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Staffordshire Photographic Clubs Print Competition 2026

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:51:05 GMT

Competition Review by Rob Sample

The Staffs Clubs Inter-club PRINT competition was held as usual at Rugeley on Wednesday 8th April 2026.

RUCC members present were Alan H, Kevin B, Jen, Rob, Sally and Steve A. Only 10 clubs this time and audience numbers were down as a result. Erica Oram from Sheffield PS was judge.
We had 2 held back - from Clare and Kirsty - in first half but they went on to score 17 which was a bit disappointing. A good result for Clare as a first-timer in an inter-club comp. In the 2nd half, Ian’s biker got very good comments and Erica was in two minds whether to hold back and then didn’t and gave it 17. Our final print was Kevin’s unique dragonfly photo which was held back and went on to get 20 and was picked as one of two she was considering for best image of the competition, a nail-biting finish, but she went for the other one which was a great nature photo of 3 Fighting Common Cranes (Stafford PS). Sally did a great job as usual of recording all the scores and speedily jotting down some judge’s comments.

Final results table for Staffs Clubs Print Comp Apr2026:
1st : Tamworth PC total marks 180
2nd = : Stafford PS 179
2nd = : Cannock PS 179
4th = : Lichfield CC 168
4th = : Blythe Bridge CC 168
6th = : Rocester & Uttoxeter CC 167
6th = : Burton PS 167
8th : Rugeley & Armitage CC 161
9th : Stafford CC 160
10th Acton Trussell & Penkridge PS 158

Staffordshire Photographic Clubs Annual Competition for Digital Images

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:13:38 GMT

Club Member Paul Francis gives his summary of the evening.

As a newcomer to camera clubs and photo competitions, I hope you will allow me to make a few observations about the results from Wednesday evening. Firstly, congratulations and well done to everyone who had an image entered on behalf of RUCC, especially Kevin and Kirsty for our two 18 scores! Thanks also to Rob and Sally for summarising the scores and comments - no easy task. Although the records will show that we came 8th out of 12, I think some context is needed.

In a fairly tight contest, we finished only 12 points off the winners (or 1.2 points per photo on average). Also, as Kevin has pointed out, 3 more points would have placed us joint 4th. Interesting to see that the top half of the table was dominated by the bigger ‘town’ clubs, who presumably have larger membership than us for example including Rugeley.

Generally speaking, I felt that the judges comments were fair, if a bit flippant at times. Bottom line though is that photos (good ones, at least) are a form of art and, like all art forms, are at the mercy of the personal, subjective opinions of the viewer. There’s an article in the MCPF Nov 2025 newsletter about a guy called Leigh Preston being admitted to the Roll of Honour. The citation states ‘(he) has convinced us that if others like our images, it is a bonus not a prerequisite’. I think that’s good advice.

Guest Speaker from Synergy

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 12:37:39 GMT

Roger Fountain - World in Monochrome

On 16th September we hosted our first guest speaker of the season, Roger Fountain - World in Monochrome.

Roger is a Derby based photographer and member of Synergy. As promised he took us on his journey through monochrome photography from humble beginnings to breathtaking images such as the one above. Sharing tips, ideas and know-how including the honest demonstration of before and after images which was quite mind-blowing. Roger takes post image processing to a whole new level and his images can take infinite hours to complete with numerous re-visits. This fascinating prsentation finished with a flourish of acclaimed fine art architectural images culminating with his simply outstanding image of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool which appears in the London Salon this year.

https://synergy-photo.co.uk/roger-fountain

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Calendar

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 09:13:37 GMT

Staffordshire Wildlife Calendar - 2026 - Mike Ladd's Image will appear for May

IMAGE OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE CLIVE ROWLEY TROPHY

Mon, 12 May 2025 19:37:19 GMT

Congratulations to Jen Sample!

Image of the Year and our final competition of the season was held on 6th May 2025 and judged by John Haines who is nationally approved of the Midlands Counties Photographic Federation (MCPF).

All 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed entries in the previous 5 competitions for Print and PDI were judged plus wildcard entries by any member who did not have an image already in either category.

It made for an entertaining evening of judging by John whose expertise, constructive critique and boundless energy were a great mix for the occasion.

It was an almost impossible task for John to choose his overall winning image but choose he did, and Jen's Print, 'Love Triangle' earned the Club award.

Jen becomes the second winner of the prize. Congratulations to her!

A little about our trophy. Dr Clive Rowley was a long-term member of Rocester & District Camera Club who died in 2023. Clive was a talented photographer and watercolour artist. An alumnus of Cambridge University Medical School, he worked as a GP in Staffordshire. In his memory the club purchased the trophy and it was first awarded at the end of last season.

Past Winners - Ian Barstow - 2024-25 season

Staffordshire Photographic Clubs Annual Competition for Prints

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 08:09:51 GMT

And the results are....

This contest between 12 photo/camera clubs from around Staffordshire was held on Wednesday evening, 9th April 2025. Each club submitted 10 prints and the competition was judged by Gary Langley DPAGB form Nottinghamshire. The prints were scored out of 20 with the usual “Held Back” for the top-scoring prints. The points for each club were totalled to find the winning club and the judge selected his favourite image of the evening.

I have summarised the scores for the Rocester entries. The judges comments were jotted down by Sally and I have forwarded these comments individually to the owner of each print that we used - see attached for the scores and thumbnails of the prints (sourced from our internal competitions). [Rocester CC Scores.pdf]

All the scores for the competition are summarised in the attachment. The totals were sent out on Thursday on the RDCC WhatsApp group. We came 8th position out of 12.

Rocester & District CC Prints and Scores

Kingfisher - Ian Barstow - 16

Autumn Full Circle - Kevin Burton - 15

Mycena Bonnets - Alan Hartley - 15

Yellow Dung Fly - Rob Sample - 20

Open To The Light - Kevin Burton - 16

Plasterer Required - Phil Staff - 18

Your Move - Kirsty Cussens - 17

Waxwing on Hawthorn - Rob Sample - 16

Giraffe To Do That - Kevin Burton - 17

Golden Moment - Kirsty Cussens - 16

Club total 166

Staffordshire Photographic Clubs Annual Competion for Projected Digital Images (PDI)

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:24:47 GMT

Competition Time

Venue: Lea Hall Miners and Welfare Club, Rugeley

Seven of us (the magnificent?) travelled to Rugeley for a well attended competition between 14 Staffordshire Photographic clubs totalling 140 images. The judge for the evening was Peter Gennard MFIAP, EFIAP/d3 who grabbed everyone's attention with his entertaining critique. Often unpredictable, there was no second guessing his score and in the process a few feathers of pride may have been ruffled! RDCC did really well and from our 10 images scored a 20, 19 and an 18. We finished 7th with 146 points. The winning club with 168 points was Tamworth PC.