Time for Reflection – The PPC

I’m not big on reflective posts these days. When I was studying it was a weekly chore to record my thoughts and reflections of the past week in a learning log so I kind of got bored by them.

However, whilst working on some planning for a special issue of Photonews today (I produce and edit the journal of the Postal Photographic Club) I realised that I have had a very successful year in terms of the club’s competitions.

The club is comprised of various different Circles each of which runs a monthly competition and most of which culminate in a “photographer of the year” within the Circle. We also have two club-wide competitions each year, The Founders Cup and the Travelling Exhibition both of which are judged by external judges.

I have successfully defended the Pop Wetherall Trophy for the best photographer in Circle One during the 2015/2016 season having won it for the first time in the 2014/2015 season. I have been a member of the Circle since the 2011/2012 season and come close before but this was the first time I had managed top spot. To win it last year was a massive thrill but retaining it was even more special.

In addition I had good success earlier in the year in the Founders Cup, the first of our club-wide competitions winning The Founders’ Cup for the best print over all as well as the Floyd Landscape Trophy for the best landscape print.

Then, most recently, an image taken near to my home won the Half Plate Challenge Cup for the Best Print in the Travelling Exhibition, the Maurice MacDowell Cup for the Best Colour Print as well as the Andrew Emond Trophy for the Best Landscape Print. I also took the Salver for the Best Monochrome in the projected digital image section of the TE capping off a very successful year.

An added bonus has been my first acceptances into a Royal Photographic Society exhibition. One was the same image that did so well in the PPC’s Travelling Exhibition but the other was “London Fashion Week” (see top of page) which was a real thrill as it is such a departure from my normal style.

Not everyone is as happy as I am. Seven pieces of silverware is quite a lot of polishing and cleaning for my long-suffering wife of 35 years.