Battle with Lincoln CC

On April 8th Keyworth Camera Club hosted our annual interclub battle with Lincoln Camera Club via Zoom. Each club submitted 30 images, of which no more than four could come from any one person. Each photograph was scored out of 20 and the judge, Richard Houghton, was also asked to pick out his favourite image.

As Richard commented, more than once, the images presented to him were of very high quality. This was also reflected in the number of pictures he held back, those being the photographs he would award scores from 18 to 20. Richard held back 14 images.

Richard explained the five areas he looked at when assessing an image, which were composition, focus (adequate use of depth-of-field), light (exposure and mood), storytelling (although not every picture has to tell a story), and the impact of the image. Richard also added that personal preference had to play a part too, especially when choosing the top photographs.

The evening was tense as scores were very similar for both clubs, and after the first 40 images had been marked both Keyworth and Lincoln had the same number of images held back. After a quick break to recharge our glasses, the competition resumed and the scoring remained fairly equal for both clubs, but Keyworth had a few more held back than Lincoln. Would this be enough for us to win?

Of the 14 photographs held back, eight belonged to Keyworth. Richard gave five images’ marks of 18, of which only one was from Lincoln. A further five images scored 19 and the remaining four pictures all scored 20, which saw both clubs sharing the top marks equally. You can see all 14 images in the gallery accompanying this report. Click on the photographs to see who took them and which club they belonged to. Richard then chose his favourite image, which was Gnat by Tony Walker of Keyworth C.C.

After the number crunching the results were announced. Keyworth C.C. 506 and Lincoln C.C. 492. This was the closest scoring we’ve seen in this competition. We must pass on our thanks to Richard Houghton whose observations and comments made this an entertaining evening that was thoroughly enjoyed by both clubs. We also thank Lincoln C.C. for allowing us to add two of their images to this post. Finally, we’d like to congratulate Tony for having his image picked out as Best of the Night.