BARRY Camera Club's year started for on January 8, when they welcomed Leigh Woolford AWPF, EFIAP of Gwynfa Camera Club who gave a talk entitled Fifty Prints, which turned out to be something of a misnomer as he actually showed more like 70 prints that night.

His presentation started with some of the film-based black and white work he produced in 1992 at the start of his interest in the hobby and proceeded through to his current digital-based work. He explained how cameras have changed over the years and it was sobering to note how little that has actually meant in terms of final image quality; some of the images he had taken on cameras that are today considered very low-tech were of fabulous quality which proves more than anything that it is the photographer that is more important than the equipment.

It was also interesting to see how he had used various mounting styles, different paper types and treatments to radically change an image. This was a very interesting evening presented by a most accomplished speaker and was very well received by the membership.

January 15 was a new departure for the club: they had an evening showing members’ images all taken on equipment other than cameras. Most images shown originated on smart phones but there was a smattering of images produced on the iPad and other tablets.

Most were surprised at the quality that could be had from such relatively low-spec equipment and if it were not from the lack of flexibility of the fixed length lens and automatic-only exposure offered by such devices they could one day become a serious alternative to current digital camera equipment.

On January 22, they had a rare treat when they were shown the highlight images from the Cheltenham International Salon 2015. The Salon is an important annual competition open to professional photographers and amateur clubs across the country and abroad with an open subject matter; success in Salon events is a prestigious achievement and they are very pleased to see two of their members, Mike Lewis and Tina Haydon, both having acceptances this year. The quality of the photography was extremely high and really gave them something to aspire to.

As always the month concluded with the monthly competition night. This month the judge was John Ridgewell, LRPS.

Mr Ridgewell made very favourable comments on the overall quality of the work presented to him and explained how hard it was to separate the very best of the images, but eventually managed to decide to make the following awards:

Monochrome Print: This was a closely fought contest with some very high marks being awarded, however Mr Ridgewell finally settled the competition by awarding 20 points and first place to Glenn Porter for Chris Ousey – Snake Charmer, second place and 19 points to Rob Owens for his Boat On The Estuary and third place with 19 points to Andrew Hallum for Forgotten. Also awarded 19 points and a highly commended was Tree by Glenn Porter.

Colour Print: First prize and 20 points went to Glenn Porter for A Morning At Penarth Pier. Mr Porter also gained second place and 19 points for his Venice and third spot was taken by Roy Carr who also gained 19 points for his Into The Garlic Woods.

Projected Image: This section was, as always, the most contested section with 34 entries this month. The winner with 20 points was Tina Haydon for Oblivious, Steve Everett gained second place scoring 19 points with a natural history shot entitled Kingfisher and in third place with 18 points was Glenn Porter with his One Big Storm Equals One Man’s Pleasure. Also scoring 19 points and gaining a highly commended award was Phillipa Evans for her Falcated Duck,

Congratulations go to all award winners this month, but special mention should be made to Glenn Porter for a very strong set of images indeed. At approximately half-way through the season Roy Carr narrowly heads the overall leader table with 273 points, closely followed by Glenn Porter in second place with 272 points and a solid year’s work sees Sarah Savage in third place with 263 points, but there are several members closely following so the competition is far from over yet.

February promises to be an interesting month with visits from Graham Harries and Pete McCloskey, a seven-way battle at the Vale Camera Club, Ystradowen and the monthly competition.

Throughout the rest of the year they have a full programme of talks, demonstrations, photographic expeditions, competitions and inter-club battles planned. New members are particularly encouraged and will be made most welcome with a programme being prepared especially for the new and less experienced photographers to allow them to quickly gain more proficiency and satisfaction from their hobby.

Barry Camera Club meets every Friday evening from 7pm to 9.30pm at St Francis Millennium Centre, Porth-y-Castell, Barry Garden Suburb, Barry, CF62 6NX.

They are a very friendly organisation and new members of all experience and skill levels are always welcome to attend with no obligation to join. Alternatively, for more information visit barrycameraclub.co.uk