to one of our newest members, Steve Davenport, for gaining first place with his superb image. Also well done to another fairly new member, Mark Taylor, for being awarded 2nd place and a Commended.

The final results are below.

Thank you Eddy for successfully working your way through so many images!

1. Steve Davenport – Weymouth Lifeboat
2. Red Shank – Mark Taylor
3. Corfe Castle – Chris Edgecombe

Highly Commended

Cathedral Ceiling – Ally Morton
Goldcrest – Chas Williams
Wet Starling – Chas Williams

Commended

Bluebell Time – Malcolm Balmer
In the Queue – Mark Taylor
Trooping up the Hill – Sarah Simpson Annual Open Competition trophy presentation to Steve Davenport.

12/05/2023

Annual Open Competition

 

Another very successful competiton with plenty of entries of a very high standard.

Thank you to judge Zaid Meharali  for doing such a good job and congratulations to all winners and placed.

On the night and at long last, Garrod received his trophy for winning the best digi in the Iris Overton Cup Competition back in November 2022!  Well done Garrod and sorry for the wait.

 

1st – Into the Light – Steve Davenport

2nd -Underneath the Arches – Elizabeth Jubb

3rd – No Go – Dave Chapman

HC – Billie in the Mist – Chris Edgecombe

HC – Black Opal Spring, Yellowstone Park – Graham Scott

 

COLOUR PRINTS

 

1st – Ghosts – Elizabeth Jubb

2nd – Parrot Tulip – Sarah Simpson

3rd – Damp Day in the Mountains

 

BLACK AND WHITE PRINTS

 

1st – Waves in the Sand – Pam Watts

2nd – Spring Flowers – Wendy Jackson

3rd – Tommy – Sarah Simpson

 

 

08/11/2022

The Shaston Challenge

 

On Thursday, some of our members travelled to Shaftesbury club to watch our club images compete in an inter club competition.

We did very well and came second to Blandford.

There were some stunning images shown and it was a very enjoyable evening full of fun, laughter and (like our own club) banter!

Thank you Shaftesbury for your hospitality and a great evening.

Results:

Blandford Forum                101.5

SBACC                                     97

Shaftesbury                           92.5

Kinson                                    90.5

 

 

 

 

08/11/2022

Macro and Close Up Competition

 

This week we held our Macro and Close Up competition, ably judged by Laura Pearce.

 

Thanks to all those who submitted images and thanks Laura for doing a grand job.

Results were:

Digital Images

1  Dandelion – Steve Davenport
2  Cricket – Chris Edgecombe
3  Sunset – Steve Davenport

HC

Vatican Statues – Pete Bull
Costa Rican Butterfly – Pete Bull
Carder Bee – Chas Williams

Prints

1  Dried Hosta Leaf – Sarah Simpson
2  Papover Giganteum – Wendy Jackson
3  Mrs Kendall-Clark and Fly – Pam Watts

Queen Wasp – Peter Still

Thistles – Elizabeth Jubb

 

08/11/2022

Shoot a Theme Competition

 

Last Tuesday evening was our club’s “Shoot a Theme Competition” where the theme was “Street Photography That Puts a Smile on Your Face”, chosen by last year’s winner, Mark Tatchell.

We had an enjoyable evening and the wide interpretation of the subject was interesting, providing for a lot of fun and some laughter. Judged internally by those members who attended, the results are as follows:

1st    Me, Dad and Our Brolly – Ally Morton

2nd  This Exhibition Has Sent Me to Sleep – Mark Tatchell

3rd   Surprise, Surprise – Mike Hermann

4th   Specsavers to the Rescue – Elizabeth Jubb

 

 

 

08/11/2022

The Iris Overton Cup Competition for Black and White Images

 

A great turn out of members attended our Overton Cup Competition on Tuesday and there was a record number or digi entries too.

There were also 9 prints which was great to see.

We also welcomed some new members to the meeting.

The entries were all of a very high standard which made our judge, Penny Piddock’s job very hard indeed!  Thank you for doing such a sterling job Penny.

The results were as follows:

 

    DIGIS
  1. Early Morning Walkies – Garrod Gray (photo of trophy presentation to follow)
  2. Misty Morning on Ham Hil – Mark Taylor
  3. Kite Surfer – Steve Davenport

 

HC

Waiting for Cod – Mark Tatchell
Lemurs – Steve Davenport
Juvenile Robin – Chas Williams

PRINTS

1.  Dwarf Iris – Sarah Simpson

2.  Boat Repairs While You Wait – Ally Morton

3. Church Lane – Malcolm Balmer

HC

Reflection on the Somerset Levels – Mike Hermann

Where To Next – Elizabeth Jubb

 

 

 

IMG_4817

25/10/2022

SBA Shield Competition

 

What a great night Tuesday was with a hall full of members from the 5 participating camera clubs and the photos were amazing!

20 out of the 50 photos scored 19 or 20 points, which is a great accolade to the quality of the images.

The judge, Malcolm MacNaughton, provided some very valuable and noteworthy feedback.

Congratulations to Wincanton for taking the top spot, worthy winners of the shield.

Thank you to everyone who came, helping to make this a very enjoyable evening.

 

  1.  Wincanton – 185 points
  2. South Petherton – 183 points
  3. Yeovil CC  and SBA – 179 points
  4. Shaftesbury – 176 points

 

 

Credit, Elizabeth Jubb

10/05/2022

Annual Open

We had a bumper crop of images entered into the competition this year, all to a very high standard.
This made Eddy Lane, our judge’s job quite difficult.

However, critiqueing every image on the way, Eddy wittled the images down to 9.

Well done indeed to one of our newest members, Steve Davenport, for gaining first place with his superb image. Also well done to another fairly new member, Mark Taylor, for being awarded 2nd place and a Commended.

The final results are below.

Thank you Eddy for successfully working your way through so many images!

1. Steve Davenport – Weymouth Lifeboat
2. Red Shank – Mark Taylor
3. Corfe Castle – Chris Edgecombe

Highly Commended

Cathedral Ceiling – Ally Morton
Goldcrest – Chas Williams
Wet Starling – Chas Williams

Commended

Bluebell Time – Malcolm Balmer
In the Queue – Mark Taylor
Trooping up the Hill – Sarah Simpson Annual Open Competition trophy presentation to Steve Davenport.

22/03/2022

Macro and Close Up

For the first time in a long while, we had prints at the hall!  Only 3 admittedly but nonetheless, there were physical photos in the room!

A high standard of images were entered into the competition as usual and thanks to our judge Tony Oliver for coming to the hall, another first for a long time, and doing a great job of judging them.

Prints

1st    Pam –           ‘Cage of Decay’

2nd   Elizabeth –   ‘Look Left’

3rd    Sarah –         ‘Over the Daffo Hill’

 

Digitals

1st    Chas –           ‘Agelena Labyrinthica Spider’

2nd   Sarah –         ‘Daisy’

3rd    Chas –          ‘Hoverfly’

HC

Wendy –               ‘To Crack a Walnut’

Malcolm –             ‘Bubble Geometry’

Pam –                    ‘Sea Holly’

Thanks to all concerned for making the evening run so smoothly.

 

 

 

Chas receiving his trophy from Tony Oliver

25/01/2022

Shoot a Theme

 

Our Shoot a Theme Competition entries this year (the subject was Structures in Nature), were exceptional and rating them was a very difficult task indeed!

The evening was our first “hybrid” meeting with some members joining us via Zoom.  On the whole it was successful and we look forward to repeating this format for our Keith Lane talk on 3rd February.

The results were as follows:

1st –   Nature’s Crosier – Mark Tatchel
2nd – Field Maple Leaf – Chrissie Dowding
3rd –  Oyster Mushrooms – Sarah Simpson
4th –  Tress in the Mist – Wendy Jackson
5th –  Seed Heads – Malcolm Balmer

Well done to everyone, especially Mark and we look froward to hearing what theme he chooses for next year’s competition.

23/11/2021

The Iris Overton Black and White Competition

This annual competition was originally held for black and white prints only but more recently we have included digital images.  Last year and this year the competition has been held on Zoom and only for digital images.

With a record number of entries in recent memory, our judge, Sara Harpley, had her work cut out.  She did a stirling job and eventually came to her decision.

Well done to everyone who was placed and given HC and C but especially well done to Pam, whose image was a worthy winner.

 

 

26/10/2021

SBACC Shield Competition – White on White

This year’s theme was a tough one!  All clubs involved submitted some fabulous images though and a lot of thought and effort went into producing them.

Our judge was John Tilsley who had a hard job on his hands!  With consistent and constructive critique, John worked his way through the 50 images. Thank you very much John.

The outcome was:

1st    –    South Petherton

2nd  –    SBACC

3rd   –    Yeovil

4th   –    Wincanton

5th   –    Shaftesbury

Very well done to South Petherton, your turn to choose next year’s theme!

John awarded 5 images the top mark of 20 and they are attached.

 

 

Mountain and Cloud – South Petherton – David Simpson Polo Trio - Yeovil - Jim leFeurve Face in the Sand – South Petherton x Richard Martin Leaf Skeleton – South Petherton – Robert Williams Framed – SBACC – Sarah Simpson

12/05/2021

Best of Year

Our last competition of the year did not disappoint, with some fabulous images entered.

Norman Marsh was the judge and what a task he had!

Eventually Norman chose his final 9 and the results are as follows.

1st    Malcolm – Dawn Light on the Mill

2nd   Elizabeth – The Bluebell Wood

3rd    Elizabeth – Heleborus

HC    Peter – Queen’s Walk, London by Night

HC    Wendy – Catch Me if you Can

HC    Malcolm – The Spices of Life

C       Pam – A Well Worn Track

C       Kirsty – Under Wings

C       Mark – One Winter’s Morning

Well done to all those placed, especially our Chairman Malcolm, a fitting result and so well deserved for a stunning image.  Well done too, to Elizabeth for taking second and third places.

 

Wendy – Catch Me if You Can Malcolm – The Spices of Life Kirsty – Under Wings Malcolm -Dawn Light on the Mill Elizabeth – The Bluebell Wood Elizabeth – Helleborus Peter – Queen’s Walk, London by Night Pam – A Well Worn Track Mark – One Winter’s Morning

23/03/2021

Macro and Close Up

On Tuesday 23rd March we held our annual Macro and Close Up competition which was very well supported as usual with a good amount of entrants.

A couple of the subjects on our recent workshop were about focus stacking and extension tubes and this was put into practice on some of the images with great results.

We had time at the end of the judging to go through each image and learn about how and why it was taken, which is always such an interesting exercise.

It was great to see a couple of new names in the placings and thank you to Sara Harpley who took care of the judging for us.

The results are below and well done to all who were placed.

1st        Lilly’s Last Stand – Sarah Simpson

2nd      Eye Saw Wood – Malcolm Balmer

3rd       Should Have Gone to Specsavers – Elizabeth Jubb

HC        Last Man Standing – Ally Morton

HC       On Golden Pond – Sarah Simpson

C          In the Spotlight – Chris Dowding

C         Tulip – Gill Newton

C         Teardrop in the Dew – Pam Watts

 

 

Sarah – On Golden Pond Gill – Tulip Sarah – Lily’s Last Stand Malcolm – Eye Saw Wood Elizabeth – Should Have Gone to Specsavers Ally – Last Man Standing Chris Dowding – In the Spotlight

27/01/2021

Shoot a Theme

Last night saw us back on Zoom for our annual Shoot a Theme competition which this year had the theme of Blue Hour/Golden Hour, chosen by last year’s winner Fo.

There were a good amount of great images to peruse, making the task of choosing a winner very tricky indeed!

Members present voted for their favourite image and the very worthy winner was New Brighton Lighthouse by Chris Edgecombe.

Early Morning Mist by Peter Panniccia was second and in joint third place were Golden Hour Loch Awe by Trevor Austin, Last Orders by Norman Crabb, Day’s Almost Gone by Peter Paniccia and Boscombe Pier by Fo Bugler.

Congratulations to Chris and to everyone else who was placed.

Last Orders – Norman Crabb Boscombe Pier – Fo Bugler New Brighton Lighthouse – Chris Edgecombe Early Morning Mist – Peter Pannicia Golden hour Loch Awe – Trevor Austin Day’s Almost Done – Peter Pannicia

24/11/2020

Iris Overton Competition (Black and White)

The Club was delighted to welcome back Leo Rich ARPS, EFIAP/g, DPAGB, APAGB, Past President of the PAGB to judge the digital image entries for the Iris Overton Cup.  Sadly, owing to Covid 19, it was not possible to judge prints but hopefully things will be back to normal for next year.

There were 42 entries covering a wide range of subjects and Leo provided some detailed and encouraging feedback.  He had received the submissions several days before the competition so had had the opportunity to study them in detail and carefully formulate his remarks.  He pointed out the advantages of precision when cropping an image, the importance of detail in composition and what a difference it can make to include a person on empty beach scenes.  Leo spent time on each image and his final choices were:

First          Elizabeth – Jubb One Man and his Dog

Second     Chris Edgecombe -Modelling on a Rainy Day

Third         David Hansford – Gold Hill, Shaftesbury

Highly Commended:

Malcolm Balmer –     Hayle Towans

Chris Edgecombe –   Surface Tension

David Hansford –      In Transition

Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to Leo for being our judge.

 

27/10/2020

Bradford Abbas Shield

Once again, owing to Covid 19, we were forced to use Zoom for one of the highlights of the club annual programme.  However, it did not prevent a healthy attendance of 57 members representing the five clubs taking part viz:  Shaftesbury, South Petherton, Wincanton, Yeovil and of course ourselves and it was good to see so many familiar faces on our screens.

The theme this year was “Water” and the judge was Penny Piddock from Dorchester Camera Club, who is well known to everyone.  She began the evening by outlining some of the things she would be looking for in the entries such as originality, the feeling of being wet, impact, atmosphere,  composition and what the image did for her.  She would not want to see over-sharpening, wrong depth of field or crooked images!!!

Each club submitted ten digital images making a total of fifty and the results were:

Position Club Points

First            Yeovil Camera Club 182

Second       Wincanton Camera Club 180

Third           South Petherton Photographic Society 171

Fourth        SBACC 170

Fifth            Shaftesbury Camera Club 165

Congratulations to Yeovil for a well deserved win.   Six images were awarded the full mark of 20, four of which were from Yeovil.  Sadly, none were from SBACC although images from Malcolm and Sarah scored 19.  We will look forward to learning the theme for next year’s competition which is now chosen by the winning club.

Holy Water – Yeovil Daisy Ice Cube – Yeovil Water Of Life – Yeovil Water Abstract – Wincanton Wet Cocker Spaniel – Wincanton Diane. Lyme Regis – Wincanton Chris D-Forever Alert Malcolm-Sherborne Blacksmith Elizabeth-Shadows Chris E-Ham Hill Silhouette Mark-Nestling in Snow Norman-The Theatre Lobby

21/05/20

Shaston Challenge

For the first time, SBACC was invited to compete in the Shaston Challenge, a competition hosted by Shaftesbury Camera Club with Ringwood Camera Club and Blandford Forum Camera Club being the other competitors. The competition was judged by Rob Barron from Poole.

Each club submitted 12 images on any subject in any genre making a total of 48. Owing to coronavirus, the competition (which was originally scheduled to take place in March) was held via Zoom and there were just over 50 participants, including 12 from SBACC. This proved an inclusive way of judging images, but care was needed with extraneous noise!!

Rob had been sent the images in advance so his comments therefore reflected careful examination of each entry. It also ensured that he could maintain a good pace allowing the meeting to end by 9.30pm.

Images were scored out of ten with half marks

The results were:

1st Blandford Forum        106½
2nd Ringwood                    106
3rd Shaftesbury                 104
4th SBACC                           100

There were some excellent images and the final scores reflect the difficult job Rob had in awarding marks. Whilst no SBACC entry gained a ten, several images were highly praised and Malcolm Balmer’s “Sherborne Blacksmith” and Chris Dowding’s “Forever Alert” both gained 9½ points. Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to the photographers in SBACC whose entries were a credit to the club.

Fo-Smoking Jazz Sarah-Going Over

12/05/20

Best of Year 2020

For the first time this competition was judged virtually and as this meant there could be no print entries, the categories were reduced from the normal three to just one:  Best Digital Image.

As with the Macro Competition,  all entries were circulated to members, together with background information, although the judge only received the images with titles.    There were 32 entries from 16 photographers so a very encouraging response and judging was undertaken by Norman Marsh from Dorchester Camera Club.  Subjects included still life, night photography, landscape, creative, portrait, macro…………..just about everything which is a gratifying reflection on the way SBACC is widening its range of expertise as members become more confident in exploring different genres.   

Norman not only judged,  he also gave comprehensive written feedback on all the entries which was greatly welcomed and of much value.  The results were:

1st Peter Paniccia Menai Bridge and North Wales

2nd Pam Watts Garden to Fork

3rd Mike Herrmann Wreck of the SS Hevetia at Sunset

HC Norman Crabb A Time to Reflect

HC Peter Paniccia Composed on Westminster Bridge

Congratulations to all the winners and particularly Peter with two placings.   It is good to see a new member of the club prove so successful.   Many thanks to all those who entered and to Norman for his detailed judging.

 

Peter-Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Peter-Menai Bridge & North Wales Pam-Garden to Fork Mike H-The Wreck of the SS Hevetia at Sunset Norman-A Time to Reflect Madagascar Stick Insect-Wendy Chrysanthemum-Sarah Garden to Fork-Pam ‘Feed Me Horace’ (little Shop of Horrors)-Chris Edgecombe Damsel Flies-Mike Nicholls Panther Chameleon-Mark Tatchell

31/03/20

Macro & Close-up Competition

Our “virtual” club got off to a cracking start with judge Sara Harpley agreeing to evaluate the images externally.

The event was well supported with 31 entries from 16 photographers.

The results were:

First             Wendy Jackson          Madagascan Stick Insect

Second        Sarah Simpson         Chrysanthemum

Third            Pam Watts                 Garden to Fork

 

HC

Chris Edgecombe      Feed me, Seymour

Mike Nicholls             Damsel Flies

Mark Tatchell             Panther Chameleon

 

All the images were circulated to members, together with brief notes from each photographer comprising technical data and notes of interest. This is not something that is ever available on club competition nights so was a welcome bonus.

Sara gave excellent feedback on all the images which was constructive and consistent so greatly appreciated.

Hopefully, with plenty of time on our hands in the coming weeks, we will be able to put into practice some of her suggestions and ideas.

Meanwhile, many congratulations to all the winners, particularly Wendy Jackson who is a new member of the club: great to see her gain success at the first attempt!

 

27/01/20

Shoot A Theme Competition

There was a large and lively attendance for this annual competition, the theme for which was “Music”, chosen by last year’s winner, Fo Bugler. It proved a challenge for many members, but nevertheless there was a sizeable entry and all digital images bar one.

Judging was in-house and points were awarded under three sections, each carrying 5 marks each: technique (composition, photographic technique, colour), creativity (interpretation, originality, artistry) and personal opinion. The range of interpretation was wide and considerable ingenuity was exercised in many of the images making it difficult to be selective.

However, discerning judgment resulted in Chris Dowding achieving a well deserved third place with “Flight of the Bumble Bee” – a creative departure from her normal style.
Chris Edgecombe’s superb entry “Sound of Silence” showed the beauty of a printed photograph, but first place went, once again, to Fo Bugler’s outstanding image “Smoking Jazz”.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who took part in what was a fun evening devoted to a serious competition.

Smoking Jazz-Fo Bugler The Sound of Silence-Chris Edgecombe The Flight of the Bumblebee-Chris Dowding Cat Nap-Elizabeth Ghouls-Janet Not Resting in Peace-Chris E Noe Wash Your Hands-Brian Haigh

10/12/19

Most Unusual Image

On Tuesday 10th December, the last meeting of the year was carried out in style as, for the first time, it was opened up to partners/spouses/guests. There was an excellent atmosphere and plenty of conversation before the serious business of judging began. The club was delighted that longstanding member, Norman Crabb, undertook the task of selecting the best images from a large entry and all of a high standard. The term “unusual” is subjective and quite rightly Norman made no apologies for exercising his personal judgment. Nevertheless, it was a difficult choice and his final decision was:

First           Elizabeth Jubb             Cat Nap
Second      Janet Matthews          Ghouls
Third         Chris Edgecombe       Not Resting in Peace
H/C            Brian Haigh                 Now Wash Your Hands

Congratulations to all and thanks to everyone who took part. Christmas cake and mince pies ensured the festive spirit was well catered for and the meeting brought to a close another successful year for the club.

22/11/19

Iris Overton Cup

There was nearly a full house for the judging of the annual black and white competition when we were privileged to welcome back Tony Oliver ARPS CPAGB from Salisbury Camera Club.
Tony critiqued each image in great detail and was consistent throughout, making it an extremely interesting and rewarding evening.
Starting with prints, he pointed out the importance of composition and how much lies in the detail. He gave advice on improving presentation, for example through the use of filters and burning and dodging in order to achieve greater contrast.
Moving on to the digital entries, Tony showed what a strong impact can be made through the use of diagonals and how necessary it is to decide on the focal point of an image and to ensure it is the centre of the attention.
He also explained the dangers of framing images which effectively replace canvas space with blank colour.
It was a close-run competition and the results were:
PRINTS
First          Elizabeth Jubb        Shadows
Second     Pam Watts              Chimneys Horsecastles
Third         Brian Clarke           Burrow Mump
DIGITALS
First           Mark Tatchell         Nestling in Snow
Second      Roger Gibson        Corridor of Time
Third          Sarah Simpson      Alstroemaria Nestling in Snow-Mark Tatchel Shadows-Elizabeth Corridor of Time-Roger Chimneys, Horsecastles-Pam Alstroemeria-Sarah

22/10/19

Bradford Abbas Shield Competition

On Tuesday 22nd October the annual Bradford Abbas Shield competition took place when we welcomed representatives from Shaftesbury, South Petherton, Wincanton and Yeovil camera clubs.  The theme this year was “People at Work” and each club entered five digital images and five prints.   Malcolm McNaughton from Dorchester judged the entries and his constructive comments were very much appreciated by everyone present.  At the end of the evening the scores were:

1. SBACC 186 points

2. Yeovil Camera Club 180 points

3. Shaftesbury Camera Club 179 points

4. South Petherton Photographic Society 178 points

4. Wincanton Camera Club 178 points

Naturally the club is delighted to have regained the Shield, especially when it was felt that the standard this year was the highest it has ever been.   SBACC did well in both the digital and print sections and particular congratulations go to Fo Bugler (digital image “Emergency Caesarean), Mike Herrmann (print “The Happy Sommelier”) and Malcolm Balmer (print “The Blacksmith’s Shop”) whose images scored the full 20 marks.  Oggie Swanson, Chris Dowding and Fo Bugler also had highly rated entries.  

Our thanks to all those who submitted images for the competition and to our visitors who ensured that the evening was such an enjoyable occasion.

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14/05/19

Best of Year Competition

Our Best of Year Competition was held last Tuesday evening.  This competition is always hotly contested by a wide range of members and this year was no exception.  It’s fair to say that the strength and depth of images submitted is testament to the ever improving standard of photography we are now achieving. This year we were fortunate to have the judging skills of Laura Pearce LRPS from our neighbouring camera club of Yeovil.   The results are listed below and congratulations go to our winners, runners-up and highly commended.  
Digital Images
1st Ham Hill Silhouette Chris Edgecombe
2nd Pier into the Night Chris Edgecombe
3rd Pastel Sunset Sarah Simpson
Highly commended Time to Preen Mark Tatchell
Highly commended Domino Effect  Roger Gibson
Highly commended Love in the Mist Chas Williams
Highly commended Cathedral Crypt Norman Crabb
Highly commended Pathway out of Lyme Regis Malcolm Balmer
Black and White Print
1st Peace Lily Sarah Simpson
2nd Architectural Detail Elizabeth Jubb
3rd Single White Rose Pam Watts
Colour Print
1st Misty morning at Cadbury Castle Malcolm Balmer
2nd Handle In Time Pam Watts
3rd Botallack Engine Houses Malcolm Balmer
Highly commended Forever alert  Chris Dowding

26/03/19

Macro and Close Up

On Tuesday 26th March there was an excellent turn out for the annual Close Up and Macro Competition. This only started three years ago as it became clear there was interest in the club for this genre of photography. It is now a well-established part of the programme and very well supported. The standard has risen sharply and members were heavily challenged to find a winner from amongst the outstanding entries.

There were some superb macro images of insects, a range of exceptional close up shots, some highly original abstract compositions and a number of stunning stacked images.

The results were close but in first place was Chas Williams who captured a terrific shot of a starling feeding her young, “Me First”; in second place was Fo Bugler with her lovely image of a munching mouse entitled “Dinner Time” and in third place was Chas again with his brilliant shot “The Fly”.

It’s good to have a new face on the winner’s podium: congratulations to Chas on such a successful evening and to Fo who always provides us with superb examples of her photographic skills.

Thanks also to Jay Warnes, whose recent talk on flash photography sparked an interest in lighting which was clearly visible in this evening’s competition entries.

In the coffee interval members were able to view Malcolm Balmer’s panel which recently saw him made a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society. Members were delighted to be able to offer him hearty congratulations on this fine achievement.

Me First! – Chas Williams Dinner Time – Fo Bugler Fly – Chas Williams

22/01/19

Shoot a Theme

On Tuesday 21 January, there was the annual Shoot a Theme competition which this year was “Graffiti”. Traditionally, the theme is chosen by the previous year’s winner, which in 2018 was Brian Clarke. He certainly set us all a challenge and there was a wide variety of entries. Although members could submit either digital images or prints, there were no prints this year.

The competition was judged internally with marks for composition, creativity and personal opinion. With a possible score of 15 there were difficult choices to be made as there were so many first-rate examples of original interpretation, excellent technique and artistry.

The competition was won by Fo Bugler with her outstanding image “Peaceful Bench”. Second was Elizabeth Jubb with “As You Like It” and third was Sarah Simpson with “Peeping Through”.

Congratulations to all three and to everyone who participated and helped provide such an entertaining evening.

We look forward to learning what theme Fo will choose for next year’s competition.

27/11/18

Iris Overton Cup

On Tuesday 27th November members competed for the Iris Overton Cup, the annual black and white competition. We were extremely grateful to Zaid Meherali, who stepped in at the last minute to cover for illness and proved an excellent judge.

There were 37 entries (digital and print) and Zaid’s critiques were concise and consistent. He elaborated on the importance of images having a focal point; on there being a good connection between the image and its title, and that if a photographer is entering more than one image, then they should be different.

The standard was high as usual, and the final results were:

Digital Section

First​​ –       Chris Edgecombe​​ – Old Oak
Second​ –  Roger Gibson​​ – Anchors
Third​​ –     Sarah Simpson​​ – Going Over H/C​​ –       Chris Edgecombe​​ – Silhouette
​​                Chris Dowding​​ – Church Ope Cove
​​                Pam Watts​​​ – Trouville sur Mer

Print Section

First​​ –      Malcolm Balmer – Evening Light at Arnside​​
Second​ – Adrian Sydenham – Derelict​​​
Third​​ –    Sarah Simpson –  Peace Lily​​​ H/C​​ –      Elizabeth Jubb –  Power of Water​
​​               Adrian Sydenham – Dartmoor

Congratulations to all the winners, particularly to Chris Edgecombe who has won his first trophy!

Old Oak – Chris Edgecombe Evening Light at Arnside Malcolm Balmer

23/10/18

Bradford Abbas Shield

Tuesday 23 October saw the annual competition for the Bradford Abbas Shield.  This year SBACC welcomed Shaftesbury, South Petherton, Wincanton and Yeovil camera clubs.  Each club submitted five prints and five digital images, making a total of 50 entries.  The theme was “Shadows” and we were delighted to have John Tisley as our judge.  As always, his in-depth critiques were fair and consistent:  he explained that with competitions, photographers should try to take images specifically for it rather than find something in their archives to suit the occasion;  images should tell a story, demonstrate  some originality, be relevant to the title of the competition and show attention to detail.   It was particularly interesting to note how many times John’s comments related to this latter point.

The results were:

    1. SBACC178 points
    2. Shaftesbury Camera Club 171 points
    3. South Petherton Photographic Society 170 points
    4. Wincanton Camera Club162 points
    4. Yeovil Camera Club 162 points

SBACC scored strongly in both sections with Malcolm Balmer, Fo Bugler and Jay Warnes all achieving the top mark for one of their entries.

Meanwhile, congratulations to all the photographers for providing such a high standard of entry, and thanks to our visitors who contributed to a very enjoyable evening.

Viking Steed – Jay Warnes Big Sky Over Glastonbury – Brian Clarke Rock Strata – Malcolm Balmer

24/04/18

Best of Year Competition

The Best of Year competition was a feast of excellent photography and it was extremely encouraging to see the high number of submissions represented by such a large percentage of members.

We were privileged to have Duncan Armour DPAGB from Taunton Camera Club as our judge. His thoughtful, consistent and constructive critiques were an education and greatly appreciated by everyone present.

With such fierce competition it was difficult to select a winner for each category, but the final results are below, and congratulations to all.

BEST DIGITAL IMAGE

Jay Warnes​​​​ – Viking Steed

BEST MONO PRINT​​

Brian Clarke​​​​ – Big Sky Over Glastonbury

BEST COLOUR PRINT

Malcolm Balmer​​​ – Rock Strata

A comprehensive list of the Best of Year competition results can be viewed by clicking the image below:

The following images were highly commended by the judge in a very close run competition – congratulations to everyone for your outstanding contribution. Every image that was submitted for the judges scrutiny afforded us an opportunity to learn from his experience and hone our skills further!

Previous competitions

Information and images from many of our previous competitions can be accessed by simply clicking the image or links below on the competition you are interested in – enjoy!

Macro Photography

Macro was an area that we hadn’t really explored, so we created this competition and went on a mini-beast hunt!

Shoot a Theme

The theme for the 2018 Shoot a Theme competition was ‘Wood’, which was just as challenging as the previous competition! See all the images here.

The Overton Cup

Our club’s annual competition for black and white images, both digital and print.

Bradford Abbas Shield

The theme for our annual inter-club competition for the coveted Bradford Abbas Shield was Agriculture.

Best of Year

Another great turnout for our Best of Year competition, with a high standard of images submitted.

Most Unusual Image

The challenge for this competition is to shoot something a little different from the norm (not you Norman…..although). Have fun and get snapping!