Photography News Issue 43

Photography News | Issue 43 | absolutephoto.com

Profile

Before the judge

LeighWoolford Join us for our monthly chat with a photographic judge. LeighWoolford has seen many trends come and go in his decade as a judge, and has a fondness for events that feature a buffet

I fell into judging by accident after having my arm twisted to judge a small local club competition. I found that I enjoyed the process and took a few more bookings. It grew from there. I’ve been judging for around 10 years – the time has passed very quickly. I have done hundreds of club competitions as well as numerous inter-club competitions and national and international salons including: The Welsh Salon, Swansea International, MCPF championships, MCPF Photofolio, Neath International, South Devon Salon, The Welsh International Salon and the Port Talbot Salon. I also have a few more lined up for 2017 including the Midland Salon and the Bristol Salon. Mostly it is very rewarding but sometimes you feel like you have let someone down by not explaining your thoughts too well. Inevitably you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Also, people don’t want to sit there listening to some crusty old bloke talking about apertures so I try to judge from the heart and have a bit of fun where possible. I can forgive the odd technical flaw if the photo has soul, story or emotion. I have had loads of great judging experiences but I think my favourites are ones with a buffet! Seriously, it’s tough picking out my favourites as I tend to mostly remember the ones where I don’t think I’ve done the entries justice. In recent months I particularly enjoyed judging the Brian Jennings Trophy,aninter-clubbattleatTrostre Camera Club in the steelworks of the same name. It involved a number of West Wales Clubs, some very enjoyable photographs – and a top- notch buffet. I also remember enjoying my first judging visit to Cheltenham Camera Club. After initially being daunted by their ‘spot judging’ requirements for a large number of items, I found I quite enjoyed the process. It was strangely liberating. InWales we normally get the entries a week or two in advance and at that time I hadn’t done a great deal of spot judging. The good folk at Cheltenham have also asked me back and that always feels good. It is also rewarding to be asked to go out of area. I think I’ve visited almost all the clubs in the Welsh Photographic Federation and to go a little further afield is fun. It’s good to see what is going on elsewhere. What makes judging really interesting is that I’m endlessly amazed by the skill and ingenuity of the club photographer. You also see a great range and all life is there from the absolute beginner in their first competition to the seasoned and experienced members

Biography

Howmany years in photography? I won a school photography competition in 1969 when I was ten but have been seriously interested since around 1980. Home club I’ve been a member of the very wonderful Gwynfa Camera Club since around 1985. What is your favourite camera? Canon T90. What is your favourite lens? My Canon 24-105mm f/4. It is practically welded to the front of my SLR. What is your favourite photo accessory? I have two. My trusty tripod and a I can’t pick just one. A few that spring to mind are Ansel Adams, Bill Brandt, Todd Webb, O Winston Link, Michael Kenna and Yann Arthus Bertrand. What is your own favourite photographic subject or technique? I started with an interest in motorsport but these days I prefer landscapes. However, I’ll have a bash at anything. Lately I’ve enjoyed playing with the Lee long exposures stoppers and I enjoy using moving water to create life and light on days that aren’t that interesting. What awards/distinctions/ medals have youwon? I’m an associate of the Welsh Photographic Federation as well as EFIAP and DPAGB. Yourwebsite leighwoolford.co.uk set of graduated filters. Who is your favourite photographer?

I don’t agree with the premise that judges have a poor reputation among clubmembers. At Gwynfawe go to the pub after our meetings and there you will always hear opinions about the judge. I don’t think I have ever heard either universal praise or universal condemnation. Someone is always happy, someone is always disgruntled. It is the nature of the beast. However, I do get a tad annoyed if a photographer uses the judge as a crutch to explain the shortcomings of an entry they have made. If you were to ask me for a single piece of advice to help people improve their photography I’d say understand aperture and shutter speeds. Oh, and take lots of photographs and look at lots of photographs. Also, have an open mind and get outside your comfort zone. Oops, that’s more than one.

who have been entering for years. Amateur photography seems to be experiencing a boom period. Most people have a camera and use it regularly so it’s an exciting time. I particularly enjoy seeing the improving standards of images taken on phone cameras. Sadly though, I’m not so sure that camera clubs are benefitting as much from this boom as they ought. Young people don’t seem too interested and that is a shame as they could contribute a great deal but I guess it is tough for a teenager or a 20-something to walk into a room full of over 40s and feel involved. There are exceptions of course, but not as many as there should be. Judging opinions inevitably differ and that is the point of a panel. I can recall a situation where someone was very reluctant to press the 5 button in a salon 2 to 5 button judging session so at the end of the day the deliberations over the awards were long and drawn out. It wasn’t really frustrating though, just time consuming. It is rare that I am lost for words but it has happened a couple of times. One that springs to mind involved a female nude on a bicycle. I’ll leave it there. The photographer will knowwho he is if he reads this. The biggest challenge of all is being positive and constructive with a lifeless image and it is important to not fall into the trap of saying it is ‘an ordinary snapshot’. I’ve only failed twice to find something

constructive to say about an image. I don’t see outstanding entries in every competition, but on many, many occasions, I do. The ones that fail show that the photographer has a lack of understanding of the compromise between aperture, shutter and ISO. The ‘auto’ setting has a lot to answer for. Don’t let the camera tell you what to do; you tell it what to do. Also, don’t try to pander to the judge and don’t always enter safe shots. Make us think. Make us wonder what on earth we are going to say. Challenge us. (Note, this may not necessarily prove to be the best way of winning but it’s often the best way of developing your photography.) I see many of the same techniques used over and over again but I can’t really think of any particular subject or technique that really bothers me. There are always fads and fashions and they come and go. Inevitably each has a life-cycle of initial excitement leading to familiarity and eventually, perhaps, boredom. However, this is something I’d try hard to disregard when talking about an image. Basically, imaging trends come and go but photographs with emotion, story, atmosphere and heart endure and succeed. So don’t follow trends, create them! Also on composition the so-called rules are there to be used and to be broken. Knowing when to do either is key.

leighwoolford.co.uk

What do you think?

Have you seen a photographic judge at work who you’d like to see profiled in Photography News ? If so please drop us a line to opinion@photography-news. co.uk with the judge’s name and, if possible, their contact details.