Overclockers competition
This is the first year when I have entered all of the rounds of the OverClockers UK photo competition. Each month, a theme is chosen by the winner of a previous round and the entries must be taken during the month. This is an excellent rule because it means that everyone starts on a level playing field - new entrants are not competing against the extensive back catalogues of old hands. I was hoping to win it until the last but in the end, I took second place.
There were ten rounds in 2008:
Absence
I struggled with this theme, because it is difficult to work out a way of taking a photo of something that isn't there... I ended up with a portrait of one of our friends from Kuwait. Hope he doesn't mind...
Viewed from above
I chose this theme, with Kite Aerial Photography in my mind. My entry was actualy taken from the balcony of a hotel in London.
Intricate
For this, I entered a picture of the stained glass and gilt roof in "Le Galleria" in Paris.
Links, Chains and Bonds
We had only just found out what the theme was when we came across Elaine Davidson on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Windows
We took a trip into London on a bright Sunday to look for glass-covered buildings for this theme. In the image shown, we have 88 Wood street on the left, home to the HP London office. Alban gate (which forms a bridge over London Wall) is to the right.
Odd One Out
I had a simple idea of this round but it required getting an extra large duck by mail order... A well worthwhile investment, he makes occasional appearances at kite festivals.
The Four Elements
Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. I struggled with this. Apparently, there are four colours associated with the four elements, so when I noticed that the lights on Margate pier cycled through the colours, I made a montage from them. A particularly poor entry.
Survival
We live just round the corner from the fire station, who just happened to be doig a demonstration of why it is not a good idea to pour water on a chip-pan fire, so I snapped that and entered it. Again, not a strong entry.
Symmetry in Nature
I knew exactly the shot that I wanted for this and we went down to the Hawk Conservancy to take it. The subject is "Little John", the Little Owl, on a grey day, through a heavy mesh, towards the back of the cage. I had to process it heavily to get the colours to come out but it took first place in this round.
Simply the best
For this round, the last round in the year, the theme "Simply the Best" means that everyone gets maximum points for Theme relevance and originality. You just need to enter your best photo taken during the month. I struggled with this, because I felt lost without a target and put up three other entries before settling on the tiger.
