Isle of Man Photographic Society members gathered in late October for the judging by Andrew Barton of the wide range of subjects on display in the images in the first open competition of the winter programme.

Andrew, another of the society’s life members and a professional photographer himself, prefers to judge ‘live,’ which means that he has had no advance notice of the topics he is expected to judge.

Andrew began the evening by commenting on the extremely high quality of all the projected digital images and print entries which was reflected in the high scores awarded.

The digital images were first to be judged and as is often the case with such a well-respected guest judge, Andrew gave thoughtful and constructive comments on every image entered with helpful suggestions, as appropriate, on how the images might have been improved.

He praised the good use of focus and depth of field in the mono images which illustrated correctly a full tonal range from white through grey to black.

After the break for refreshments, Andrew began the second half, assessing the print entries, praising the high quality of the mono prints and complemented members on the excellent mounting.

Martin Sanderson and Sean Corlett dominated the winning images with two maximum 20s each. Fierce, but friendly, was the overall competition, with no fewer than five images scoring a highly respectable 18 points each.

The outcome was:

Mono prints:

Martin scored two 19s with 'Indifference' and 'Michel Angelo' but Sean won the mono print section and best print winner with his dramatic print 'Dark Hedges'.

Colour prints:

Martin again scored 19 points with his print 'Drangarnir', whilst Sean gained 20 points and best colour print with 'Majestic Mushroom' which Andrew thought was an excellent print, very well handled with a studio quality to the photography.

Mono digital images:

'Cold Love' by Martin Sanderson; 'The Goatherd' by Barry Murphy; 'Tube Station' by Sarah Moore; 'Ghostly Decay' by Jeremy Broome-Smith and 'Cliffs of Moher' by Sean Corlett with 18 marks each. No fewer than three images scored 19 points: 'Seeds and Stripes' by Peter Naylor; 'A Dog in a Van' by Barry Murphy and 'Staying in Front' by Jeremy Broome-Smith

However, Andrew's clear winner in this section with 20 points was 'Risin go Kellingin' by Martin Sanderson, a very well handled mono with cliffs standing out well against the light. Martin's image was also the best digital image and awarded the best overall image in the competition.

Colour digital images:

Six images scored 19 points: 'Take Off' by Wayne Hargrave; 'Sunset in Venice' by Martin Sanderson; 'Rush Hour by Sean Corlett; 'Tate Modern Staircase' by Sarah Moore; '3 Shades' by Nigel Owen; and 'Salisbury Cathedral Font Reflection' by Jeremy Broome-Smith. However, Andrew gave first place with 20 points to 'First Light' by Martin Sanderson.

Looking ahead, the society has several interesting presentations, which will include Underwater Photography by Tim Nicholson and, in a change to the programme, Lara Howe will be giving an illustrated talk on shifting perspective, exploring abstract photography.

In 2026, we have an evening of Light Painting on February 4.

Members are reminded to finalise their print entries ‘Manx Churches’, for submission no later than December 10.