I went to camera club tonight, and I’m so very pleased with the results (and myself) that I have to blog about it before I go to bed (much to Lance’s disgust ).

Tonight was my first night in the 3 star category – the first of the senior categories according to the PSSA.  That means that I now have to submit photos according to different categorisations and the judging gets more strict – there’s a lot more emphasis on impact of the photo as well as the normal exposure and composition etc.  I took quite a big gamble with my photos this month too, all were Black and White and I’ve never submitted B&W images and I was very worried that the levels weren’t perfect and that I didn’t get the proper range of greys.

Anyhoo, then just to make my life more interesting, I also decided to submit a photo in the set subject section, just to see how it would do.  The subject for the night was “Obsolete”.  Now, I rarely submit photos for set subject, partly because I tend to do quite badly with them.  But tonight I thought I’d be daring and try a photo that was a bit of a risk.

I have shown you this photo before, but I treated it slightly differently when I posted it as part of my Soweto series.  It’s of the inside of the old car that we found in the Diepsloot hostel.

I actually WON the set subject image of the night!!

Then came the advancement photos… and OMW I’m stoked!!

Submitted under Photojournalism – Bicycle man in market – GOLD!! They liked the image and the story it told and the B&W was perfect for the image, but said that I must be careful of the bicycle being so close to the edge of the photo.

Submitted under Portraiture – Precious Moment – UNANIMOUS GOLD!! They loved it.  They loved that it was the dad in the photo, and not the mom.  They loved the angles and the emotions in the photo.

Submitted under Pictorial – All Out of Love – UNANIMOUS GOLD and SENIOR IMAGE OF THE NIGHT!! WOW! I have NEVER got image of the night before, and this was my first month in the senior categories!  When they announced Image of the Night, they asked me whether it was a wedding and what the circumstances were because they were arguing about whether it was posed or not.  LOL! They loved the humour in it.  Her expression was perfect for the background. The setup was perfect.  The B&W was a perfect choice etc etc.

Cool hey? I’m very pleased with myself right now!