Abstraction Critique – all the essential info for the 2nd New Members Group critique evening on Thursday 27th February

This is a follow-up to Colin Miller’s excellent workshop on 6th February so the subject is Abstraction or Distortion and Colin will be the judge/commentator. It is perfectly valid to use one or some of the images you saw at the workshop as inspiration but you might prefer to come up with your own ideas. If you weren’t at the workshop, don’t worry. Just enter an image that you think is abstract or a distortion of reality or, if you don’t want to enter an image, just come along and see what others have produced and what Colin has to say. The main thing for this critique is to experiment and play with ideas and techniques.

http://colinmillerphotography.co.uk

The NMG competitions are a really good way to get used to receiving constructive criticism and to get to know each other’s work. Also, because we’re a smaller group than the Tuesday meeting it’s much more informal and there’s more of an opportunity for you to take part in the discussion. The main thing is to have some fun with it.

Practicalities

  • You are allowed to enter 2 images. This can be a print or a digital projected image (DPI).
  • Your image may be colour or black & white.
  • Brian is collating the entries and he needs the entries (for DPI) or details (for prints) by midnight on Tuesday 25th February. More on this below.
  • Brian will reply to you on receipt of an entry image or title – so if you don’t get a reply it means it hasn’t arrived.

Projected Images

  • Save it as a high-res JPG file. Email it as an attachment to Brian at [email protected] before midnight on Tuesday 25th February. Put the title of the image and your name in the email and make sure that the file name matches the title as much as possible.
  • For size, please follow the dimensions recommended for the Club’s main competitions: the maximum width is 1920 pixels and the maximum depth is 1080 pixels; the minimum height and depth is 900 pixels; the maximum file size is 2MB.
    Preparing Images for Critique
  • If you don’t understand the Club sizing or don’t have the software to resize your image then send Brian a high-res JPG and he’ll do the rest. If you’re not sure about something then check with Brian or Audrey.

Prints

  • Email your title to Brian at [email protected] before midnight on Tuesday 25th February and bring the print along on the evening. Try to arrive by 7:20pm so that we can check your print in. You should mount your print (see below) putting the title and your name on the back.
  • If you’re not used to producing prints but want to enter one, there are lots of options. Many high street stores offer a quick and easy service e.g. Boots, Asda, Tesco and there are also specialist printers e.g. Colourstream in St. James Street as well as online services e.g. Photobox and ProAm. Prints can be any size but should preferably be mounted (mainly for ease of handling). The Club has mount cutting equipment which is available for you to use. Let Audrey or Brian know if you want to use it or if you want help.

Competition Format

  • It is similar to the Tuesday Critique Evenings for the main club in that each image is discussed and given an award (Gold/Silver/Bronze) by the judge – in this case by Colin. Although it’s tempting to get carried away by marks, it’s the commentary that’s the key thing. Colin always welcomes participation from the audience so it makes for an entertaining and informative evening.

The meeting is in the usual Thursday venue, The English Language Centre, near Palmeira Square in Hove. The entrance is in Salisbury Road and the postcode is BN3 2GB. Please arrive by 7.15pm so that we can start promptly at 7.30pm.