I’m a little behind blogging about last months (Feb entries) competition entries with the Guild of Photographers. It was the very first month I decided to take advantage of entering 2 different categories and getting the 3rd category for free, lol! So I entered 9 images in total and was delighted to find that all 9 images were awarded bronze bars, which seems harder to do with the new international standard of judging.
This weekend saw me make the drive from Staffordshire to the gorgeous North Wales coast for the wedding of Jane and Jonathan at the lovely Quay Hotel & Spa, in Deganwy Quay, Conwy. Jane, her head bridesmaid Holly, my second shooter for the day, Sarah and myself are all long time friends, so it made the day extra special. On the day I made up a slideshow for the Bride and Groom, so here is a small selection to whet your appetite for the main blog post… coming soon!
On the back of the massive high of placing 7th & 5th in the Guild of Photographer’s Photographer of the Year competition 2012, it was with baited breath that I waited for the eagerly anticipated results of January’s Image of the Month competition. The Guild have just changed over the international judging standards (from national), making the wait seem longer than normal. Results day arrived and I was pleased to find that out of my 3 entries, 2 were awarded bronze bars and a third image missed out by just half a point with feedback on how the image could be improved. There was a tiny bit of disappointment in not getting 3 bars but it will push me to try even harder, a photographers kick up the bottom if you will, which will benefit clients as I strive to better myself and my craft. It’s nearly the end of the month again so this week will see me sifting through my images over the last year and tearing my hair out trying to make the crucial final decision!
January 2013′s bronze bar awarded images.
About a month ago I got an email from Steve Thirsk (Director of the Guild of Photographers) with my final results of 2012′s image of the month competition. At around the same time, other members of the Guild were getting told they had finished in the top 10 of the Photographer of The Year competition. I assumed I hadn’t quite made the grade as all the email said was that I had done well, lol!. Imagine my surprise when a few hours later a second email comes through informing me of a top 10 finish and I was invited to the prestigious awards ceremony that was being held at the gorgeous Upper House Hotel in Barlaston.
The whole affair was kept quite hush hush, although various members knew they had attained a top 10 finish, many of us did not know which category (People, Wedding, Open). I figured I was being awarded in the People category as I entered that more than the wedding section….silly me never gave a thought to the overall competition, I looked at it as a monthly check in to see how I was doing, lol!
On Friday 8th February I meet up with Steve & Lesley Thirsk along with friends and other amazingly talented photographers. We enjoyed a lovely 3 course meal, lively conversation and a fantastically relaxed atmosphere. The winners were genuinely surprised and delighted with their placings and there wasn’t a single big head in the room! The winners were announced by category, people first, followed by wedding, open and then “All-Round”. I am thrilled and delighted to have been awarded 7th place in the People category! I was then shocked into stunned silence (trust me, doesn’t happen often!) to have been awarded 5th place in the All-Round, multi-genre category (scores are added together across 2 or more catergories).
Many associations base their ‘Photographer Of The Year’ on one image. The Guild’s title chase is very demanding as images are judged each month throughout the year so the winners have to produce images of a consistently high standard month after month, no easy feat! Last year I achieved 6 silver and 4 bronze bars. It has spurred me on to try even harder for 2013, so watch this space!
Full details of all the winners can be found here.
And not forgetting my award winning images!
A beautifully sunny Saturday saw me in Lichfield to photograph the wedding of Darren & Sue, along with my good friend Simon. This couple only wanted photos from just before the ceremony to when they finished their meal. Darren & Sue are a lovely couple with a great sense of fun and a wonderful, loving family. I hope that they have a long and happy life together and may their sense of fun never change!
And just to show Sue’s sense of fun, lol!!
It’s a good thing I did not make a New Year’s resolution to update my blog more often!! It would have been broken inside a week. So, as usual I am a little behind but am hoping to have a few exciting things to blog about in the immediate future, so watch this space! Anyway, the results for the Guild of Photographers Image of the Month competition results for December 2012 came out recently and I managed another 2 bronze bars. It’s always exciting to be awarded a bar, I find it a good way of knowing if I am maintaining a standard that I would be happy to share with clients. My goal for 2013 is to aim for a few more silver bars…. or maybe an elusive gold?! If I didn’t set a goal I would have nothing to strive for and it benefits everyone, keeps me on my toes and makes me push to better my craft as much as I can. Fingers crossed for 2013!
Happy New Year from me & mine! It’s always hard to pick favourites of the year, so I made a small collage of a handful of favourites from my own collection. 2012 has been a bit of a rollercoaster year, lots of high points mixed in with some horrible lows. I have met some truly amazing people and have some fantastic weddings lined up for next year! 2013 is a new year, a blank page, I can’t wait to see how the year plays out! I hope you all have a happy & healthy new year!
Much love from Kerry, my hubby, my boys & my bunnies xx
Another July wedding (yes, I’m behind and out of sync with my blogging!). This time the wedding of T & S at the distinctive Sheene Mill in Melbourne, Cambs. It was a real treat to be able to attend my 1st outdoor ceremony and I enjoyed every minute of it even though it was a hot, sunny day and the lighting conditions were tricky. Everything about this wedding was beautiful, from the bride’s dress, the venue, and the lovely daughters of the couple.
As a qualified member of The Guild Of Photographers, we often get amazing discounts and deals as they collaborate with other companies. One such company is Venice Album who recently held a “Guild only” photography competition with the brief being “Smiles”. There was an overall prize of sample albums and 11 runner up prizes of a canvas of the winning images. As much as I could have put sample albums to good use, I had been wanting the image I submitted on my wall at home and so was absolutely thrilled to be one of the chosen runners up!! The prize is a gorgeously enormous 100cm x 70cm canvas. It really is larger than life but looks amazing on my wall, lol! Now I just have to start saving my pennies to replace get up to date canvas’ of my older 2 boys.
I am sure some will recognise the image I submitted, it has won a silver bar award from the Guild in June. I wish to thank everyone who took the time to vote for my image to to Venice Albums for such a beautiful prize! I look forward to my 2013 calendar with all the winning images.
The results for Septembers’s Image of the Month competition run by the Guild of Photographers came out recently. I am pleased to have got awarded 1 silver and another 2 bronze bars in the portrait category, showing a high professional standard (very high for the silver). As always I am thrilled to get any award, it is always exciting to find out what other experienced photographers think of your work. I’ve now got to put some serious consideration into which images to submit this month, time is running out!!
