Lockdown and Distinctions – an Evolution

 I took a serious interest in photography in the early 1990s after being made redundant. I joined Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Photographic Society (CKPS) and have been a member since. I joined the committee after a few years and have held every post apart from Treasurer.

Like many club members around the country and around the globe, I was introduced to slides and black-and-white processing and printing. Both these disciplines taught me a lot. Transparencies taught me the importance of exposure and black and white taught me the importance of contrast.

I dabbled with entering salons for a few years. Back in those days, you had to send off the original slide and wait months to have it returned. I gained a few acceptances and was satisfied with that. I then wanted to get some letters after my name so applied for and gained my CPAGB. This was still back in the dim and distant days of slides.

I have always tried to keep up with technology, and, I was the first member to enter a print from a digital camera in a club competition. Sometime later, when my Photoshop skills had improved, I was the first person to win a competition with a print off a digital camera.

I used Canon equipment until December 2021 when I switched to Olympus, I now own E-M1 mark III body and the following lenses. 7-14mm f2.8 Pro, 12-40mm f2.8 Pro, 40-150mm f2.8 Pro, 60mm f2.8 Macro & the 2x Teleconverter.

During Lockdown, I started running Zoom meetings for CKPS. Partly to entertain myself as I was shielding from Covid. The next logical step was a competition. This quickly developed into weekly competitions. The winner of the first competition was nominated to choose the subject of the following week and so on. I then built a lecture using those images and these form the first part of my presentation. I decided to start entering salons again as a New Year’s Resolution for 2021. The second part of my presentation covers my journey to gaining my distinctions. All the way from my first acceptance in 2021 through to my most recent acceptances.