One of the benefits of joining a camera club, such the Isle of Man Photographic Society, is being able to call upon a wide range of experienced, knowledgeable and well-qualified judges.

Local architect Patricia Tutt, Dip Arch, RIBA, Cert Ed, ARPS, PhD, is just that sort of person and she was the judge at the club’s final gathering of 2025 last week.

She was called upon to assess the relative merits of the entries for the assignment competition with the wide-ranging theme of ‘Manx Churches’.

Who could be better placed than the esteemed author of the beautiful book titled ‘An Introduction to the Architecture of the Isle of Man’ featuring wonderful photographs of many, if not most, of the island’s many churches and other places of worship through the ages, plus many civic buildings.

Patricia did not have the benefit of seeing the entries in advance, choosing to judge ‘live’ on the night – a daunting task, which is now fairly commonplace in other parts of the British Isles.

She gave an instant reaction to the merits of every single entry and demonstrated her expertise and knowledge by modestly naming the different parts of a church’s interior in different parts of the island.

Bearing in mind the generality of the topic, the images showed a remarkably different approach by the photographers who had chosen to depict the insides and external appearance of the buildings to good effect, presenting pleasing and striking images of quality.

The hard-working committee had opted to make life a little easier for the entrants by not requiring the prints to be framed, thus providing inexpensive encouragement for the less experienced members.

Winner of the print section with his image of Bride Church was Martin Sanderson, scoring 19 marks (out of 20).

First place in the projected images section, also with 19 marks, was Jeremy Broome-Smith, in which he showed a close-up of the high altar in Peel Cathedral.

Patricia also chose Jeremy’s image as the most pleasing in the competition.

The second half of the evening took the form of the society’s annual Christmas social, with a good atmosphere and the fairly rare opportunity to spend time exchanging views on many topics over light refreshments, kindly provided by the committee.

The society will recommence its meetings at the St John Ambulance headquarters off Glencrutchery Road in the new year, at 7pm on Wednesday, January 7.

This should be another highlight in the presence of Ruth and Chris Nicholls, the latter transporting members on a trip to Austria and the former taking in ‘Medieval Moments and a Village in the Skye.’

Further information about the society’s winter programme can be found online at iomps.com.

BY ANTONY HAMILTON