written by Abby Corrigan and Paul Lavery
We're pleased to announce that earlier this year we joined the Northern Ireland Photographic Association (NIPA). Since joining, Raw Photographic has been warmly welcomed by the NIPA community. And we know that joining NIPA has opened up a lot of opportunities for the Club and our members. In fact...
Since joining NIPA our members have been enjoying taking part in the competitions run by the association. That being the NIPA Interclub and Novice competitions. And already we're proud of the success our members have achieved.
NIPA Interclub competition success
Between September and March, NIPA organises a series of five Interclub competitions. These are competitions held by NIPA in which members from NIPA Photography Clubs around the country can compete. Raw Photographic were invited to enter the final round.
For each round of the competition there is a theme in which entrants must follow. Round 5 was an 'Open Round' meaning entrants could select any theme of their choice. This gave our members a chance to select their most treasured photos. And gave them a boost of confidence as they dipped their toes into unchartered waters.
Before member photos make it through to the NIPA competition, photos must pass internal selection by the Club. That's because each club can only submit twelve photos to the Interclub competition (four per category: Mono, Colour and PDI). We were pleased to see our members submit over 80 images for this stage. And since the process was very new to us, we were grateful to have a NIPA Judge help us through the stage of internal selections.
Every photo entered was critiqued, and gave our members the opportunity to receive constructive feedback. Whilst that was daunting for many of us, all in all the feedback was well received - after all, it gives us the chance to learn, develop and grow!
All 80 photos displayed the raw talent of our members and the wide range of techniques, photography styles and interests we each have. After careful consideration, 12 photos were selected and submitted to NIPA. Then began the wait...
Patiently, our members waited for the adjudication to happen. The point where the 12 images from every club are judged and scored. And on the 24th March, our members joined Zoom for the results. During this virtual meeting, the NIPA judges presented their feedback on every image submitted - and announced the results.
As we listened to the results, we were delighted to see our very own Colm McMullan attain a NIPA star for one of his images. Stars are awarded to the top images, and to achieve this on his first time entering the competition is nothing short of impressive. His image 'Evie' can be seen below.
If you've been following our blog, you may recognise this portrait of Colm's family pet. It previously won our Club's Photo of the Month for our 'Shadows' theme. In this NIPA competition, 'Evie' scored a 13 out of 15 by the judges.
Along with Colm's success, our other entrants received high scores for their images. including:
Nabendu Das Gupta scoring 9 points with a portrait of one of our members
Robert Macaskill scoring 12 points for his image "Cradle to the Grave", an urbex image
Janice Reid scoring 10 points for her image 'Straddle the Twig'
Eleish Alister achieving 10 points for her still life image, 'Sugar'
Jim McCartney scoring 12 points for his mono portrait called "The Artist"
All our members scored above average points, and with them all being novice entries this is a massive achievement. Congratulations to you all!
NIPA Novice competition
Shortly after the end of the Interclub competition came the chance for our members to enter the NIPA Novice competition. This is a competition for amateur photographers. And as with the last competition, our members were keen to enter.
Unlike the Interclub competitions, entries didn't have to go through internal selection. That's because entries are not made per club, and are instead submitted by members of a NIPA associated club.
On 15th April our members again sat patiently waiting on Zoom to hear the results. And once again, we were ecstatic to hear the results awarded to our members. This included Robert Macaskill taking first place for one of his images, alongside receiving a Highly Commended for another. Not only that, but Colm McMullan was awarded second place for one of his images, along with a Highly Commended and a Commended for two others. Well done to both of you!
Below, you'll see Robert's winning image.
As we continue our journey as part of NIPA, we're excited to see what the future holds for our Club and its members.