Grant House Photography Competition

by Laura Burden

This article is slightly late in coming as the competition took place in the Autumn Term – but hopefully you’ll enjoy seeing the results anyway! In the spirit of jazzing up the décor at the top of A block, we decided to invite keen photographers in Grant to submit up to three images.

Rory Gilles’ photograph of a sunset (Year 9 joint winner)

 Jason Baker, our school photographer, judged the pictures. Jason said: “I was looking for good use of camera controls like focus, exposure, depth of field, followed by a good solid composition.  Then, finally, if the picture had all these things done well, it needed to have produced something a bit different in order to win.  The standard across the whole competition is very high you have all done really well.  This has not been easy to decide on!”

Rory Gillies and Alice Taylor-Smith were the joint winners for Year 9. Jason said: “Both have used the camera controls very well, the exposure and composition is very good.  I liked the observation in The Andes to produce something different but visually interesting.”

Alice Taylor-Smith’s picture of the Andes (Year 9 joint winner)

 In year 10, there were many possible winners. Highly commended went to: Alex Gibson, Cordelia Hobbs, Ellie Williams-Brown, Thea Morgan, Milly Henderson and Pippa Noble.

“Bolognan Sunset with Dragonfly” by Dorothy Whyte-Venables (Year 10 winner)

First prize for Year 10 went to Dorothy Whyte Venables. Jason said: “Excellent use of the camera controls, the exposure is perfect and focus is spot on. Both are not easy to achieve in this situation and I guess that you didn’t have long to take the picture.  If either was off just a little then you wouldn’t be able to see the detail in the dragonfly’s wings.”

Sienna Bentley’s picture of an escalator (Year 11 winner)

 The Year 11 winner was Sienna Bentley for her use of perspective in her picture of an escalator.

Year 12 was another year group with a large number of entries and a particularly high standard. Highly commended pupils were: Jack Ford and Joe Stirrup.

Jack Ford (Year 12 highly commended). Jason praised the use of colour in this shot.

 Jason said: “First Prize goes to Alex Cummings for both Borneo and New Forest.  Both photographs demonstrate fantastic use of light and perfect composition, even the ponies head and tail are in the perfect place which is an element of luck with a wild animal.”

Alex Cummings’ shot of Borneo  (First Prize Year 12)

Alex Cummings’ photograph of the New Forest (Year 12 winner)

Helena Lucas was highly commended for Year 13. Jason said, “It goes to a photo which maddens me.  If this was a fluke, then seriously well done!  How did you get the right pub being passed by the right type of car in exactly the right colour when no one was walking past and you happened to have a camera pointed the right way.? If anything was different in this composition it wouldn’t work.  It’s got 1972 all over it.  How is it possible………….?”

Helena Lucas (highly commended in Year 13)

 The winner in Year 13 was Charlie Henderson. Charlie entered the maximum number of three pictures, which Jason called “particularly striking, with excellent observation and composition… I like all three for different reasons, particularly the choice of black and white to enhance the mood, the mirrored composition in the first and that fantastic band of gold cutting through the mirrored royal blue with the texture of the water below.  Most would have been happy with that as a photograph but you have been brave and added the texture of the structure to the right.”

Charlie Henderson (Year 13 winner)

Charlie Henderson (Year 13 winner)

 

Charlie Henderson (Year 13 winner)

 Well done to all who entered – there are far too many wonderful photographs to include here, but a number will grace the common room walls soon.